SQUIRREL_13197183
Vittoria’s Mostro tyres are designed for soft ground, which is exactly where they excel.
Take the 1,450g enduro-carcass rubber onto wetter, greasier, hardpack terrain and the four-rubber-compound tread pattern doesn’t have the outright chemical grip and predictable performance of the best mountain bike tyres.
However, they roll quickly and wear slowly, and the chunky carcass is super-stable. Costing £64.99 / €72.95, the Mostro is one of the more affordable options on the market too.
If the terrain you ride falls within the Mostro’s traction sweet spot, you won’t be disappointed, but they aren’t as assured as their competition on hardpack ground or over roots and rocks in damp conditions.
Vittoria Mostro Enduro 29x2.4in specifications
Designed for soft terrain, Vittoria intends the tall, sharply ramped tread pattern – dubbed the ‘V-formation’ – to dig into the ground, providing plenty of bite while still gripping rocks and roots.
The alternating three-two centre blocks have multiple horizontal, vertical and diagonal sipes, which are designed to help the blocks deform.
Single alternating side knobs – with a smaller and bigger block – are also heavily siped to boost grip.
This enduro-casing tyre uses a two-ply 120 TPI construction in a bid to reduce slashes and tears. An additional sidewall insert is designed to boost rim-lip protection and increase carcass support.
The brand uses its 4Compound tech, which sees four different compounds within the tyre's surface, and graphene is used in certain areas to boost speed, grip and durability.
Here, the centre tread is made from two compounds – an internal base compound and an external one. It’s the same on the shoulder section, where two more compounds are used in the same way.
In both cases, the internal compound is used to provide stability for braking or cornering and reduce slices into the tyre.
Externally, the centre block’s compound is designed to reduce rolling resistance while still providing grip. The side knobs use a softer rubber for improved cornering traction.
This 29x2.4in-wide tyre measured 61mm / 2.4in wide when inflated to 25psi on a 30mm internal-width rim.
It tipped the scales at 1,450g – 10g lighter than Vittoria’s claims and par for the course for tough enduro rubber.
Vittoria Mostro Enduro 29x2.4 performance
Installation
Despite the Mostro’s relatively chunky weight, the tyres were relatively easy to fit onto my test rims without tyre levers.
The carcass is malleable and can be stretched over the rim’s hook using your hands. Of course, they’re not as easy to fit as a lightweight pair of tyres, but are significantly easier than the equivalently weighty WTB Vigilante (1,570g).
You’ll still need strong hands to fit them – or some trusty plastic tyre levers will do the job.
My high-volume track pump had enough gusto to inflate and seal the tyre’s bead against the rim’s hook without much fuss.
An airtight seal was created once the tyre reached 20psi, and it seated fully by 25psi.
Profile and shape
The V-formation tread pattern gives the tyre an impressively rounded shape.
The flat centre knobs of the three-knob cluster help to improve rolling resistance, sitting slightly raised above the side knobs.
On the same three-knob cluster, the two outer knobs are cambered outwards, creating a softly rounded profile.
The shoulder knobs then angle outwards aggressively, helping create the tyre’s overall rounded profile.
Feel and grip
In soft, loamy ground, and even deeper muddier sections, the Mostro’s tread digs in well.
It chews and bites into the ground, digging it up to produce plenty of reassuring traction.
Whether you’re braking hard or turning quickly, it rips and tears its way through the trail’s surface. Late braking feels confidence-inspiring, and swapping lines from one side of the trail to the other seems to be penance-free.
I found the tread packs in with mud quicker than blockier, squarer and more open designs, but as soon as you start rolling, it clears quickly. Even at a slow pace, in deeper mud, this doesn’t appear to hinder grip.
However, on slick hardpack ground, that aggressive traction fades.
Steer or brake with the same ferocity as you did on soft dirt, but over shiny embedded rocks, roots or trail-centre-style surfaces, and you’ll likely understeer or lock up much more quickly.
If you hit an unseen, slick, diagonal root or rock, the tyre slides along its angle, creating an element of unpredictability to its ride.
While no rubber compound is going to stick to every rock or root, Vittoria’s 4Compound is one of the less tacky on the market. It feels slightly less grippy than Continental’s Soft compound, and significantly less tacky than Maxxis’ MaxxGrip.
On dry hardpack terrain, the above isn’t an issue in the slightest, however.
Positively, this means it rolls quickly and holds speed well. You’re never left working hard to generate speed – the tyre glides rewardingly down the trail.
The two-ply 120 TPI carcass feels well-damped and muted, isolating a lot of the trail buzz that a suspension fork or shock can’t.
This improves its overall feel, especially on harder, greasy and damp terrain, and makes up for a large portion of ground lost to the harder-feeling compound.
There’s plenty of carcass support in high-load situations, the tyre resisting burping and steering squirm impressively.
It also remained puncture-free during the entire test period.
I’ve tested other tyres that use Vittoria’s 4Compound and its wear rate is slow. Couple that with the relatively affordable price and it becomes a compelling option if you often ride soft or dry ground.
Vittoria Mostro Enduro 29x2.4 bottom line
The Mostro’s rolling speed and general feel defy its fairly portly weight figure, making it surprisingly effortless to ride on a wide variety of terrain types.
It excels in the softest ground; the aggressive tread pattern and fairly hard compound combine to dig and chew their way into the ground to provide excellent steering control and braking performance.
However, venture out towards slicker, greasier hardpack or rocks and roots and there’s not quite enough chemical traction in the 4Compound rubber to make these tyres exceptional performers.
SQUIRREL_13197183
Product
| Brand | Vittoria |
| Price | €73.00, £65.00 |
| Weight | 1450g |
Features
| TPI | 120 |
