Motorsport technology in a high performance cycling tyre

A racing tyre like the top-of-the-range Pirelli P Zero Race RS, in the Road Performance category, should therefore offer extreme characteristics, which is why it is made with specific high-quality components. These include high-tech compounds, plies and casings; it should also be produced with maximum precision even in mass production. This is true of the other products in the P ZERO Race family,  such as the 4S and the TT, for more specific road use, and the CINTURATO, for all-road and gravel, and SCORPION, for mountain bikes.

From a production point of view, Pirelli can count on the Bollate plant, where the highly automated production lines ensure the highest precision of proprietary processes and a superior level of quality control. Important note: Pirelli is the only company in the world that produces bicycle tyres in Italy at an industrial scale.

Pirelli has the great advantage of being able to count on the development of the bicycle product from every perspective: compounds, materials, reinforcements, processes, chemical laboratories. The R&D department is in fact the same for all divisions, Motorsport, standard production cars, racing and standard production motorbikes, so cycling can make use of the same processes, the same people, the same laboratories and the same raw materials: a production platform of the highest level. In addition, as a small cycling tyre, the impact of the material on cost is limited and this allows products with highly advanced polymer compounds to be offered.

The most recent result of this synergy is the SmartEVO² Compound, used in the new P ZERO Race RS performance tyre. It is a blend of polymers with “smart” behaviour, which allows the best balance of opposing characteristics, such as grip and smoothness, delivering better grip on all surfaces (dry and wet) and recently enhanced smoothness and driveability.

The carcass has many tasks: it has to ensure stability as a basic principle, but it also has to optimise the tread at every stage of driving and ensure the absorption of bumps to offer comfort, which is also very important in races. The experience gained with motorcycles was decisive for the design of the carcass, since they are two-wheeled vehicles and therefore have a similar dynamic behaviour. The structure, in fact, is very similar, and it is difficult to imagine what a “simple” cycling tyre hides. Indeed, it is not that simple at all: you will only discover what lies beneath by looking at a technical drawing - you'll see how a high-performance tubeless P ZERO is made.

Let's start from the inside: the first layer is SpeedCORE, a thin rubber membrane infused with aramid particles that, in addition to ensuring air tightness, offers better mechanical strength. We then move on to the casing, which is important because it defines the structure of the tyre, and therefore the stability and resistance to stress and punctures. It is made from a rubberised nylon fabric band featuring fibres arranged at 45° and folded over to form three layers. It is a technologically advanced slim material (less than 1mm thick); the rubber backing is formulated specifically by Pirelli. It can incorporate an additional layer, the breaker, which is a centrally located aramid belt to prevent punctures, and also keeps the tyre more stable.

The final layer consists of the tread, namely the part of the tyre which comes into contact with the ground.

The P ZERO Race tyre range also includes tube versions (without the SpeedCORE layer), and the full range of high-tech products also includes the All-Road and Gravel (Cinturato), Mountain Bike (Scorpion) families, with a wide range of high-tech tyres, which are all made  with similar design bases, adapted to the specific type.