Vittoria Martello Tire Review

[@The.JZA.]

Glad to hear you had so many positive things to say about this tyre. I just got an e-Martello installed on the rear of my Mondraker Crafty. I'll take it for a rip when I get home from work. I had the Maxxis minion DHR before. The first thing I noticed is that the e-Martello in 29x2.6" is not as big as the Maxxis. Still decent but definitely smaller.

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

yea the full width is only achieved with the proper internal rim width. I have a 27.5x2.8 tire. it only measures 2.69mm wide due to my internal width rim of 31mm. I asked the vittoria about this and they said the rim needs to be internal width of 34 to achieve the full 2.8mm width. After a few rides the tire does start to soften and gets a bit wider up to 2.73mm. Either way i still enjoy the tires grip and handling for my riding. I have been using them for 4 years now and haven't looked back. Enjoy

[@lazylearner967]

I do like Vittoria tires! Conti's new offering looks to be grippy and I will try as set of those soon. Interesting comparison of the Marello, Recon, and WTB tire. The recon is in a completely different class from the other two. I just put a Martello on the rear of my enduro bike. I have burped it a couple of times, as I need to run a couple more pounds of PSI. I went from a 2.4 DHR rear to a 2.35 Martello in the rear. The DHR had more grip, but the Martello rolls faster. The DHR was losing side knob after 600 miles. I don't think I have ever lost a knob with Vittoria.

[@alexandrusandor8992]

Do you have the trail or enduro casing? I want the trail casing in 2.8 because the size and anthracite side walls which i think look great. I am worried trail would be too easy to puncture.

[@mikestivers8302]

i have sworn by Agarro rear, Mazza front. id occasionally wash out in our 'loose over hard' trails in the AZ desert.. i have tried to weight the front more, be aware of the sandy spots, etc.. but im still not a huge fan of high speed sketch.. love that aforementioned combo, but finally found the Martello in stock so im going with that as a F+R set. 2.6 up front, 2.35 out back. keep in mind to anyone reading this, on a 30mm id rim the sizes of these tires is not true.. the 2.6 martello is said to be closer to 2.4.. yet the 2.35 is spot on thanks for the review, it allowed me to rest easy knowing the Martello can be run F and R.

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

Yea the tires need 34mm rims to be true size. Reached out to Vittoria and got that info. I have 30mm and run 2.8 width get about 2.69 to 2.73 after some mileage on them. Still love them. I rip harder in the corners leaning the bike to use the corner knobs. Only once I slide out on pine needles in a slow corner just can't get grip on things that move lol.

[@mikestivers8302]

@@TrailtoTrailTom i got the setup. 2.6 on front, measured 2.4" - 2.35 on rear, measured 2.35+ on WAO unions/30mm id these are on a GG megatrail. pretty nice so far. what i've found is the martello 2.35" has a nice rounded profile for the back. side knobs are way more appropriately sized for leaning that back end thru turns, whereas the front knobs are HUGE and give good grip in corners, keeps me from washing out (which is the issue i had w/ the mazza)

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

That's great to hear. You'll like the life span you get out of these. I push over 1k miles.

[@frankschock9981]

@@mikestivers8302 That's interesting. The Mazza was washing out but not the Martello? Was that the 2.4 or 2.6 Mazza?

[@mikestivers8302]

@@frankschock9981 i got no idea man. mazza has fairly good looking spacing between the knobs.. but i lost control w/ that tire and slammed hard a couple times. it's similar enough to the DHF and Magic Mary, which grip like crazy. the martello has huge sidewall knobs, and i think that helps in desert pebbles.. by comparison. both are "2.6" but in reality on a 30mm i.d. rim they're about 2.4"

[@richardwebb3013]

Are you happy with rolling resistance? You are not feeling like you have to work harder with these versus a tire like the Bontrager XR2?

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

I have been using the martello's for over 3000 miles now. I have never used the Bontager XR2 but from the tread pattern I think the martello would be the same or possibly slightly better rolling. I have a set of 29in wheels with vittoria agarro tires fitted. These I can feel the rolling difference.

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

To answer you question "am I happy with the rolling resistance". Yes it has been good. I am not so worried about weight or rolling resistance as much as grip though. The martello is the perfect balance of rolling resistance with great grip.

[@YungEarl1]

Not the fastest rolling in my opinion. They feel sluggish when climbing, they are grippy though. I’ll rate them 5 star on grip. I had the 650b x 2.8 , if you are going downhill for 80% of your ride, i highly recommend these, but if you are going 50/50 , you will feel resistance, especially when climbing.

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

I agree that they are not the fastest rolling. I've been trying the mazza and these don't feel any faster rolling. I'm a pretty strong rider and don't worry about weight or rolling resistance as much as grip. Grip is number 1 for me. Martello's for me just gives me grip confidence I don't get in other tires. I now have a 29er enduro bike and run 29x2.6 martello. I ride in very rough varying terrain. I might try the new radial tires by schwalbe as reviews say they are ultra grip.

[@gurugamer8632]

Which bike is that?

[@HaloLegendZz]

A 2018 Scott Genius 700 or 900 Tuned

[@gurugamer8632]

@@HaloLegendZz OK thanks, what is your fav trial / mountain bike to ride in forest lol... which bikes are these ? here kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJjOZ6l3i8Z6Zq8

[@HaloLegendZz]

@@gurugamer8632 I don’t know what bikes they are, I’m just a big Scott bike fan and I am the owner of the same bike (Scott Genius 700 Tuned 2018)

[@gurugamer8632]

@@HaloLegendZz OK I want to buy one.

[@HaloLegendZz]

@@gurugamer8632 Well they are hard to come across, there’s only 2 or 3 in the UK

[@alexandrusandor8992]

Do you have the trail or enduro casing? I want the trail casing in 2.8 because the size and anthracite side walls which i think look great. I am worried trail would be too easy to puncture.

[@TrailtoTrailTom]

@@alexandrusandor8992 trail casing. The anthracite dulls after a couple rides. Doesn't stay nice gray color for long. I only got snake bit punctures in the rear tire cause I would forget to air up running under 15psi. Usually run at 22psi.