Vittoria Torrente tyre review

Reviews of Vittoria tyres are fairly thin on the ground in general and the Torrente in particular, so I thought I’d write one.

Vittoria has been on a roll recently, releasing a number of updated tyres and new models. The Torrente is an entirely new model, designed “for the harshest muddy terrain” according to the Vittoira website.

Whatever the marketing material might have us believe, this is still an XC tyre and not a proper mud spike like a Schwalbe Dirty Dan or Maxxis Shorty. Expectations should be kept realistic.

About the Vittoria Torrente tyre

In addition to the new tread design, there is a new ‘XC Race’ construction, supposedly delivering 20% more speed, 8% more grip, 44% better puncture resistance, and 9% improved riding comfort.

As the Torrente is a new model, those claims are difficult to evaluate. It certainly raises hopes for existing tyres in the updated lineup, like the Barzo. Hopefully there’s a perceptible improvement for those. Something I should notice having had a Barzo/Mezcal combo on my XC bike for most of the last 5 years.

Specifically this is the 60tpi 2.4 ‘XC Race’ version with a new graphene and silica compound. Claimed weight is 720g.

I did weigh the tyres before installing front and rear. From memory one was bang on and the other was 5g over. Considerably closer to the manufacturer’s published claims than many brands typically manage.

There’s also a heavier ‘XC Trail’ version with a different compound and casing, adding 130g.

On the subject of tan sidewalls, generally I’m not a huge fan on mountain bikes, but it depends on the particular bike. In this case I thought tan would look good on the Fairlight. As a bonus, tan stays looking cleaner by already being dirt coloured.

This choice is not all about looks either. Some brands basically paint a tan colour over black rubber but not so with Vittoria. Tan is closer to the tyre’s natural sidewall colour while the black sidewall version is 20g more due to an extra covering of black rubber around the sidewalls.

Presumably this added material to make it black also means a marginal increase in rolling resistance and puncture protection.

Sipes and sizes

The Torrente makes extensive use of ‘siping’, a term that describes the little lines and cuts in each tread. This has been a relatively underutilised idea for mountain bike tyres, but has been catching on in recent years.

It’s not a new idea by any means, but the first I heard of it was the original Maxxis Forekaster, which isn’t an entirely dissimilar tyre in some ways. Those little cuts create additional biting edges, channels for water to escape and points of flex to aid grip.

Specialized have really gone to town with this on their latest tyre lineup, with sideknobs resembling miniature car radiators (as evidence: see my Specialized Ground Control tyre review – Matt).

Sizewise, each tyre came in at 56 and 57mm on a 25mm internal rim at 18psi. That’s around 2.25in, so nowhere near the claimed 2.4. Not only are they visibly well undersized next to a Maxxis 2.4, but also compared to Vittoria’s own 2.35 Barzo on the same rim.

There’s a slim chance they might hit the claimed width on a 30mm rim with a few more psi, but that shouldn’t really be necessary. There’s also a chance both of mine are mislabelled 2.25s. Somewhat disappointing either way.

Bizarrely I’ve just watched Guy Kesteven’s review and his smaller 2.25s are bigger than claimed at 60mm. Wild.

Retail price is quite high at £70, but easy to find for a lot less.

On the trail

The Torrente rolls impressively well. In fact it feels really quite zippy, with quick acceleration. More so than I would expect from a mud tyre.

The tall-ish central knobs do produce a humming sound and deflect more under high pedalling torque than the likes of a Barzo, but not badly so. Braking and pedalling traction are both excellent.

The casing feels reasonably supple. Less plasticy than previous Vittoria tyres. It’s nowhere near as hard as Michelin, who really need to go back to the drawing board with their Wild XC mud tyre. Still not as damped feeling as Maxxis though.

Where this tyre comes unstuck is holding a line in uneven gloopy mud, particularly when there’s hard ground underneath (think clay with horse tracks). Steering adjustments will be required. The same goes for wet roots. On the plus side, the open and widely spaced tread pattern clears mud well and doesn’t easily clog up.

Summary

For a tyre with wet weather intentions a softer rubber compound would be a common choice. But as far as I’m aware the compound is the same across Vittoria’s XC Race lineup. It does seem grippier than previous Vittoria rubber, but still feels like the tread design and siping are doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

Having now covered around 450 miles there is hardly any wear. Vittoria has something of a reputation for tyres lasting a lot of miles. That said these will wear out sooner than a Barzo or Mezcal due to the taller and more sparsely positioned tread.

I’ve had no issues with punctures or leaking so far. In fact, these were some of the easiest tyres to set up tubeless I’ve had the pleasure of inflating.

Despite being a wet weather tyre it seems like the Torrente would be a good option year round, particularly with a Barzo on the rear. Overall I’m impressed, disappointing sizing consistency aside.