The highest line, for these of you with out the time to peruse a full evaluate, is that the Mezcal’s have been glorious. They roll quick, regardless of their knobby look, and supply sufficient grip in free circumstances that you’re crammed with confidence with out actually sacrificing any actual pace, and within the grand scheme of issues, they’re additionally not that costly both. They’ve additionally been completely puncture-free, regardless of loads of rocky driving. You may very a lot inform they’re descended from cross-country race inventory.
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The minimal branding works nicely for me, although the gray sidewalls do not. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
The tread is a sequence of sculpted chevrons, and offers a quick however very predictable expertise. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
Listed below are the utmost pressures, although I would recommend not going to the bounds if you wish to have a snug experience. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
Design and aesthetics
The Vittoria Mezcal Gravel Endurance is the gravel-going model of the well-loved Mezcal XC tyre, which is accessible in sizes all the way in which as much as 2.6”. We’re seeing a pattern in the direction of gravel bikes accommodating MTB tyres now, with the likes of the Lauf Seigla and the Allied In a position each fortunately accommodating tyres which might be higher famous in inches than millimetres.
The ‘Gravel Endurance’ and ‘XC Path’ variants have totally different names, however are successfully the identical. The XC model dispenses with the central puncture safety strip, however that is mainly it, so simply decide the scale you need from an enormous menu that additionally covers 26” and 27.5” wheel sizes.
The tread itself is analogous in some ways to that of the WTB Nano, a tyre I’ve additionally very a lot loved utilizing over time. The lugs are nicely spaced, however successfully kind a repeating sample of forward-pointing chevrons. The central lugs are very carefully packed, in order to kind a near-solid band, whereas giant, assured shoulder lugs run parallel to the course of journey, with the purpose of catching any off-camber mischief earlier than it leads to a sudden, unscheduled lie down.
In contrast to the Nano, the lugs themselves are slashed with sipes (the tyre-lingo phrase for grooves). These allegedly enable the lugs to extra simply deform on rocky, technical terrain and subsequently retain their grip. In addition they, although I believe this isn’t the purpose, lower some weight out of the tyre. At 530g for a 44c measurement, as I’ve right here, the load is aggressive, although it’s not going to hassle any equally sized tyre with a devoted light-weight casing.
The Mezcal solely comes within the ‘Gravel Endurance’ casing, so you’ll be able to’t go lighter, however for reference, the Terreno Dry, within the ‘Lite’ casing, even in a bigger 47c measurement, is 15g lighter. Sure, I do know it’s bought a decrease profile tread, nevertheless it’s simply an illustration.
As you might need already surmised from the title, the ‘Endurance’ casing is designed to have the ability to deal with a little bit of tough and tumble. The casing itself (the physique of the tyre onto which different bits are bonded) is of Nylon development, and 120 threads per inch. They’re comparatively supple – actually not practically as stiff because the likes of Teravail’s Endurance carcasses, or these of WTB sturdy tyres – however they’re additionally not as wafty and ethereal as one thing like a Rene Herse superlight casing. They’re, to all intents and functions, within the Goldilocks zone when it comes to suppleness.
You do get a devoted puncture safety strip beneath the central portion of the tread, in addition to reinforcing layers on the sidewalls. This will likely clarify the gray color, which I’m not actually a fan of. Tyres must be black, until they’re really manufactured from cotton, by which case fill your boots and have tan partitions in case you like.
My set, in a 44c measurement, measured up at 44.8mm on a set of Fulcrum Sharq wheels, which have an inner width of 25mm. Kind of bang on the cash, which is nice in case you’re on the restrict of your body’s clearance. One factor that’s widespread right here and with most Vittoria gravel tyres I’ve examined is that they’re completely coated in ‘vent spews’, or the little hairs left over from the tyre mould. I may have shaved them off, however life is just too brief.
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The central knobs kind what’s successfully a stable line for straight line pace. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
The mid-shoulders are nicely spaced to offer chew in cornering and on off-camber sections. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
And the bigger shoulder knobs are there to get you out of jail in a disaster, although there is not a pointy cutoff to them as with another tyres. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
When I’m considering the best way to evaluate a product, my thoughts typically reverts again to what I consider as ‘the pub take a look at’. Basically, that is my psychological verify on issues, and boils right down to ‘what would I say to my buddy in a pub over a pint?’. If I occurred to be having a pint with a buddy trying to buy a brand new set of gravel tyres, as I typically discover myself doing, I might most likely inform them to purchase a set of Vittoria Mezcals, until they’ve some particular necessities that might dictate a unique selection – be that floor circumstances, weight, or puncture resistance.
For nearly all kinds of driving, the Mezcals have been near faultless. On highway (sure, they’re a gravel tyre, however quite a lot of us will likely be driving blended terrain) they had been far much less of an obstacle than I anticipated, given the knob peak (quiet in the back of the category!) and spacing. On the gravel sizes, they aren’t tremendous knobby, although when you begin entering into the XC sizes, the spacing and peak do enhance.
