Pricey, yes, but very supple. I like this tire on road and off (hard packed dirt, gravel). It's a great performer and lasts a long time for a race tire. The tread is minimal, but effective, and makes a fun zipper sound when you wipe glass off in motion.
On top of all that, no flats yet (about 2000 miles so far).
Over my 40 year love affair with cycling I have used Conti's, Michelin and Vredestein. I liked the Conti 4000s the best of the three - grippy in wet weather, but I had sidewall issues. The last two years I have been riding Veloflex Corsa 25's with it's super supple tubular like in feel, but flatted quite a few times on ok roads surfaces. I thought I would try the Vittoria Open Pave 25's about 800 miles ago and I am loving them! Rides just as smooth as the Veloflex, no nicks to speak of, no flats to date. Other reviewers have noted that they have more confidence while descending and I have had the same experience. These tires rock!
To begin, I currently live in Belgium. This means I can occasionally be surprised at full speed by a section of pave (cobblestones), chip-seal, or just plain bad roads at any moment. After reading up on tires after my last flat, I decided to lay out more money and buy these pave tires. Despite the fact the green stripes in no way match my bike. Or any bike I think I have ever seen, bar the pro Movistar team bikes. (Someone at Vittoria copying this?!) That said, these tires have been worth every cent. I have been seeking out pave in preparation for the Roubaix Challenge, and have been thrilled to find I can maintain on average 2-3 mph faster on these tires- I never knew tires could make that much difference. Off the pave, despite running 27mm vice 25mm and slightly lower pressure, I have seen no average speed difference on good roads, so durable, and low rolling resistance. I have yet to get a flat on these (though, to be fair to Conti, I have only flatted once on the set these replaced). So to sum up... expensive? Yes - hence the 3 stars (any bike tire that begins to approach car tire prices... enough said). But I do not regret this purchase one bit. These are outstanding - and fast - tires that do everything advertised.
I switched to the Open Pave CG III on my winter road bike. I live and ride in the Pacific Northwest where our winters are not particularly icy or cold but are very wet. We tend to accumulate a lot of road debris, especially along the edges of lanes and throughout bike lanes and cycle tracks. Gravel roads tend to become soupy muddy messes. A wider profile all conditions tire is a must for winter cycling. I don't ride competitively anymore, but I do ride hard and often. Performance and durability trump most cost concerns for me. I've experienced no loss of speed or endurance with the Open Pave CG III but have noted improved cornering and confidence due to rubber compound, tread pattern, sidewall construction, etc. It's not necessarily a direct benefit of the tire, more of the increased contact patch, but comfort is improved too with no significant weight penalty. I'm hard pressed to even discern a weight difference and any that exists is insignificant compared to the tire's other benefits. I cannot yet speak to durability, but performance to date suggests these tires will roll well throughout the season, which around here lasts a long time. Apart from the Open Pave CG III I ride mostly tubeless road tires. So my only criticism is that I'd love to see this tire come out in a tubeless clincher version so I can run it at lower pressures. That said, I've used Vittoria tires before and this one trumps them all. Compared to other top brands, Vittoria generally and the Open Pave CG III specifically are very hard to beat. Aesthetically, that new green sidewall is really sharp and adds a nice pop of color to otherwise gray, hazy days in the saddle. It's not a budget buy, but you get what you pay for right? Overall impression, buy them, ride them, love them.
I was very excited about these tires. I have been wanting to run 25's with low pressure since some of the roads in my area are a bit rough. Well my local roads ate these tires up. After 10 mile I got a flat. When I looked over the tires I had several small cuts and what seems to be significant wear. I was only running 100 psi. very disappointed.
Bought a set for riding on rougher roads and assumed they would hold up. Not so much. On my 3rd ride they started to go. Surface had several tears in the tire. We have some rough roads but I figured these would hold up. Switching back to bontrager. Those tend to be bullet proof
I am 6'1 215lbs. I like these tires very much. The perform very well as a winter and training tire. I am on my third set. Because I am a large man I find that the rear tire ware is excesive. I am looking for a replacement tire with the same riding quality with a longer usable live.
I would strongly recommend these tires for lighter riders.
I bought two of these tires, mounting was very easy. Grip is good in the corners but they are VERY prone to flatting. On my first ride (110 miles) with these brand new (and expensive) clinchers i flatted both the front and rear tires. It was a dry Californa day yet i had a thorn puncture the front and a small piece of rock flat the rear. I will not go out for another ride with these tires, they are going straight to the garbage can.
I love them, especially if you can get them for less than $60. But ,despite what they say, the tire has pretty limited cut resistance.
I ride a carbon frame with very little compliance (its a crit frame & it was cheap, OK?) on some really rotten Canadian roads and I swear by the Vittoria's with the 320 TPI. No, they dont last the longest, nor do they have the greatest flat protection out there (call them mediocre in both respects). But their ability to mellow out road buzz is unparalleled and the cornering is fantastic. I switch to Conti Gran Prix Four Season when the snow ice & sand hits the road, and I just dread the change-over...those Conti's knock my teeth out.
