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review
£38.00
VERDICT:
Good grip in all weathers and an oh-so-supple casing make these a pleasure to ride
Supple
Decent weight
Well priced
Weight:
235g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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- Bad
- Appalling
The Veloflex Corsa Evo is a supple, grippy and fast-rolling open tubular tyre aimed at training and racing. Its 320tpi casing smooths out rough roads and keeps grip levels constant, while the tread compound is tenacious and confidence-inspiring in all weathers. It's not tubeless ready, but the price and performance are great.
The suppleness of the Corsa Evo is instantly noticeable. It's a tyre that seems like it's literally taking the edge off bumps: what felt like a square-edged ridge before suddenly seems a smoothly ramped lump.
That's obviously a good thing for comfort – especially on my local Welsh roads with their rain-eroded canyons, gravel dunes and aggressively flattened badgers – but more importantly, it's a good thing for grip.
The 320tpi casing helps that strip of natural rubber and mica tread stay pressed into the road, instead of bouncing and skipping around, and helps the Corsa Evo feel very consistent. Veloflex's website pressure calculator recommends 98-105psi for me, and my experiments prove that accurate for good rolling and comfort on all but the worst tarmac.
On my 23mm rims they blow up just 0.4mm wider than the claimed 25mm, and are very easy to install (at least once you've persuaded them to stop acting like a flat sheet and curve into a u-section). Then again, they're not tubeless ready – Veloflex does the Corsa Race TLR for that – so there's only so much faff you can expect.
They roll very well, and the profile put a spring in the step of my steering in comparison to wider, flatter sections, without ever feeling unstable. They're just as inspiring on wet roads, too, with good grip and decent feedback.
I never had any punctures despite running around 85psi and hitting some pretty poor bits of tarmac at speed. Veloflex stuffs the Corsa Evo with letters – an SPS sidewall, an RKB breaker – and while I can't say for sure that the Sidewall Protection System or Resilient Kinetic Belt made the difference, I can say they didn't fail even after some pretty sharp and unexpected impacts with well-camouflaged potholes.
The price of £38 is pretty good considering the ride feel, handmade provenance and 235g weight. The Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance is great but slightly heavier (a claimed 245g for the 25mm; 271g for the 28mm on the road.cc Scales of Truth) and more expensive (£39.95), though it is tubeless ready.
Like the Corsa, the Bontrager R3 Hard Case Lite isn't tubeless ready, but is both lighter and cheaper at 207g and £34.99.
Neither of these alternatives will be so beautifully supple, though, and it's much cheaper than the Challenge Strada Pro HTLR, with its 300tpi casing, which is £70. That too is handmade, but also tubeless ready (the HTLR denotes this, and not that it's made of, uh, Hitler).
> Buyer’s Guide: 40 of the best road bike tyres
The Veloflex Corsa Evo Clincher is a fast, comfortable tyre with strong levels of predictable grip, and while it's not the cheapest or lightest, the ride feel is lovely. If you're a dedicated lover of tubes, this handmade Italian tyre is a great choice.
Verdict
Good grip in all weathers and an oh-so-supple casing make these a pleasure to ride
road.cc test report
Make and model: Veloflex Corsa Evo open tubular
Size tested: 28mm
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Veloflex says: "Clincher tire with a soft 320 TPI (Threads Per Inch) Corespun casing and an innovative compound to offer lower rolling resistance and amazing grip. Extraordinary road holding and a new extremely tenacious RKB (Resilient Kinetic Belt) breaker that improves puncture protection."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
The company lists:
Use Racing, Training
TPI (Threads Per Inch) 320 Threads Per Inch (120/cm)
Beds Kevlar® ** inextensible yarn
Protection Belt RKB - Resilient Kinetic Belt
Sidewall protection SPS - Sidewall Protection System
Casing Compressed Pes/Co corespun
Rubber tread Natural rubber and silica exclusive compound
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
9/10
Rate the product for value:
7/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Grippy, supple, comfortable and fast-rolling.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It's grippy, supple, comfortable and fast-rolling...
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance is a little more expensive at £39.95, but is tubeless ready. The Bontrager R3 Hard Case Lite is non-tubeless-ready like the Corsa, but is both lighter and cheaper at 207g and £34.99. Neither will be so beautifully supple, though, and the Challenge Strada Pro HTLR 25mm, with its 300tpi casing, is £70.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
It's very good: the Corsa Evo delivers a lovely, supple and consistent ride feel whether it's wet or dry, and is good value.
About the tester
Age: 48
I usually ride: Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: general fitness riding, mtb,
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23 comments
Open tubular? Is that the same as clincher??
Essentially. It's the marketing which some of the posh tyre manufacturers use to claim their clinchers are made to the same high standards as their tubulars
Cheers!
I'm riding the TLR version of these tyres, 25mm at around 80psi.
They're lovely and have the same supple ride feeling that the reviewer has found with these non TLR tyres. I didn't have any issues with tubeless installation that I have read that some people have had.
I'm tempted to try the 28mm version once my 25mm tyres wear out, I bet they'll feel like I'm floating on a cushion!
Marking it down for not being tubeless ready is a touch unfair, no? There's a tubeless ready version if that's what you're looking for, not everyone is. Would you criticise a 25mm tyre for not being 28mm?
My thoughts exactly. There's a TLR version and that is tubeless. I don't get why it's been marked down for not being tubeless. Has the GP5000 been marked down for not being tubeless even though there's the GP5000TL version? What next, marking down the new Specialized Tarmac SL7 for not being a E-Bike? Totally crap review imho.
I have ridden/tested loads of tyres. GP5000TL, Pro One EVO TLE and the Veloflex Corsa Evo TLR are by far my favourites out of all of them. The GP5000TL and the Pro One EVO TLE are used on my winter/training wheels now as the Veloflex are for sunday best but I've got no concerns with them being used in winter, they can take a proper beating.
Thank you for your humble opinion on my totally crap 8/10 review of these tyres I really like, but as I've said above, I didn't mark them down for not being tubeless. That would be stupid. I simply wrote that they're not tubeless, because they aren't - so if you want a tubeless ready tyre, they're not for you. Worth noting, don't you think?
As for the future, I hereby promise not to criticise the new Specialized Tarmac SL7 for not being an e-bike. You have my word.
If you kids can't play nicely, you'll all be sent to your rooms.
.
Thanks for assuming I and the rest of the Road.cc readers are utter idiots and for pointing out the tyres aren't tubeless. I usually choose my tyres and kit in a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey type way but you've completely shown me there's another way.
I suppose you'll be going to the tubeless review of these tyres, that was published not long ago, and pointing out that they are tubeless and not normal clinchers?
Ha, ha!! You definitely did mark down the tyre for not being tubeless. The original review clearly showed this 'feature' listed as a negative!! No doubt you will get the last word in here again regardless of what I say. Dire!!
A touch unfair is pretty polite. To me it's one of the stupidest criticisms I've ever seen on here. I sometimes wonder what level of thick you need to be in order to write for this site.
I agree. Absolutely absurd. Must be desperate times for cycling journalism.
To the author - do the research and maybe learn a bit about cycling products before writing nonsense. Wheels are "tubeless ready". