Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer Indoor Tire, Tube-Type 700c Road Bike Trainer Tire for Smart Trainers & Rollers, Red

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer Fold Tire I'm using the 700c x 23mm version of this tire with a Trek Pilot 5.0 and Shimano WH-R500 wheelset on a Travel Trac Mag+ trainer (gravity style, not the old A-frame) with 5 resistance levels. Thus far it's holding up quite well and running cool. After 3 hours of moderate intensity interval workouts that vary the gearing from 39x19 recovery spins to 52x15 @ 100rpm intensity, the flash down the middle of the center tread ridge (the tread mold parting line) is still visibly present on the tire. In short, the tire is relatively quiet and doing exactly what it's supposed to be doing. The bike drive train and a very soft whine from the mag resistance unit are noisier than the tire. I hope what follows helps others with using this tire, as mine is clearly performing as it should and not shredding, prematurely wearing or otherwise disintegrating. Tire Mounting: Mounting this tire out-of-box new, as with all the other Vittoria (Zaffiro and Rubino), and Michelin fold-ups I've used was initially tight and took a little work to get the last few inches of the 2nd bead over the rim edge. Fold-ups in general have a reputation for being rather tight mounting when brand new. Even so I still got it on without resorting to a tire iron (which, for me, invariably snake bites the tube). Out of the box, fold-ups are pretty flattened and getting one onto a rim is much easier if a few minutes are spent to get it round and shaped more like a mounted tire by folding the beads together and squeezing it all the way around several times. Also helps mounting (without puncturing the tube) if the tube is slightly inflated and kept well centered in the rim without allowing it to twist or kink when seating the second bead, starting at the stem and slowly working around both directions to directly opposite the stem. Patience wins the game in new tire mounting. A tiny bit of soap on the rim at the end can help too (hand dish washing or bar soap) by reducing the friction of the tire rubber against the metal rim. When you eventually remove this fold-up and mount it again you'll find the second and successive times around easier as the bead stretches slightly and it tends to retain the shape of a mounted tire (unless you fold it up like it was when new and store it for a while). Proper Tire Inflation: Inflation pressure is important to proper tire wear. The range on the sidewall for this tire is 100-145 lbs. How low you can go to the bottom end of this range depends on how much you plus the bike weigh. Most manufacturers consider the lightest riders to be 110 lbs or less, and they are the ones who can get away with lowest recommended inflation pressure. Proper inflation pressure should increase with rider weight. The manufacturers consider the heaviest riders to be 180 lbs or more, and they should be using the highest recommended inflation pressures. The basic principle of rider weight and inflation pressure is how much the tire cross-section is deformed at the roller contact point (or pavement for road tires) by the rider plus bike total weight. The greater the deformation, the more the tire will heat up as it's rolling. If the heat gets too great, the tire will fail as the rubber tread shreds off of the fabric casing (was told this is the glue between the rubber and casing failing from overheating). Those thinking they'll get a softer ride with lowest recommended tire pressure are only deluding themselves to some extent. A 100 lb rider at lowest inflation pressure will have about the same ride as a 200 lb rider at highest inflation pressure as the range of tire deformation occurring while riding will be about the same for both. As with road riding, tire pressure should be checked at least once per week; I do it twice per week. Tires will lose pressure on their own as the air molecules very slowly seep through the inner tube. Proper Trainer Resistance Roller Pressure (against the tire): Pressure of the trainer roller against the tire is also important to minimizing tire wear. The small diameter resistance roller can deform a tire more than flat pavement will. Bikes are mounted in traditional "A-frame" style trainers by clamping in the rear axle at the top of the A-frame and then forcing the resistance roller against the tire with a jackscrew by tightening it with a large knob. The greater the force, the greater the tire deformation, and the harder it will be to pedal the bike. Some might think this is a way of adjusting or tweaking the resistance, and it certainly will, but it's also a fabulous way to greatly increase tire wear, and possibly induce tire failure, if it's cranked down tighter than it needs to be. The force of the roller against the tire should be no more than needed to keep the tire from slipping on the roller during moderate acceleration. Those cranking up from a slow 39x19 spin to an immediate all-out 130 rpm cadence, 53x15 high gear sprint frequently might need *slightly* more roller force against the tire, but I don't know of any proper interval training that does that radical a cadence and gearing change. I'm fortunate to have one of the newer gravity style without a resistance roller force adjustment. Rider plus bike weight provide the force between the tire and roller. The cheapest trainers have only have one resistance level and these are intended for the casual rider who wants some exercise during cold and bad weather, not for serious indoor winter training. Increasing roller pressure to increase resistance is not recommended and will lead to premature tire wear (ultimately tire failure if cranked up too much). If you cannot get enough resistance for effective training with trainer and bike gearing, the proper solution is a different trainer, one that provides sufficient resistance.

