Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tyre assessment: Relatively quick, however lacks moist climate efficiency

If you’ve been taking note of the perfect highway bike tyres you’ll have seen that the names hold getting longer. While earlier than you possibly can go for a Vittoria Corsa, a Pirelli P Zero, or a Continental GP4000 you now have an absolute Scrabble board of choices just like the Goodyear Eagle Supersport R, and now the top quality tyre from Pirelli: The Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS. This usurps the Italian model’s earlier top-of-the-range race tyre, the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR.

I first noticed it in use round this time final yr on the bikes of the Lidl-Trek riders, with a suitably ‘please don’t spot me bike media’ #PROTOTYPE emblem subtly emblazoned in giant, yellow lettering down the sidewalls to make sure they unintentionally made the information headlines through the spring classics marketing campaign. 

Given the race-oriented nature of the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS I fitted them up in a completely fashionable 30c width to a completely race oriented set of wheels – the Scope Artech 6.A. The winners of our wind tunnel wheels take a look at – after which fitted them to a completely race oriented pair of bikes, the Pinarello Dogma and the Giant Propel. All in all, I feel you’ll agree, completely race-oriented. I then proceeded to not do any racing, as a result of I worth my collarbones. 

I did, although, hack about the perfect roads the UK has to supply in my dwelling county of Cornwall, and journey up each hill in my hometown, clocking up 1,100m of elevation in underneath 40km. All in all, a set of quick, steep, twisting roads, typically lined in muck, and in all weathers. In quick: as excessive a tyre take a look at because it was doable to conceive.

Design and aesthetics

Visually, when you ignore the tan sidewall ‘retro’ possibility, the one distinction between the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS and the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR are two small yellow letters – or black, within the case of the tan possibility – denoting the ‘RS’. I attempted to seek out out what the RS stands for and got here up with nothing, so let’s say for the sake of argument it’s ‘Really Speedy’. The tread sample is similar, however crucially the very a lot top-of-the-range RS mannequin solely is available in 26c, 28c, 30c, and 32c, whereas the one step beneath non-RS mannequin provides a 35c and actually whopping (by highway tyre requirements) 40c width.

The tread sample itself is generally slick: A slick centre offers solution to shoulders that includes just a few zig-zag grooves in an everyday distribution. My set of 30c tyres plumped as much as a really plush 32.5mm measured width on the Scope Artech 6.A wheels, which have an inside width of 25mm. The widest half was about midway around the sidewall although, with the tread wrapping across the tyre carcass noticeably lower than the 30c Panaracer Agilist set I’ve mounted to a set of Hunt wheels with a touch narrower inside width. In any case, the measured tread of the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS (sure, I’m going to get uninterested in typing that) was 29.2mm, that means in my tanwall possibility I might see a strip of sidewall as I rode alongside.

In phrases of rubber formulation, the tyres have a special tread compound (SmartEVO2) in comparison with the non-RS mannequin, which makes use of SpeedEVO. There is little info on exactly what makes SmartEVO2 higher than SmartEVO, moreover a sprinkling of ‘good polymers’, so I shan’t merely parrot advertising and marketing jargon at you. 

Interrogating the cross sectional mockups of the TLR RS versus the TLR the important thing factor to notice is the omission of a puncture safety strip. Pirelli doesn’t market the P Zero Race TLR RS as a time trial tyre, in the identical vein because the Continental GP5000 S TT or the Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed, nevertheless it does actually have a nod in direction of all out efficiency in its design; eschewing a puncture strip is a surefire solution to scale back the rolling resistance.

In phrases of setup, it’s a contemporary tyre so tubeless is a should (if the TLR within the identify didn’t already give that away). All the dimensions choices moreover the 26c are hookless suitable, which is sensible from a physics viewpoint. But additionally… who’s shopping for into fashionable hookless rims after which driving round on 26c tyres? Not many, I’d wager.

Performance

Let’s begin with the setup, which was completely painless. Yes that is solely on a single tyre/rim combo, however a 25mm inside width is sort of a large hole to fill and the tyres performed ball when establishing. No frantic pumping, no soapy water wanted. There had been no satisfying pops both, with the bead selecting to softly arrive on the sidewall unheard like a disgraced politician utilizing the again entrance somewhat than having me fear if I’ve been shot with a cannon.

Before I dive into the real-world emotions it’s price going over the target knowledge we derived from a day of testing all the perfect race tyres at Silverstone Sports Engineering’s rolling resistance rig. At 9m/s (roughly 30km/h) the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS was bang smack within the mid desk. It’s not sluggish by any means, nevertheless it’s measurably slower than one thing like a Continental GP5000 S TR, to the tune of seven.2 watts for the pair. Up the velocity to 11m/s (roughly 40km/h) and it does climb the ranks just a little, however the wattage losses towards the GP5000 S TR are principally an identical. Lab testing isn’t gospel, nevertheless it’s price realizing that you may be paying barely extra for a barely slower tyre. 

How are they on the highway? Well, they’re an actual Jekyll and Hyde tyre, it should be mentioned. To begin with Jekyll, within the dry they behave very effectively certainly. They’re fairly joyful to nip alongside and whereas they’re measurably slower I couldn’t really feel that further drag and suspect I wouldn’t be capable to with out again to again testing of an an identical width tyre, in all probability on the identical day. If you may’t really feel the distinction, does it really matter? Well, I’ll go away that to you. Cornering within the dry wasn’t something to put in writing dwelling about, for good or for sick, and particularly within the 30c width the tread not wrapping additional around the sidewalls didn’t bother me overly. If you actually end up discovering the bounds of the tread – as I’ve written about with some execs working out of tread on the Vittoria Corsa Pro – then perhaps search for a tyre with a larger wrap. 

Even accounting for the bigger width versus the nominally ‘customary’ 28c, they had been a fairly plush journey. They don’t have the silky, magic carpet of the Vittoria Corsa Pro, however they do have a beautiful muted mellowness that’s actually on the pillowy spectrum.

In the moist, I’m afraid you’re unlikely to hit that cornering restrict. This is Hyde, and I’m afraid the P Zero Race TLR RS isn’t excellent within the moist in any respect. It is a summer season race tyre, nevertheless it does nonetheless get used within the Spring Classics underneath the riders of Lidl-Trek. These races might be famously grim, so I don’t suppose it’s an unfair take a look at to truly use them within the rain. 

On Christmas day my household determined to all go to sleep within the early night in a turkey and ham induced stupor. Because I’m unable to take a seat and do nothing I made a decision to go out within the fog and light-weight drizzle and journey up each hill in my hometown of Truro. It’s extremely hilly, with double-digit gradients in all places and 1,100m elevation in 40km. On something over 7% although I needed to stay seated or the rear tyre would merely not keep traction. I wasn’t utilizing an abnormally excessive stress, particularly as I used to be driving 30c not 28c, so it was actually disconcerting at instances, and irritating on actually steep gradients the place getting out of the saddle would normally be a necessity. Suffice it to say, dropping traction underneath my comparatively modest energy output hardly gave me confidence and cornering efficiency within the moist wasn’t wonderful both.  

While Bauka Mollema’s “F*****g SRAM” second has gone down in biking folklore, it’s price remembering that Tadej Pogačar had an identical incident, berating his tyres (the non-RS model) on a moist descent within the 2022 Tour of Slovenia. From reminiscence, the Lidl Trek riders on the Classics had been choosing the most important 32c measurement, and whereas I initially assumed it was for consolation over the cobbles, my suspicion is that additionally it is for grip.

On the plus aspect, regardless of driving these tyres in circumstances typically mirroring the worst that Belgium throws on the execs I by no means as soon as suffered a puncture. Good sealant, and a wise quantity of it – not the dribble that the professionals use – will really get even very fragile tyres by way of an terrible lot these days. 

Value

Sadly this isn’t going to be an amazing report card. This possibility is barely costlier than the GP5000 S TR – our benchmark when it comes to efficiency – however doesn’t carry out as effectively when it comes to absolute wattage, moist climate efficiency, or weight. I didn’t weigh mine earlier than I slapped a load of goo in them, however within the 28c selection, there’s a 114g penalty for a pair. 

If you journey within the dry – and I’ll admit I spend extra time within the rain than I believe most do – and you discover these on sale then I do really suppose they might be a good purchase. They’re quick and plush, given a pseudo-cotton feeling with out the fragility. They’re comparatively sturdy for what continues to be a fairly speedy tyre, however at full value, taken within the spherical, I can’t see the place the worth lies. 

Verdict

The Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS is, in the appropriate circumstances, an excellent tyre. It units up very simply, has displayed admirable sturdiness for what’s a top-end race tyre, and within the dry it’s each reasonably quick, very comfy, and handles effectively. In the moist although I’m afraid it lacks the grip to really belief it, which is just a little little bit of a letdown. My suggestion, in case you are useless set on a set of those, is to go for the bigger widths to maximise your contact patch.