The Gear: Air-liner GRAVEL
Posted By Gravel Union
On 23 October 2020
Product Title:
Air-liner GRAVEL
Brand:
Vittoria
Cost:
€22.50/£ to be confirmed
Release Date (if applicable):
Available now
Website Link:
https://www.vittoria.com/eu/air-liner-gravel-tire-inserts.html
Product Description:
Vittoria are perhaps best known for their road cycling tyres – they have an extensive and well respected range covering everything from winter training rides to super light and supple race-day-only rubber. They have been making off-road tyres since 1997 under the GEAX brand name, but their range was unified under the Vittoria brand name in 2014. Vittoria currently offer four gravel tyres, all variations on the Terreno model, which cover everything from paved riding to wet conditions off-road trails.
As keen gravellistas, we are probably all looking for something similar from our gravel tyres – comfort/grip/durability/resistance to punctures/suppleness/minimal drag/good looks/light weight/ease of running tubeless. In the Venn diagram of gravel tyre desires, somewhere close to the centre would the utopia of gravel tyres, but with so many different “wants” from our gravel tyres, finding one which offers the right balance for your particular situation is never easy.
When Vittoria got in touch to say they were launching a new product to the gravel market, our initial instinct was that it would be a new gravel tyre, but they’ve obviously looked at their current range and decided they’ve already got an offering for every gravel riding situation. So instead, they’ve focused on the single biggest bugbear of gravel tyres – the balance between running tyre pressures soft enough to offer you grip and comfort, but hard enough to avoid pinch flats and excessive squirming under hard cornering.
And their solution to this conundrum? A tyre insert designed specifically for gravellistas which promises to offer the holy grail – the ability to run lower pressures without suffering impact punctures. Vittoria say that the insert “allows for better tyre grip, and significantly reduced handlebar vibration when compared to a standard tubeless ready set up. The Air-liner GRAVEL also increases lateral stability without compromising grip and adherence. This allows for better cornering, climbing and braking performance.”
The Air-liner kit comes with everything you need, including specific valves with additional holes machined into the body to allow better airflow (the EVA foam liner is likely to block the holes found in a standard tubeless valve). Vittoria have created a simple video explaining the procedure for fitting the Air-liners, but more importantly have also created a brilliant video showing what you can do with them once they’re fitted. If we all suddenly gain the skills that their rider has in the video, they Vittoria’s Air-liners will be flying off the shelves in no time!