Tyres and rim widths are getting wider and wider and Cross Country racing is no
exception. With the likes of Nino Schurter rocking 2.4 width tyres at
world cups now, it’s no wonder the rest of us our following suit.

The sweet spot for internal rim width on XC Wheels set’s is likely to
settle around the 28mm-30mm mark. This allows the wheels to weight in
at around 1200-1500 grams for 29er boost Carbon wheel set.

Wheels at this spec and weight are light, nimble, durable and strong.
perfect for the demands of the modern XC Courses.

This extra width creates a very shallow tyre profile which in turn creates a
larger contact patch and thus using a wider internal rim width, the
actual tread contact patch is bigger (wider and shorter) and therefore
you can use less aggressive tyres which equals less rolling
resistance, meaning faster! Everyone wants to go faster.

The rule of thumb is for every extra 2mm of internal rim width you gain 1mm
width on the actual tyre. So for a 2.25 width tyre you are looking at it measuring around 2.3 on a pair of 28mm internal rim’s.

We have recently brought a gravel/Cyclocross tyre to the 29er sizing
and it has proven to be very popular addition to the range. The
Vittoria Terreno (pictured below) is now available in a 29er in 2.1 x
2.25 width.

I rode this tyre at most of the Southern XC last year on the rear. I
was not surprised how fast it was. It’s obviously is going to roll
super quick, but what I was really surprised about was how grippy it was
in the cornering. The shoulder tread is slightly further in than you
might expect and gives an early bite on fast cornering. (basically,
the shoulder tread is further towards the middle) So you don’t
notice you are riding a semi-slick tyre. But the rolling
resistance or lack of it, is incredible!

I had never expected that I would need to run a tyre like this before, but I must admit I really love it and look forward to riding it.

The Vittoria Cross Country Range overview

We have worked hard to keep the Vittoria cross country range simple and riding condition specific.

This is to help riders and retailers to choose which tyre is best suited which specific conditions.

We run a tight range of 4 tyres in two casing types which all feature the unique 4 compounds of rubber and the new updated Graphene 2.0.

The XC-Race TLR casing is the Tan wall XC Race specific version which uses 120 threads per inch (TPI) nylon casing, this is super supple yet durable. This range is available as 29er only and comes in two widths 2.1 and the more popular 2.25 width.

The second type of casing is the XC Trail casing in the Anthracite colour. This is the more robust version featuring a Kevlar side wall protection which runs from the bead to the edge of the tread. We recommend this tyre casing for longer races such as Marathon (XCM) and in conditions where it is very rocky. These tyres also feature the same 4 compounds of rubber and the new updated Graphene 2.0. They are available in 2.1, 2.25, 2.35, 2.6 widths in 27.5 and 29. We also have 26 available in some tread patterns.

Please see https://www.vittoria.com/eu/tires/off-road-tires/off-road-tires-cross-country.html for more info.

Now for Tread Patterns.