Vittoria Zaffiro Pro V G2.0 tyre review

Vittoria claims the Zaffiro Pro has long been the choice of (sponsored) professional riders for everyday training, thanks to its puncture protection and excellent wear life.

To boot, it’s a relatively inexpensive winter tyre option, which will appeal to many riders.

But do Vittoria’s claims stand up to UK riding conditions?

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyre specification and details

Vittoria makes the Zaffiro Pro from the ground up with a folding bead. Fundamentally, this is lighter than a non-folding bead, which you can find on some tyres competing for a slice of the winter road bike tyres pie.

It’s only available in all-black, in four sizes. These range from a claimed 310g for the 700 x 25c tyre, to 395g for the 32mm-wide variety. There are 28c and 30c options too.

The 28mm tyres tested weighed only 1g more than their claimed 340g.

The Zaffiro Pro is built on a tough 26 TPI nylon carcass, featuring thick threads, which Vittoria claims offer strong puncture protection.

The tyre uses a Graphene 2.0 rubber compound, which is designed for maximum durability.

The recommended minimum tyre pressure is 72psi, with a rated maximum of 115psi – in line with expectations for a clincher-only tyre.

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyre performance

This is the fifth-generation Zaffiro Pro, so Vittoria has had plenty of time to refine its recipe over the years.

I found it flexible enough to shape easily, and it slipped on to a rim with no fuss at all.

Vittoria includes a table recommending the ideal internal rim width for each tyre size, which states that 25 to 28c tyres should be used on a rim with a 19mm internal width.

The table matches 29 to 34c tyre sizes with 21mm-wide rims. On paper, that leaves my 20mm test rim in no-man’s land, but ostensibly it’s still well-suited to a 28c tyre.

When inflated on my test wheels, the Zaffiro Pro measures 28.5mm wide and just 25mm tall.

Replacing the deep cuts of the previous Zaffiro Pro’s tread pattern, this latest version borrows its three parallel, shallow-groove elements from the Vittoria Corsa family of race tyres.

The textured clusters around the shoulders are said to improve grip, much like the full-length texture found on the brand’s four-season style Rubino tyres.

With its relatively low and narrower inflated profile compared to some winter training tyres, the Zaffiro Pro has a shallow rounded profile and excellent sidewall support.

The previous Zaffiro Pro was often criticised for lacking feel, something this latest version has addressed.

The tyre is more supple than the 27 TPI carcass would suggest.

Although the Graphene 2.0 compound is focused more on cut protection, durability and longevity, it still offers ample grip for training in all conditions, helped by that shallow rounded profile.

It’s definitely not the fastest-accelerating tyre, which shouldn’t be a surprise given its positioning (and pricing), but it doesn’t feel overly sluggish either.

If you want to maintain a decent tempo, the Zaffiro Pro is up to the task. Naturally, doing so will require more effort than a lighter, faster road bike tyre, but that’s a trade-off I'm happy to accept in return for much-increased reliability.

The Vittorias gripped reassuringly well on slippery lanes and up sharp gradients, inflated to within the recommended range at 72psi.

Continual exposure to the UK’s hedge-cutting season, heavy rain washout and a host of newly broken road surfaces have so far failed to breach the Zaffiro Pros, or cause any noticeable wear.

One big plus in the Zaffiro Pro’s favour is a seriously competitive price tag. A price of £29.99 per tyre is cheap compared to rivals from the likes of Continental, Schwalbe and Michelin.

Of course, you don’t want that low price to equate to any fragility that could leave you changing a tube by the side of the road.

Happily, my testing hasn’t shown up any early red flags in that regard, but even if overall wear turned out to be a bit faster than some of its competitors, that would be an acceptable compromise.

Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyre bottom line

For the price, the latest iteration of the Zaffiro Pro is very hard to beat.

It’s rated for lower pressures than most of its competitors, which is ideal for improving grip and comfort in slippery winter conditions.

It’s not the lightest or fastest-feeling winter tyre we’ve tested, but it does everything it needs to do well.