Pirelli returns to cycling
After a long absence from the world of cycling, Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli is back with its new Pzero Velo
irelli is a brand steeped in 110 years of competition history — both four and two-wheeled. It was a partner of the first edition of the Giro d’italia in 1909 and supplied the majority of riders that year. Fausto Coppi’s iconic Bianchi was also shod with Pirellis. Pirelli has supplied the World Superbike Championship longer than any other tyre company and since 2011 has been the sole supplier of tyres to Formula One.
Motorsport enthusiasts will spot that the Pzero name is the one already used for Pirelli’s performance car tyres — and indeed Pirelli has used its long experience in motor racing to create its new cycling rubber.
For its reentry into cycling Pirelli identified the five essential elements that consumers demanded from tyres: low rolling resistance, durability, grip, handling and puncture protection — while recognising that compromises would have to be made in order to optimise real-world performance.
For the Pzero Velo, Pirelli created what it calls a “new molecule patent” named Smartnet Silica. This is a molecule whose shape differs from a traditional silicate — instead of being spherical, it’s an elongated stick.
This longitudinal orientation is key, supposedly allowing increased directional performance. Its increased elasticity decreases heat generation and promotes low rolling resistance.
According to the Italian company the special silica is able to create a “genuine particular matrix” that binds other elements to it, providing reliable performance and contributing to puncture protection.
Treading carefully
Pirelli believes that not enough attention is paid to the tread of a tyre and that
if you get this right it can be hugely influential in how it rides.
Pirelli used finite element analysis (FEM) to determine the shape and the contour of the tyre and employed its motorsport-derived functional groove design to fine-tune tread pattern. At the centre the tread pattern is longitudinal, whereas when leaning the tyre over it becomes radial.
It’s also a pattern that helps water drainage, increasing grip when the conditions are foul.
Its positioning is also key, though, and Pirelli has opted for alternate placing on either side, which it says should guarantee even stiffness across the tyre. Groove density has also been taken into consideration. The Pirelli Pzelo Velo 4S actually gets more grooves to help it through the messy stuff.
There are far fewer grooves at the centre of the tyre, making it as slick as possible and a far higher groove density on the shoulder for cornering with a semi-slick edge for high tyre responsiveness at the Apex — a contact patch that is now 20 per cent larger when leaning the bike over, according to Pirelli.
Tubeless-less
In the current line-up, there is the somewhat sizeable hole where a tubeless option should sit. We quizzed Pirelli on the absence and it confirmed it’s definitely in the pipeline, but it was making tyres depending on the market and currently that means clinchers.
There is also the obvious lack of a tubular option, which is partly due to the market and partly due to the fact Pirelli isn’t currently sponsoring a professional team, and any moves in this area would be dictated by what the pros wanted.