My complaint I usually ride the CX 25C but wanted to switch over to the Pave cuz I just thought it might be a better year round tire given the poor roads up here. Turns out the Pave 25C is A WHOLE LOT SMALLER diameter than the 25C CX III. And yes the difference is discernible, but only on the finer buzz-type road mess (to put that in context I have my doubts about being able to discern the above claims of high rolling resistance...)
Really happy with this tire. Great grip, supple feel, fast rolling, and very tough and dependable. Well worth it's price!
I purchased these tires in a 27mm to ride in the D2R2, 180k of gravel and dirt roads in hilly New England. I road the tires with 80psi, weigh 145, and I had THREE flats in the first 30 miles, one a pinch-flat on a pot-hole, one so bad that the sliced sidewall needed an adhesive boot to make it to lunch. At mile 50 I gratefully switched out for more durable 25mm Schwalbee Durano Plus standbys and suffered no more flats in the final 60 miles. This tire might be great for smooth pavement, but flats easily on rough roads, which is ostensibly why you'd buy the things in the first place.
Good value at 2 for 1, but I can't get these at 27mm to feel right on my Scott Addict. I wanted more comfort with bad roads in Seattle, but I have to go as low as 65psi to feel somewhat better than my previous 25mm Veloflex at 90psi. Then no matter what pressure I run at, bike feels bouncy, and very unstable at high speeds downhill, I think I'll put back on my Veloflex 25mm, and maybe go back to these 27mm for the winter.
There is no doubt that Vittoria makes very good tubular tires judging by their presence in UCI Grand Tour races, but, when it comes to clinchers, they are nothing special. Ive used the 27mm Open Pave after having used Continental GP4000SHardshell and Vredestein Gran Fondo, I can tell you the Vittorias are very slow rolling. You literally have to push your pedal to get and keep these things going. If youre only going to descend or take sharp turns at high rates of speed, this might be the best option out there. However, life on the bike is about climbing and riding fast. These tires give the impression of being stitched to the road as you go along, and this characteristic is what makes the Open Pave a nightmare when trying to ride fast.
I can see these tires being useful in very foul weather where traction is needed and speed is not primordial (in places like Seattle, Portland or anywhere in England), but I bike in FL, NY and CA. I have ridden often in the rain and there hasnt been anything the Contis and Vreds have not managed exceptionally.
To each hisher own, I dont know why anyone would choose to race these tires when there are better alternatives. IMHO, the Vittoria Open Pave clincher is appropriate only for specific circumstances when wet traction is your main goal.
I have ridden the gamut of tires in the past few years and I will come back to these over anything else. I ride rough Boston roads with lots of debris and glass shards and I have never flatted once. Paired with the latex tubes, these are other worldly. They are not the fastest tires in the world, but you be more pleased with ride.
My wife has used these on her club ride bikes for the past 10 years. She loves them because they work, are comfortable on rough roads, and are green! She light toured in France and Italy on the smooth and rough roads with no issues. These Vittoria CG tires are highly recommended.
I resumed racing this year (after a 25 year hiatus) and needed to stock up on racing tires. First test for the Paves was Battenkill, where these tires performed much better than I did (no surprise) followed by a cold and rainy circuit race in the Adirondacks, which I won! Equipment doesn't win races, of course, but can lose them for you. These tires let me dive into the last corner before the finish and attack on the last hill with confidence, allowing me to gap the others in my field and not have to deal with a sprint finish.
Can't comment yet on durability, but ride quality is excellent.
Like the other Italian brands, these tend to run somewhat narrower than their advertised width, but less so than Veloflex, in my experience.
I've used nearly a handful of he tires out there- Contis 4000s , Michlins race 4, Bontragers 3 and 4, and a few more too....
I stayed away from Vittoria bc everyone seems to think they are 'fragile'. Fragile seems to be more about luck and not running over glass, thorns, wire.... But to that claim- These have been great. I have about 2000 miles on them without a flat. Lucky I think.
Most important to me is the 'feel' of the tires I ride. These feel great. I ride the 25's (never going back to 23's).
In summary I have a light, strong, supple, fast, grippy and comfortable tire zooming under my steed. BTW- I go about 180 lbs and ride about 250 miles per week. I ride 'em hard and fast.
Ordered these for my daughter, wife and now another set for me. I like good rubber.
The green matches nothing-- that's what is so cool about it imo.
I am happy with these tires. I installed the 27c size onto some Enve 3.4's (which have a 25 c width) and the 27's held to a slight increase to that dimension, about 27.5 cm. I have a Pinarello Paris which specifies that 25c is the max width which can be fitted. I ended up changing my Sram Red calipers to their Aero Link to provide more clearance and these have worked great too - no contact or rubbing at all.
I had the Continental 4000s 25c on these wheels before the Open Paves and the Vittoria's have a much better road feel.
Overall, very pleased.
These tires roll well, grip well, and are comfortable!
