Billed as a hardpack tyre for dry conditions, the semi-slick, aggressively shouldered tread of the Terreno Dry tyre gives much more than you’d expect, although the thin sidewalls of the lightweight TLR casing let this model down on test.
The central tread is nearly slick, with a really low profile honeycomb pattern for the main contact patch, flanked by more aggressive angular knobs on the shoulders. It’s somewhere between a file tread and more aggressive gravel tyre.
This TLR casing is the most lightweight option from Vittoria, with the alternative TNT option on offer for improved puncture protection across the tread and sidewall.
As the name suggests, the Terreno Dry tyre is designed for riding hardpack.
Vittoria Terreno Dry TLR performance
Tubeless set up of the Terreno Dry TLR tyres was marginally more tricky than other tyres I had on test with a tighter fit onto the rim, although nothing a sturdy tyre lever couldn’t handle.
These do run wider than stated though, with the 38mm width inflating up to 40.4mm on 23mm internal width rims: worth noting if you have limited frame clearance.
For a tyre with ‘dry’ in the name, these really do offer an impressive level of grip in nearly all conditions.
On drier, smoother surfaces, the near-slick central contact patch gives no sluggish sensation, yet when riding through some unexpected muddy slop and cornering in the wet, the shoulder knobs really came into play to reduce any unwelcome sideways slides.
It wasn’t just on more tame terrain that these excel; the tyres give confidence-inspiring levels of grip over rockier sections and even wet roots.
It was the thin, lightweight TLR casing of the Terreno Dry tyres where they fell down though, with a centimetre-long sidewall tear on a flint bridleway.
With a boot and tube, this didn’t stop play, but I’d certainly recommend the more robust TNT casing to anyone looking to try these, especially if you like to push it beyond smooth, dry gravel.
This tyre might have started life as a summer and mixed conditions cyclocross tyre, but it’s clear it really has a place in the gravel world too.
Vittoria Terreno Dry TLR bottom line
The Terreno Dry tread offers more than the sum of its parts: low resistance on tarmac and light trails, then digging in with unexpected grip when things turn wet and sloppy.
It’s not a winter tyre, but as a three-season option (especially with the more robust TNT casing), I think it would make an excellent choice.
How we tested
Tyre choice has a fundamental impact on how your gravel bike rides, so we put seven of the latest and best-selling gravel tyres to the test to find out which offers the best grip, speed and puncture protection over the rough stuff.
Keeping things consistent, all of the testing was done on the same bike – a steel, custom-built Mercredi – and on the same wheelset, WTB’s new carbon CZR i23 gravel wheelset featuring 23mm internal rim widths.
The criteria for selecting the tyres to test was a wheel size of 700c and a tyre width between 38mm and 45mm.
Tyres were set up using a track pump and Schwalbe Tire Booster, before heading out onto a local testing loop as well as various gravel races and events.
The local testing loop around Bristol included a real mix of terrain, from gravel tracks to hardpack dirt, grassy banks, rooty singletrack and tarmac, and each set of tyres was tested in wet and dry conditions.
For more tyre recommendations, check out our list of the best gravel bike tyres tried and tested by the BikeRadar team.
Also on test
Product
| Brand | vittoria |
| Price | 72.00 AUD,51.00 EUR,45.00 GBP,60.00 USD |
| Weight | 450.0000, GRAM (700c with 38mm width) - |
Features
| br_TPI | 120 |
| Features | Sizes available: 700c - 31, 33, 35 and 38mm widths and 650b - 47mm with TNT casing (more tread and sidewall puncture protection) Tyre: Tubeless compatible |
| br_punctureProtection | Nylon casing with Graphene |
