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The Vittoria Terreno T50 is a new gravel tyre, said to provide “unparalleled speed and capability across various terrains, from hardpack to mixed conditions”.
Part of Vittoria’s recently overhauled gravel tyre range, the Terreno T50 is designed as a "one-tyre-fits-all" solution for gravel riding. It's priced at £54.99 / $83.39 / €74.90 / AU$147.95.
While the Terreno T50’s overall capability shone through in testing, especially on slightly moist surfaces, I didn’t find them to roll especially fast, nor did they truly excel for grip in any one scenario.
Vittoria Terreno T50 tyre details and specifications
Vittoria has revamped the Terreno line for 2025, with its tyres now named using the brand’s new Gravel Terrain Score, or T-Score, on a scale from 0 (smooth like tarmac) to 100 (the most technical mud).
The Terreno T50 is one of six tyre platforms in Vittoria’s revised range, sitting alongside the T10 (equivalent to the Terreno Zero), T30 (Terreno Dry), T60, T70 (Mezcal), T80 (Terreno Mix) and T90 (Terreno Wet).
The T50 and T60 are the only new tyres in the range that don't have a previous equivalent.
The new V-shaped centre tread is said to play an integral role in the tyre’s performance, with its narrower centre said to provide grip when rolling and the outer part of the tread gripping when braking or cornering.
There are then two lines of taller lugs either side of the tread for “enhanced control and confidence” when leaning and to help clear debris.
Between these taller lugs and the centre tread are what Vittoria calls ‘transition lugs’.
The Terreno T50 uses Vittoria’s ‘Endurance’ nylon 100TPI (Threads per inch) casing, which is said to boost strength, and the sidewalls are reinforced for puncture resistance and stability at low tyre pressures.
There’s also an anti-puncture belt beneath the tread, as well as a ‘Bead Shield’ to help prevent pesky sidewall tears.
The Terreno T50 is available in three sizes – 40, 45 and 50mm for 700c wheels. It’s a shame there aren’t any wider options, such as 29x2.2in (57mm), which is fast becoming a new trend, nor are there any sizes for 650b wheels.
The tyres are available with black or brown sidewalls, although the 50mm width is only available in black.
The 50mm tyre on test is claimed to weigh 590g, but came in at 596g on my digital scales.
That’s competitively lightweight, though, trumping the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M at 706g and Schwalbe G-One RX Pro at 617g (both actual weights in an equivalent 50mm width).
Vittoria Terreno T50 tyre installation
I set the tyres up tubeless on a set of Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 wheels on my Niner RLT 9 RDO gravel bike with Muc-Off sealant.
The tyres were easy to install, requiring one tyre lever to prise the last section of the tyre onto the aluminium rim.
The rear tyre seated at 20psi / 1.38 BAR with a track pump, but the front needed 30psi / 2.07 BAR before the bead seated into place. There were no wobbles or misalignment in the bead.
The Fulcrum rims have a 23mm internal width and the tyre measured 49.23mm at 28psi / 1.93 BAR.
Later in testing, I moved the tyres onto a set of WTB KOM i27 rims on a Kona Ouroboros. I found the tyres even easier to install on the rims and they measured 50.71mm (these rims have a 27mm internal width) at 25psi / 1.72 BAR.
How I tested – wide gravel tyres
For this loosely titled ‘wide gravel tyres’ test, I pitted four 50mm tyres against each other.
This included two mixed-terrain options (Vittoria Terreno T50 and Schwalbe G-One RX Pro), hardpack rubber (Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H) and a tyre that straddles the line between gravel riding and cross-country mountain biking (Continental Terra Adventure).
Having conducted many tyre reviews for BikeRadar, I’ve developed a methodology for my testing.
After being weighed, each tyre was set up tubeless and tested on the same Fulcrum Rapid Red 500 wheels on a Niner RLT 9 RDO gravel bike, as well as at least one other wheelset on a different bike to reach a definitive judgement on how easy or difficult they are to install, and how wide they inflate.
Each tyre was subjected to a mixture of short and long rides across a range of surfaces, in both wet and dry conditions. All of the tyres were tested on a 70km control loop in the flint-infested Chilterns, before being tested in at least two other environments to get an idea of what conditions the tyre excels in – because the perfect gravel bike tyre for every terrain type doesn’t exist.
