Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M Classic Tubeless-ready Tires Review

Jim’s Tech Talk

By Jim Langley

Rating:

Hot!

• fast, smooth and grippy on road and off (Pirelli’s SpeedGRIP compound at work)
• easy to put on, take off, simple tubeless set-up too
• tough nylon casing layers for excellent puncture protection
• available in 6 sizes for all your gravel needs
• choice of tan or black sidewalls to match your style

Not!

• Not inexpensive

Cinturato Gravel M tire:

https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/bike/tyres/catalogue/cinturato-gravel-m

Price: $84.90

Weight: 570 grams (700x45c)

Sizes: 650Bx45c; 650Bx50c; 700x35c; 700x40c; 700x45c (tested); 700x50c

TPI: 120TPI

Bead: folding

Type: tubeless-ready clincher

Sidewall: some sizes come in choice of Standard and Classic models (black or tan sidewalls) 

How acquired: Purchased from https://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/pirelli-cinturato-gravel-m-700c-tire?sesgl=1&ssn=2801628

RBR Sponsor: No

All the different models of Cinturato tires:

https://www.pirelli.com/tyres/en-ww/bike/tyres/family/cinturato

Excellent All Round Tires for Gravel Bikes

I’m reviewing gravel tires rather than road tires because a G bike is what makes the most sense when we’re traveling in our RV, a pastime of ours I’ve mentioned in previous Tech Talks. So that’s the bike I’ve been riding the most lately.

To explain a bit more, I used to only take along a road bike, but more and more I found that the rides near campgrounds turned to gravel after a few miles. You can ride on gravel just fine on road bikes and road tires but a gravel bike accepts wider tires and I run mine tubeless. This means more control on loose gravel, comfort on rough terrain and top notch flat prevention. 

For all these reasons I switched to carrying my Trek Checkpoint SL 5 gravel bike, which I reviewed here: Trek Checkpoint SL 5.

So it was pretty amusing that on our most recent 5-week adventure – a big clockwise loop around Minnesota, everywhere I pedaled from the campsites, I found only lovely pristine paved traffic-free Rails To Trails bike paths! 

I guess I should have expected as much because two years ago when I was there to tour Park Tool, my host had shown me how to get back to camp and it was almost all on these amazing paths. But I assumed they were just there, not all over the state. 

Boy, was I wrong. On this Rails To Trails webpage it says that there are more than 2,100 miles of these Minnesota bike paths, some even 100-miles long! 

Fast and Smooth on the Road

Which brings me to my favorite feature of these Pirelli Cinturato Gravel tires. Apart from the fact that they’re significantly heavier than road tires (mainly due to being 45mm wide with aggressive treads), once up to speed they roll down the road quickly, smoothly and easily and handle great on dry and wet pavement.

Look at the photos and you can see how the center treads form an almost continuous strip around the tire for the smooth, efficient ride on tarmac. And notice that the large centered tread blocks have wings that extend to the sides, which assists with cornering grip.

Since so many gravel rides start with or include pavement stretches, these are features anyone can appreciate.

Predictable Handling and Grippy in the Dirt

I actually bought these tires in 2023 to use in The Sea Otter Classic gravel race, which was quite an ordeal for racers and bikes because it’s held on a lot of their technical mountain bike singletrack trails rather than a true gravel race course. I wanted wider tires to deal with it.

Since that race I’ve done loads of gravel rides here in Santa Cruz and on our trips. And I’ve ridden them on local mountain bike trails too, at least the ones suited to my skills on a gravel bike.

What I’ve found is that the tires work really well in almost all conditions. I have the next to widest tire offered, the 45mm version. For hard pack surfaces they ride a lot like they do on the road, fast and nimble. For gravel – even loose stuff, they’re predictable with excellent traction and control. 

In sand and snow they’re also predictable though if either is deep enough that the tires sink fully, you’ll have to walk, probably. At least those are the only scenarios I wished I was on even fatter tires like on my mountain bike.

I don’t ride in the mud much but Pirelli says that the knobs on the Cinturatos are spaced wide to allow the tires to shed mud rather than collect it.

Durable and Flat-free

I’ve been riding these same Cinturatos since April 2023, so over a year and a half. I don’t track distance but I estimate they’ve seen a minimum of 2,000 miles. 

If you look at the photos of my tire and check the tread depth compared to the pics of the new tire, you’ll see I’ve worn mine down. They’re not approaching baldness at all and they still ride really well, plus there are no signs of the tire cracking or issues with the sidewalls.

I’ve had zero flats too. And I have tested these tires hard on roots, rocks, ruts, sticks, small drop-offs and they’ve seen their fair share of glass and other traffic debris. I’ve crashed a few times too.

I run Orange Seal tubular tire sealant, which I’ve written about here: Orange Seal’s Line of Bike Tubeless Tire Sealants now Includes Subzero. The thing about sealant is you never know how much that is the reason for not getting punctures. But, I do know I haven’t seen any sealant squirting out of holes in the tire tread or sidewalls. No slow leaks either. So I believe the tires are really flat resistant, a great thing.

Summing up, if you’re looking for gravel tires with excellent performance on the road and off, I think you’ll love these Cinturato Gravel Ms. If you get a pair let me know what you think. And if you’re an expert on Minnesota’s marvelous bike paths It would be fun to learn more about them too.

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Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.