Vittoria Terreno Mix clincher tyre review

We’ve been impressed by Vittoria’s graphene-containing Corsa road tyres – so much so that the Corsa Speed found its way into our Editor’s Choice awards last year. Like the Corsa Speed, the Vittoria Terreno Mix tyres are also tubeless ready.

They’re part of Vittoria’s revamped cyclocross tyre range, with the company also selling Terreno Wet and Terreno Dry tyres with different tread patterns but using the same compound.

As with its previous Cross X series tyres, Vittoria offers the Terreno line in a tubular version as well as a clincher, with the tubs priced at £79.99 apiece and available in 31mm or 33mm widths.

The bead of the Vittoria Terreno Mix is quite soft and a tight fit to tubeless rims. I needed a tyre lever to get it over the lip. But this led to very easy seating, with just a track pump providing the necessary air volume to seal the beads.

The Vittoria Terreno Mix clincher (and also the other Terreno clincher tyres) comes in three different widths: 40mm, 33mm and 31mm, of which we’ve tested the 33mm version, a good width for cyclo-cross racing or general off-road exploring.

Whereas the graphene content may make the claimed difference in grip and rolling resistance on the road, tyre performance off-road is more about tread pattern and tyre pressure.

As you’d expect, the Terreno Mix is a bit of an all-rounder, with a tread pattern similar to the classic Grifo tread, but with comparatively low profile knobs. These are chevron shaped and closely spaced over the tyre’s crown, which leads to low rolling resistance on tarmac. Since the tyre has quite a rounded profile, these tend to form the contact patch on hard surfaces.

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Head onto softer ground and, with the right tyre pressure, the central chevrons and the side lugs start to bite. The latter are more widely spaced, so adding some grip and also clearing mud more easily. They feel very effective when the going gets soft; the tyre is pliant enough to give a really secure feel when rolling over the rough stuff too.

It’s quite a heavy tyre for cyclo-cross due to its thick tread and robust sidewalls. We didn’t have any problems with flats while testing the Vittoria Terreno Mix, perhaps reflecting this.