Vittoria Open Corsa CX clincher £43.99

Long established as one of the finest lightweight clincher road tyres around, Vittoria’s Open Corsa CX got a significant upgrade at the end of 2008 with the introduction of a new, even higher thread count for the Italian company’s proven Corespun casing technology.

By bumping the thread count from 290tpi up to a heady 320tpi, Vittoria have made the carcass lighter, thinner and more supple, which should mean it is faster and more comfortable.

The Kevlar SiO2 3D tread compound and PRB anti-puncture remain as was, ensuring the new tyre should retain its predecessor’s fine reputation for cut resistance and speed. Colour options are all-black, red/black, blue/black, yellow/black and white/black in the 23c size, with 20c and 25c versions available in all-black.

Weight for the 700x23c tyres is a claimed 210g, maximum inflation pressure is 145psi and, er, the tread pattern is a traditional file/herringbone job.

First time out for these beauties was installed in my Scott lo-pro for a 14.5 mile hilly time trial, followed by an evening 10. Modesty forbids … of course, but let’s say that here is a tyre that really delivers on anything short of a drag strip surface. Rougher Surrey Tarmac is simply eaten up, while on the kind of ‘laggy’ surface found on the county’s dual carriageways it feels so comfortable you find yourself checking pressure after the warm up.

More soon.