Vittoria Terreno Dry And Mix 40mm Tires: At The Finish Part 2
Vittoria Terreno Dry And Mix 40mm Tires: At The Finish Part 2- by Guitar Ted
I was able to squeeze in the final verdict on the Vittoria Terreno Mix tire during Winter, but just after that post went live, Winter hit back! However; the icy grip of Winter has relented here of late and I have now been able to get the second half of this final verdict done. That would be on the Terreno Dry tire. The last update on this particular version of the Terreno series of tires can be found here. Now let’s wrap this review up and see about the final verdict on the Terreno Dry.
The Terreno Dry has been a tire that, on the one hand, does what you would expect a tire with this tread pattern to do. That is roll reasonably fast and give some lateral stability in looser gravel and dirt with those blocky side knobs. That it does well. The wide, flatter crown of the tread does the trick on most every sort of gravel I have used it over. Small, deteriorated gravel all the way to big, chunky rock that is deep across the roadway. Sand and dust don’t do anything weird with this tire. It just goes to work like you think it should. It has a great, fast roll as well. Nothing top of the heap, mind you, but it is no slouch in this category. I like it and it does well in this regard.
On the other hand, the Terreno Dry punches above its weight in more severe conditions. This tread design, or the Graphene in it, or perhaps both things together, help the Terreno Dry tires to claw their way through mud like they really shouldn’t be able to do. Then, the mud flings off and the tread clears up quite nicely. I found that in my last update and was able to replicate the same findings again just before this final installment of this review.
In the other half of this final review I stated that the Terreno Mix is better at traction, and it cleared up pretty well from being packed in with mud, but it suffers when the surfaces harden up. Its weird arrow shaped tread blocks seem to get in the way then. While tractoring through deep mud and slush is the Mix’s forte’, you may not see those conditions a lot, nor seek them out when those conditions do exist. Essentially, the Mix is such a specialist that it would seem to be more of an extravagance to have a pair. However; since the Terreno Dry seems to cover so many conditions well enough, this version is the one you could keep on the bike year round.
At The Finish: This is a very interesting tire. The Graphene infused rubber characteristics do not jump out at you right away with this tire as they do with the Mix version. However; I see no real downside with the Dry version, unlike I did with the Mix. This tire rides really smoothly, rolls quite fast, and does a wide variety of terrain very well. Perhaps Vittoria should call it the “Terreno All Conditions” tire instead of “Dry”, which limits how one might perceive the tire’s attributes.
Tubeless performance on these Terreno tires is really great. Air retention is almost tube-like. The fit of the Tube-No Tube Vittoria beads will not be friendly with Stan’s or rims that use that bead diameter. Other rims should give these tires quite a snug fit. Wear has been exceptionally low. I have read reports from riders claiming the Graphene infused Vittoria tires wear very slowly. It would appear from the examples I have that this is the case.
The weight is on the heavy side, but honestly, I never noticed it compared to other tires which are somewhat lighter in this size range. Speaking of size, these stretched out to 42.24mm on my HED Ardennes+ wheels, so be aware that these tires get puffy. That said, if your bike will fit them, the Vittoria Terreno Dry is the better choice of the two we were sent for all-around riding. They seem to be wearing like iron, but have the uncanny ability to ride sweetly like a more fragile tire. Is it the Graphene? Possibly, but whatever it is, I like it and this tire gets two thumbs up from me. Is it on par with the WTB Resolute? No. That tire does a lot of things this one does, but it is lighter, and it squeezes out a bit more traction than the Terreno Dry in looser dirt and mud, but it wears faster. Still, if you are in need of a great all-around, tough, nice riding tire, the Terreno Dry is a top notch choice.
Note: Vittoria sent over the Terreno Mix and Dry tires for test and review at no charge to Riding Gravel. We are not being paid nor bribed for this review and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.
11 Comments
Brian
Surprised by the Resolute reference at the end there, as I was looking at these tires in comparison to more “road” oriented gravel tires like the GravelKing slick, Schwalbe G-One Speed, and the Maxxis Re-fuse. I ride my Resolutes on what are basically MTB trails here in in southeast PA, and I’m looking for a tire for mixed rides that are heavy on the pavement. I’m coming off a set of Compass Snoqualmie Pass and I’d like something a bit less voluminous and with a little more grab. Would these Terreno Dry fit the bill? Thanks much.
Guitar Ted
@Brian- Resolutes roll incredibly well on harder surfaces, you might be surprised by that. That said, burning off those knobs on pavement makes no sense. So, yes- the Terreno Dry tires would fit the bill, but also take a look at the new Terreno Zero tires which may work better for your intentions.
Brian
Thanks — They do roll well on pavement, I agree. Though I wouldn’t want to do 75 miles of it. The Terreno Zero does look interesting, though i wish it came in a 40mm.
I also just discovered the Challenge Gravel Grinder is in a 42mm version now. Choices are getting OUT OF HAND! (That’s a good thing.)
Biga
I am running WTB cross boss on a mix of asphalt (OK, tarmac) and gravel (with some loose gravels, pointy, scary), not much mud around). I don’t think it’s the right tyre for it, as I can see a lot of wear, cuts, etc. But looking into the Resolute or Nano, the compound is the same, so I wonder if they would ever make a difference.
What I don’t know and I’d like to ask, it’s about the snow stuff. I grew up in Brazil but leaving in Germany, so I’m working on getting used with that white stuff you get around Christmas time. I imagined I had to have knobbly tyres to dig in into the snow (I saw a mix of packed but also soft snow) on those gravel roads, as they don’t get cleaned. So, I see you enjoyed the Terreno dry on the snow and would like to understand why and how, please. I also wonder if this soft compound of WTB wouldn’d suit better when snow comes, compared to the (I imagine) harder compound of the Terrenos, as they wear less quickly.
Added to that, I’m having quite an experience to get these cross boss to seal and work. Slow leaks, large cuts, knobs already cut by half, etc.
Finally, tyre size, 33 or 40?
Summary: I have no clue on what to do.