On tame gravel, the identical rings true. They really experience extra like a devoted dry climate tyre than every other all-rounder I’ve ridden, and completely fly alongside. You don’t get the identical pillowy, magic carpet experience that you just do with superlight casings, however on the flip aspect, you additionally don’t end up standing along with the highway with alarming regularity making an attempt to plug one more gap. It additionally means you’ve a barely extra predictable cornering expertise on flat gravel roads. On some dry climate tyres, I’m pondering of the likes of the venerable Problem Gravel Grinder , and I believe the Vittoria Terreno Dry too, you’ve a foremost tread that’s liable to slicing free, with shoulder knobs that catch it is best to you overcook issues completely. With the Mezcal, it’s much more uniform, with comparable grip ranges in any respect lean angles.
Locomotion can also be aided by the additional grip – no wheel slip right here ‘til you begin getting each free and steep, however at that time, you’re at all times going to lose to physics.
On techy, rutty, and rocky surfaces – assume singletrack blasts and people climbs the place line selection is essential – they actually do excel, and you may inform they’re mainly a cross-country MTB tyre. If you’d like extra grip than this, then it’s most likely winter driving, and also you’re going to be taking a look at one thing like a Teravail Rutland, however for year-round use, that is as grippy a gravel tyre as you’re ever prone to want.
In sturdiness phrases, I’m but to puncture. I take advantage of respectable sealant, and loads of it, however even over quite a lot of rocky driving, they’ve remained staunchly intact with out ever feeling like a drag. Given what I’ve seen the professionals use at Unbound, it’s most likely not going to chop it in something flinty, however elsewhere it’s simply wonderful. The carcass can also be stable sufficient to carry air nicely and never leak sealant by means of the sidewalls, as I’ve discovered with many a lighter tyre.
For gravel racing, or in case your driving is predominantly hardpack, particularly in case you can accommodate a wider tyre, I can completely see why you’d need one thing barely decrease profile, however if you need a little bit extra grip on the entrance then working it as a part of a blended tyre set can be fairly bomber.
As regards to setup, briefly, all I can say is that on these Fulcrum wheels, the Mezcals had been very nicely behaved, seated instantly, and sealed completely, so no docked factors there.
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Even after I tried to make my gravel bike as racy as attainable I saved the Mezcals firmly hooked up. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
They usually had been actually quick sufficient. (Picture credit score: Will Jones)
Worth
With the greatest highway bike tyres hovering menacingly near the £100/$150 mark, the RRP of $75.99 doesn’t appear all that dangerous, particularly contemplating it’s a tyre that can stand you in good stead from ripping dusty descents in excessive summer season all the way in which to churning by means of slop within the winter. The usual casing Rene Herse choice on this width is ten {dollars} dearer and fewer versatile. It’s additionally about what you’d pay for a Teravail gravel tyre in the identical measurement.
For those who’re after cheaper tyres, then choices from WTB come up cheaper, however they don’t roll so nicely in my expertise. The one factor limiting the worth in my eyes is the restricted measurement vary within the extra conventional gravel sizes. A 44c is nice in case you can clear it, however solely a small handful of years in the past, a 40mm max clearance was the norm for nearly each gravel bikes, and a 35c is… nicely it’s too small, isn’t it, until you’ve bought a ‘cross bike. Having a 40mm choice within the vary would actually deliver some older bikes into the fold – if that’s you, then the WTB Nano is a good shout.
Verdict
There are only a few issues to fault with the Vittoria Mezcal as a gravel tyre, and so they’re trifling. I don’t like that they’re gray, however I’m keen to take the aesthetic hit for what the tyres provide out on the (gravelly) highway.
As an all-around, fit-and-forget tyre resolution for kind of each gravel scenario, I’d fortunately advocate them, whether or not that’s quick and free gravel racing, all over to normal bikepacking duties.
They aren’t essentially the outright quickest, or probably the most grippy, or probably the most sturdy, however they’re the grippiest quick tyre, the quickest grippy tyre, and all whereas being sturdy sufficient to carry as much as the abuses of normal gravel driving.
Principally, they’re glorious, and I’ll be holding onto my pair and slapping them proper again on my gravel bike as quickly as I can.
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Testing scorecard and notes
Attributes
Notes
Score
Design and aesthetics
Effectively thought out tread, however loses factors for being gray and the restricted measurement vary.
8/10
Efficiency
So good over kind of any terrain they’re mainly faultless.
10/10
Tubeless setup
Mine had been very nicely behaved, sealed instantly, and by no means leaked.
10/10
Puncture resistance
They are not devoted sturdy tyres, however they’ve stood as much as my abuse nicely sufficient.
8/10
Worth
Contemplating the flexibility on provide the value actually is not that dangerous.
9/10
Total score
Row 5 – Cell 1 90%
