Vredestein's Fortezza Senso clinchers are made for riding in filthy conditions, with lightly patterned treads and compounds that are claimed to be optimised for wet weather.
Our 25mm folding tyre weighed a trim 246g and measured 25.8mm across – a generous volume for its weight. The 120TPI casing isn’t as supple as on performance tyres, but get the pressure right – high enough to maintain shape, low enough for comfort – and behaviour is predictable.
There’s a thicker, harder central strip to reduce squaring off and sidewalls with lightning bolt sipes. Tread has little effect on narrow, slick tyres on tarmac, so these shallow sipes make good sense.
The Senso has ‘Full Protection’ – that means a woven polyamide layer protecting the whole tyre from bead to bead, not just under the central tread.
In a blind test, there’d be little to distinguish this from a race tyre. Its extra-soft XWS compound copes well with cold and wet conditions, while its grippy feel resembles more performance-oriented rubber – not what you’d expect from an all-weather tyre. We never felt it held us back and the protection it offers at such a low weight is impressive.