Road Bike Tire Test: Vittoria Corsa G+ 1.0 (open) 25

NOTE: We have a test available of a newer version of this tire: Vittoria Corsa G+ 2.0 (open) 2019

The Vittoria Corsa G+ with the all new G+ Isotech compound replaces both the Corsa SC and CX as Vittoria's top of the line all-round competition tires. This is a review of the "open tubular" version, a new tubular Corsa is available as well. Vittoria claims this to be a revolutionary tire because they now use a graphene compound. They claim graphene doesn't require as many compromises and is superior in speed, grip, durability, and wear resistance.

The Corsa G+ uses four different versions of the new graphene compound on a single tire, which is quite a unique feature by itself. Unfortunately, compared to the older Corsa, weight has gone up a bit to a claimed weight of 240 grams for the 25-622 Corsa G+ versus 220 grams for the older 25-622 Corsa CX III. I'm not sure why weight has gone up as it looks like they still use the same 320 TPI Corespun-K casing.

The Corsa G+ is available in 23, 25, and 28 mm wide versions with skin-colored sidewalls. I'm not sure if a version with black sidewalls will be released later, but the skin-colored sidewalls sure do look fast... Let's test this tire!

As previously mentioned, the claimed weight of the 25-622 version of the Corsa G+ is 240 grams. My sample came in at 255 grams; this is quite a bit higher than specified. Most of its direct competitors come in closer to 220-240 grams. The maximum width at an air pressure of 100 psi, on a 17C rim, is 27 mm. The measured height is 24 mm.

The total thickness of the tire at the center of the tread is 2.4 mm, this is a bit less than both the Grand Prix 4000S II (read review) and Schwalbe One (read review) and indicates there is less rubber on the tire. The sidewalls are quite thick with an average thickness of 0.75 mm. I must add this 0.75 mm measurement is the average between the thickness at the bead (1.0 mm) and thickness where the tread starts (0.5 mm).

So does this new graphene stuff provide a lower rolling resistance? Yes! Rolling resistance is some 5-6% less than the older Corsa CX III which already had a low rolling resistance. At the very high air pressure of 120 psi, rolling resistance is 12.2 watts and is equal to the Continental GP4000S II. It is able to keep up this strong performance at 100 psi. At lower air pressures, the Corsa G+ gets outperformed slightly by the Conti.

I think it's safe to say the Corsa G+ is a decent improvement upon the older Corsa. I must add that the Corsa G+ has a maximum inflation pressure of 145 psi which is higher than most other 25 mm road bike tires. At this maximum air pressure, rolling resistance probably comes close to 11.8 watts. If you ride on very smooth surfaces and want to inflate to higher pressures, the Corsa will do better.

With a score of 11 points in the puncture resistance tread test, puncture resistance is decent. It does score 1 point less than the older CX III, but this is probably the margin of error of the test. In the sidewall test, it gets to a score of 5 points which is similar to other tires as well. I didn't perform the sidewall test on the older Corsa as that test has been added recently.

I'm happy to see Vittoria's claims to be true. At least in the rolling resistance department, the new Corsa G+ is a good improvement upon its older predecessors. While it doesn't outperform the popular Continental GP4000S II (read review) or Schwalbe One (read review) in the rolling resistance test, I know there are people that wouldn't trade their Corsas for anything. If grip and wear have increased as well, these will be great tires.

If you want more speed than the Corsa G+, Vittoria sells the Corsa Speed G+ (read review) as well. The Corsa Speed has a non-reinforced carcass, thinner tread, less puncture protection and the open version comes as a tubeless-ready tire.