The tyres were assessed for rolling resistance, grip, puncture protection and value for money across both wet and dry surfaces on varied terrain. I’ve ridden each tyre for at least 500km, and while that’s not enough to comment definitively on durability, it has given me a flavour of what you can expect.
Since the tyres occupy different genres, I’ve drawn comparisons between them where I can, but I’ve also drawn on my wider experience with other tyres outside this group test, making more pertinent comparisons where applicable.
Vittoria Terreno T50 tyre performance
I tested the Vittoria Terreno T50 tyres through a mix of dry and wet spring conditions on my usual trails around Bristol and the Chilterns in the UK.
The tyres were also put to the test on the Traversée du Massif Vosgien, a 409km bikepacking route through the Vosges mountains in France, with a considerable 10,000m of elevation gain. Each day of the route increased in technicality and there were some incredibly rocky descents towards the end as it became more Alpine-like.
After some initial experimentation, I settled on running 24psi / 1.65 BAR on the front and 25psi / 1.72 BAR out back for my 74kg weight, increasing to 28psi / 1.93 BAR front and rear on the bikepacking trip.
At the time of writing, I don’t have independent lab data from the likes of bicyclerollingresistance.com to refer to, but I didn’t detect the speed Vittoria had promised out in the real world.
Though they didn’t feel as draggy as Continental’s new Terra Adventure, they felt noticeably slower than the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M, Panaracer GravelKing X1 and the Schwalbe G-One RX Pro – all of which are all-rounder mixed-terrain tyres.
The Terreno T50’s casing isn’t the most supple either, so I felt obstacles a little more.
It’s a similar story with the tyre’s grip, which is good but not exceptional. They impressed me most when going down extended fireroad descents at high speed, of which there were many on my bikepacking trip, and the tyre bit noticeably into the dirt.
I wasn’t as impressed by the Terreno T50 on dry hardpack, though, where the tyre was merely competent, transmitting a bit of a vague sensation rather than really biting to the surface.
On the second day of the bikepacking trip, it rained heavily and because the trails became more saturated, I was much more impressed by the tyre’s level of grip.
However, there is a tipping point because on a more claggy ride on UK soil, after it had rained heavily, I found the tyre’s limits a couple of times on shallow sand. Here, I didn’t find the Terreno T50s stick to the edge as well as a Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M or Continental Terra Adventure, for example – and the Pirelli also feels far more supple.
Although they’re not a mud-specific tyre, the Terreno T50s fared well in all but the deepest gloop. As such, I’d have no worries running this tyre year-round.
I haven’t experienced any punctures during the 600km testing period and, despite being one of the lightest tyres in its category, there were no cuts or nicks to either of the tyres when I inspected them at the end of the test period.
In terms of price, they undercut the Schwalbe G-One RX Pro at £74.99 / $83.39 / €74.90 / AU$147.95 and the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M at £64.99 / €72.90 / $84.90 / AU$99.95.
However, I would rate both tyres' performance above the Terreno T50 in every respect, even if they’re both heavier on the scales.
The Terreno T50s are priced in line with Continental’s Terra Adventure, though, at £54.99 / $55.95 / €61.95. The Terra Adventure outperforms the Terreno T50 in terms of grip, but has significantly more rolling resistance and is more of a specialist adventure tyre, whereas the Terreno T50 is more of an all-rounder.
Vittoria Terreno T50 tyre bottom line
Vittoria’s Terreno T50 tyres do everything well but nothing remarkably. They’re middle-of-the-road when it comes to grip and rolling resistance, performing best in slightly moist conditions, and they bite really well on fast fireroad descents.
They’ve also proven consistently easy to set up and seem to be fairly durable.
But if you’re after an all-rounder gravel tyre, the Vittoria Terreno T50 doesn’t quite live up to the lofty heights of the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M (or an RC if you’re running 45mm or narrower) or Schwalbe’s G-One RX Pro.
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Product
| Brand | Vittoria |
| Price | A$72.99, €58.95, £54.99, $58.95 |
| Weight | 590g |
Features
| TPI | 100 |
| Bead | Bead Shield with anti-puncture belt |
| Features | V-shaped centre tread, Endurance Nylon 100TPI casing |
| Tyre sizes | 700c x 40, 45 and 50mm |