considerable upgrade to my previous trainer tire. Rides smoother and quieter than previous tire. Install was typical of a 23c tire, and it seated nicely on the rim. Color is a nice touch, but you don't really notice it while putting in the miles. Overall great purchase

Had this for over a year now. Over 2,000 miles per Zwift measurement. Still holding up well. Using it on a low-end Wahoo Snap smart trainer. Very happy with the overall performance and durability.

Installed on a 2003 Giant ORC medium frame road bike on a Cycle Ops Fluid 2 non-smart indoor trainer. Just received few days ago and have done one ride. Will update in a month or so. The tire has a great feel on the trainer, like its getting good traction, but rolling smoothly, so the feedback is road-like. The tire shape is very flatten in the box and reluctant to take tire shape for install. One note is the package says "must install on hook rimmed wheel" but I'm not seeing this in the description of the product. It was difficult to get the tire to resume shape in order to install, but with some shaping around the wheel, probably being warmed by my hands, the force of stretching the bead around the wheel while flattening/shaping the edge into the wheel eventually worked. Didn't take too long, honestly, but was weird to negotiate. I would suggest removing tire from package and hanging in with something like a broom stick stuck inside the wheel for it to relax and assume tire shape for a few days. This tire does not have standard road tire height, so you'll need to be extra careful when stuffing the tube in, the tube will want to wrinkle up and hang out the side. I continued stuffing tube under during those first few inflating pumps and shaping / pulling pushing the wheel while SLOWLY inflating. This seemed to work great. I'll update on longevity at some point, but I think you buy this with confidence to save your road tires.

The tire mounted in about 5 minutes with no issues. It's about as easy as it gets. On the trainer, it is quiet, and after the first few rides, it is showing zero signs of wear and not leaving any kind of marks on the roller. I normally just use an old tire I've used on the road, so this is a good upgrade. So far so good!

This is my second Vittoria trainer tire. Replacing the prior one after 10 years. This has better grip than other trainer tires I’ve tried.

As far as I can tell, this is a great tire! However, I ended up sending it back because I returned my wheel-on trainer for a direct-drive, and didn't need it any more. I did use it for maybe a few dozen miles though, and it was SO MUCH smoother and quieter than my Teravail Washburn tires. The quality was exactly what you would expect from Vittoria (very good), and I personally really liked the red color! (matches the red on my gravel bike) I should also mention that the tire was VERY tight getting it on and taking it off. Even though that's a good thing, it just made it difficult to do so is all. So just a heads-up there. Make sure that you are ONLY using this for a wheel-on trainer, like the Wahoo Kickr Snap (which is what I had), and it should not be used outdoors. But this is a complete MUST HAVE for this type of trainer so it doesn't destroy your rear tire! HIGHLY recommended!!

Tire went on about as easy as can be expected. I’m using it on a dedicated rim and a magnetic trainer for the winter months (700x23). I think it made my setup a little quieter, but I don’t think you can completely eliminate the hum of the bike drive train. It’s important to point out that I keep it at roughly 80psi, which is at the high end of the range the manufacturer recommends (posted as part of the item description). I’m not sure why some reviewers are suggesting pumping it up to 100psi+. Rider weight is not a factor, since this tire is used while the bike is clamped into a trainer. I’ve only put around 50miles on it so far, but based on its performance I expect that it will last quite a few years.