Vittoria Corsa N.Ext tech specs
Worth: £71.95 / $89.99
Weight: 307 grams
Widths out there: 24c, 26c, 28c, 30c, 32c, 34c
Measured width (28mm on 20mm rim): 28.9mm
Tubeless prepared: Sure
Hookless suitable: 28, 30, 32 and 34c solely
The Vittoria Corsa N.Ext – merely pronounced Corsa Subsequent – was launched again in 2022, earlier than the brand new Corsa Professional lineup. Again then it was the primary tyre within the Corsa line to characteristic a Nylon casing reasonably than the common cotton casing that has adorned the Corsa line.
The concept was to bridge the hole between the Corsa Management rugged race tyre, and the Rubino Professional all season providing. A lot of the tread expertise is similar as discovered within the Corsa vary although, with a mixture of each Graphene and Silica. It’s designed to be each quick, and sturdy.
By way of value, they undercut the Corsa Professional vary of street race tyres, but their efficiency is in some circumstances higher as we discovered in our lab-based rolling resistance take a look at of them in opposition to the greatest street bike tyres in the marketplace. So the place do these slot in to the present tyre market and must you go for these reasonably than the Corsa Professional lineup or different tubeless street bike tyres?
Design and specs
The primary novelty of the Corsa N.Ext versus any of the remainder of the Corsa vary is the dearth of tan partitions and the well-known cotton casing. As a substitute, Vittoria has used a 100 TPI Nylon casing because of the excessive longevity of that in comparison with cotton. There’s a trade-off, which is that the Nylon shouldn’t be fairly as supple so supposedly not as plush to trip or as quick rolling, particularly over rougher floor the place elevated deformation can help in rolling resistance.
In complete, 4 layers of nylon casing are used beneath the tread, with three on the sidewalls. The tubed variant of the tyre makes use of one much less layer on every part as a consequence of not needing to retain air. A non-stretch Zylon tyre bead is used to stop the escape of air when setting the tyres up tubeless.
The tread itself makes use of the identical expertise because the Corsa Professional line, utilizing each Graphene and Silica. Graphene has been used since 2015 in Vittoria’s Corsa tyres, as a consequence of it making the tread quicker rolling, grippier, and extra sturdy. Including Silica to that blend is supposed to enhance all of those points additional and improve puncture safety.
Actually, the N.Ext was the primary Vittoria tyre to characteristic Silica, and paved the best way for the inclusion within the Corsa Professional line. The Silica is extra current on the centre of the tread, whereas the Graphene is extra featured on the sidewalls. To spice up puncture safety additional, a puncture belt is used throughout the centre of the tyre under the tread.
By way of specs, the Corsa N.Ext can be found in sizes from 24 to 34c in increments of 2mm, nevertheless solely 28c and up are ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) hookless suitable. You possibly can refresh your self on what ETRTO requirements imply right here, however what’s vital to know is that in case your wheels are hookless, you should not run these tyres narrower than 28mm.
An attention-grabbing characteristic Vittoria now exhibits is the carbon footprint of its tyres. It says utilizing the Corsa N.Ext for 42km offsets the carbon to make a 28c tyre. Curiously this can be a little increased than the footprint for the Cotton Corsa choices.
Efficiency
Step one is all the time becoming the tyres, and the Vittoria Corsa N.Ext are common issue on this regard. Getting the preliminary bead on the rim was simple, however getting the ultimate little bit of the second bead to flip over required a good bit of elbow grease. Actually extra effort required than the Corsa Professional Management. Nonetheless getting the tyres as much as stress was accomplished with only a monitor pump and seating was very simple. Sitting on the Shimano RS170 wheels I used for testing, with 23mm exterior and 17mm inside, the tyres sat at 28.2mm, close to the marketed 28mm. On our lab take a look at wheels, the Hunt 54 Aerodynamicist with 20mm inside width, they got here in at 28.9mm, an entire mm wider than any of the 28mm Corsa Professional choices when fitted to the identical rims. I’ve all the time discovered the Corsa Professional tyres to measure up a bit narrower than marketed, so it’s attention-grabbing to see the Corsa N.Ext go the opposite path with the dimensions.
I’ve truly had the advantage of utilizing these tyres beforehand on some coaching weeks in Spain, so have loads of expertise in utilizing them on quick easy descents, in addition to when it rained over there. In the case of dry cornering, the tyres have been as quick as any others that I’ve used with sensible grip. Moist climate in Spain was admittedly treacherous, however that was seemingly extra to do with the street floor than the tyres. Fortuitously my latest UK winter testing has allowed for extra consultant testing of that.
