The existence of this tire is hardly news. Vittoria sagely chose not to apply the black Sharpie to the heat stamp to hide the brand and model of tire. They just put it out there and let us squirm. This all happened after Vittoria launched its Corsa Pro and Corsa Pro Control, the latest versions of its successful high-end tubeless tire line. Not part of that launch, in May of last year, was an updated Corsa Pro Speed. Two months later we saw this tire on Vingegaard’s TT bike during Stage 16 of the Tour, so we knew it was coming.
The Corsa Speed was already the fastest or second fastest tire rolling the roads according to Bicycle Rolling Resistance. The Pro Speed is touted by Vittoria as 2 percent lighter and 5 percent faster. About that 5 percent. I asked whether that was some compendium of factors, like aero, and amorphous metrics like cornering or wet grip that might or might not translate to actual speed. That 5 percent “is what we measured in terms of Rolling Performance (Crr) advantage in the lab,” wrote Oriol Brull to me. He is my contact at Vittoria in the U.S. “The aerodynamic advantage is smaller because the tread thickness is very small both in the Corsa Speed and in the Corsa Pro Speed, so the seamless construction adds only a minor advantage in the aerodynamics.”
Still, cornering and wet grip are part of the story of this tire and cornering was a big part of the story during Stage 16’s TT. Rolling resistance is lessened through a reformulation of graphene + silica. Part of the narrative also includes electrical curing. “Tread is applied on the uncured casing, then the whole tire is cured to achieve the same seamless construction like in Corsa Pro and Corsa Pro Control.”
Leakdown through sidewalls was eliminated in the Corsa Pro and the Pro Control. Sidewall leakdown is an annoyance on bikes that have to be reinflated in race morning, and that lose a little pressure during the swim and throughout the long bike ride. This is the downside to the suppleness and speed of a cotton sidewall tire like this, and ceasing that leakdown on the Corsa line made it a little easier to imagine this tire on a bike in an IRONMAN. Still, the Corsa Pro Speed is what many wanted and this tire should benefit from likewise from electrical curing, “curing” one objection to this tire.
The Corsa Pro Speed is priced at $104.99 in the U.S., and is available in 24mm, 26mm and 28mm. Only in its 28mm size is it hookless compatible and in fact one would probably not want to ride it hookless in the smaller sizes anyway, due to its 72psi max limit.
This tire should immediately become the primary challenger to the Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR, for those who want the absolute fastest tire on the road and are willing to risk a bit less puncture protection. The old Corsa Speed tested about identical to the 5000 TT TR. If the new Corsa Pro Speed is 5 percent faster just in Crr, it depends on how they measure that. If they mean it takes 95% of the watts per tire to roll that tire then a 7.5 watt tire becomes a 7.1 watt tire. One suspects testing this new Corsa Pro Speed will be a priority for BRR, which will give prospective users third-party verification.
