Road Bike Tire Test: Pirelli P Zero Road 26
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 17.0 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 42 Points
- Static Wet Grip: 68 Points
- Conclusion: 3.0 / 5 Recommended
- Comments
- Pirelli P Zero Road 26
(100% is best)
Pirelli recently released the P Zero Race and P Zero Road as their latest high-performance tube-type (clincher) road bike tires. The P Zero Race aims at the high-performance crowd as an all-round tire for racing and training. On the other hand, the P Zero Road is a training tire that should last longer, comes with more protection, and provides better grip.
We already tested the P Zero Race (read review) a couple of months ago, and we weren't impressed by its performance in our tests. We're curious how the Road version holds up in our tests, and we feel it should give an excellent explanation of the differences between these tires.
When purely looking at the specifications, we can't find that many differences between the Race and Road versions. Both come with a 127 TPI casing and a TechBELT anti-puncture strip under the center of the tread. The main difference can be found in the compounds as the Race comes with the "SmartEVO" compound while the Road comes with the "Evo" compound.
The P Zero Road is available in the 24-622, 26-622, and 28-622 sizes. As usual, we've gone with the 26-622 version and put it through all our tests.
Manufacturer Specifications
| Manufacturer Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Pirelli |
| Model | P Zero Road |
| Year | 2021 |
| Tire Type | Tubetype (clincher) |
| Supplied By | Bought in store |
| New or Used | New |
| Mileage | 0 km |
| Price Range | High |
| Buy At | |
| Manufacturer part number | 3894800 |
| EAN | 8019227398489 |
| TPI | 127 |
| Compound | Evo Compound |
| Bead | Folding |
| ETRTO | 26-622 |
| Size Inch | 28" |
| Specified Width (mm) | 26 |
| Specified Weight | 235 grams |
| Max Air Pressure (psi) | 116 |
| Made In | Pro Data |
| Available Sizes |
24-622 (700x24c) 26-622 (700x26c) 28-622 (700x28c) |
Pirelli P Zero Road 26 Test Results
Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
| Size, Weight and Thickness Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Specified Weight | 235 grams |
| Measured Weight | 222 grams |
| System Adjusted Weight (tire + inner tube (100 gr) |
322 grams |
| Measured Width | 26 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Height | 22 mm (un-round) |
| Total Tire Thickness Center | 2.6 mm |
| Total Tire Thickness Sidewall | Pro Data |
| Unmounted Casing Width | 65 mm |
| Unmounted Tread Width | Pro Data |
| Tread Cover (Tread / Casing Ratio) | Pro Data |
| All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim. | |
Rolling Resistance Test Results
| Rolling Resistance Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Inner Tube | Conti Race28 (100gr butyl) |
| Measured Width | 26 mm (un-round) |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 132 psi/9.1 bar 25-27 = 120 psi/8.3 bar 28-29 = 108 psi/7.4 barUltra High Air Pressure (120 psi / 8.3 bar) |
Pro Data |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 110 psi/7.6bar 25-27 = 100 psi/6.9 bar 28-29 = 90 psi/6.2 barExtra High Air Pressure (100 psi / 6.9 bar) |
Pro Data |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 88 psi/6.1 bar 25-27 = 80 psi/5.5 bar 28-29 = 72 psi/5.0 barHigh Air Pressure (80 psi / 5.5 bar) |
17.0 Watts CRR: 0.00510 |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 25-27 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 28-29 = 54 psi/3.7 barMedium Air Pressure (60 psi / 4.1 bar) |
Pro Data |
| The Road Bike section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load. |
|
Puncture Resistance Test Results
| Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better) | |
|---|---|
| Total Puncture Score Tread | 42 Points |
| Total Puncture Score Sidewall | Pro Data |
| Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Pro Data |
| Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Pro Data |
| Tread Total Tire Thickness | 2.6 mm |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Pro Data |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Pro Data |
| Sidewall Total Tire Thickness | Pro Data |
Static Grip Test Results
| Static Grip Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Wet Grip Average | 68 Points |
| Wet Grip Center | Pro Data |
| Wet Grip Edge | Pro Data |
| Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 Road bike grip test rim width = 19.0 mm |
|
Conclusion
- Pirelli P Zero Road 26
(100% is best)
Again, we're not impressed by Pirelli's latest tube-type training tire. We're not sure this would be a good training tire as it doesn't show outstanding performance in the puncture tests or tread thickness measurements. Because of the higher weight, we expected better puncture resistance and a thicker tread when compared to the Race version of this tire. The P Zero Road does outperform the Race version in the wet grip tests where it shows average grip, which would be our minimum recommendation for a training tire.
A possible explanation of the unexpected results might be found in the fact that the P Zero Road comes out of a completely different factory than all other Pirelli tires we've tested up to now. Although Pirelli indicates the specifications are nearly the same, there are more significant differences than you might expect.
RATING:
3.0
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Recommended