Product news: Pirelli returned to professional cycling more than three years ago, now the Italians are following up with a new tubular tire, the P ZERO RACE Tub SL. The new rubber is equipped with a special inner tube, which is said to guarantee a reduction in the overall weight of more than 10 percent. The tubular tire will make its debut at the Giro d'Italia 2021.
With the Pirelli P ZERO RACE Tub SL, the Italian manufacturer is once again addressing the topic of tubular tires. No less than two years of development are said to have gone into the new rubber. With the first tubular tire, which came onto the market in 2018, the Pirelli engineers took up the change requests and suggestions of the pros. Even then, the focus was on the tire weight. The development in professional racing is of course progressing in huge steps. So today's athletes ride high-performance bikes that aren't always within the UCI weight limit. Disc brakes, aerodynamic frames, power meters and electronic groupsets all have a crucial impact on the scale. The focus of the development was once again the weight - with the result that the new P ZERO RACE Tub SL should be over 10 percent lighter than the competitive P ZERO Velo TUB and therefore as a pair almost 100 grams lighter. Pirelli expressly emphasizes that despite the lighter weight, no compromises have to be made in terms of performance. The new skin should also have first-class rolling characteristics, high grip even on wet roads and high resistance to punctures.
Pirelli P ZERO RACE Tub SL: Two years of development
The heart of the tubular tire is a special inner tube, which is made of a light material that, according to the manufacturer, is absolutely airtight and has been specially optimized for use inside the handmade tubular tire. Instead of the traditional latex used in almost all pro tubular tires to date, Pirelli has used TPU instead. The state-of-the-art material is used for the first time as an inner tube and required a lot of development work before it delivered the expected results. It offers the same speed performance and puncture protection typical of latex tubes, but with a significant weight reduction and with complete airtightness, eliminating the usual gradual decompression of traditional tubes - according to the tire manufacturer Pirelli. The carcass is made of Corespun with 320 TPI. The SmartEVO compound of the latest generation is also used. The new Pirelli P ZERO RACE Tub SL tire will be available shortly at a price of 119,90 euros. If you want to know how the tire is doing in tough competition, you shouldn't miss the Giro d'Italia: Both Esteban Chaves and Simon Yates from Team BikeExchange will start in the classic with the new Pirelli tires.
Website: www.pirelli.com