As with different latest tyre assessments, I’ve been benefiting from the hedge chopping that’s been happening, in addition to moist climate and filthy muddy roads to essentially put the N.Ext by means of their paces. To this point I haven’t managed to choose up a puncture, even using by means of hedge trimmings within the rain, and the wear and tear on the tyres appears fairly good.
For reference I managed round 2,000km on my earlier set earlier than the tread wore by means of on the rear tyre. One factor that’s noticeable with the N.Ext although is that there was a bit extra in the best way of particles and flint lodged within the tread itself. I’ve typically had this with Graphene-tread Vittoria tyres, and it has typically solely develop into an issue when the tyre is getting older and carrying down. It’s simply good follow to go over your tyres after foul climate rides to take away particles from the tread. I do assume these are a bit extra prone to it than the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 4S and Continental GP5000 AS TR although.
When it got here to testing grip on UK street surfaces, the Corsa N.Ext are very at-home be it moist or dry. The tread sample appears close to equivalent to the Corsa Professional Management, and seems to be equally as grippy. Out of the saddle up steep moist climbs didn’t end in any rear wheel spin or slip, whereas cornering within the moist felt as snug on some other excessive finish tyre I’ve to date used.
What’s stunning about these tyres although is de facto how they examine with the upper finish Vittoria Corsa Professional Management. The N.Ext are cheaper, are available at simply 4g heavier (307 vs 303), however in our rolling resistance testing they have been round 3 watts quicker in any respect speeds, and solely 3 watts slower than the Corsa Professional race tyres. Given the N.Ext are designed to be extra resilient, which I might be inclined to imagine, weigh an analogous quantity, are available a wider dimension vary, and are simply as grippy, it’s arduous to justify the Corsa Professional Management mannequin above this. The shortage of tan wall choices is the one actual distinction between the 2, and that the N.Ext are cheaper.
Worth
As already talked about, the Vittoria Corsa N.Ext are cheaper (£10 per tyre within the UK) than the Corsa Professional fashions. They’re nonetheless not low-cost, at £71.95, which makes them dearer than the marginally quicker and equally all-season quick pace focussed Specialised S-Works Mondo, however a wider dimension vary and decrease weight could also be most well-liked by some.
Given the very small rolling resistance between the Corsa N.Ext and the Corsa Professional, and a 15g weight saving for the Professional, there isn’t a lot to separate the 2 on that entrance. Nonetheless the N.Ext is extra sturdy, options extra puncture safety, and is cheaper. Sure 3 watts per tyre, 6 watts per set, it a big quantity and marginal variations can matter. I’d reasonably go for the Corsa Professional than an outsized pulley wheel and the tyres are cheaper. Nonetheless, because the saying goes, “to complete first, first you will need to end.”
I’ve had loads of robust race outcomes ruined by punctures on fairly contemporary tyres. Plus with a 6w saving leading to a small time saving over 100miles, a puncture will value you much more time.
Given the Corsa N.Ext’s ranges of efficiency, grip and sturdiness, I believe it’s an excellent tyre choice, and the good selection out of Vittoria’s Corsa line up.
Verdict
The Vittoria Corsa N.Ext are fairly presumably Vittoria’s greatest tyre providing. By way of rolling resistance they outperform the extra rugged Corsa Professional Management, whereas solely being a small manner behind the Corsa Professional. They obtain this whereas being cheaper, weighing an analogous quantity, and having higher puncture resistance and sturdiness.
They’re nonetheless not low-cost, however provide a fantastic stability of efficiency, resilience, and cornering grip for the value level. For these wanting a quick tyre to get them by means of all totally different weathers and circumstances, the Corsa N.Ext is a strong choice. The one cause to not go for these is in case you’re set on non-black aspect walled tyres.
| Attributes | Notes | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Design and aesthetics | Large dimension vary out there, however simply the one color | 8/10 |
| Efficiency | They outperform a number of race day tyres however provide higher resilience and powerful grip | 8/10 |
| Tubeless setup | Very simple besides for lots of stress wanted to get the second bead over | 8/10 |
| Weight | Given they’re extra of an all-season tyre with higher pace, the burden is aggressive | 8/10 |
| Worth | They provide good worth over loads of slower acting on much less sturdy tyres, however aren’t the very best worth outright | 8/10 |
| Total score | Row 5 – Cell 1 | 80% |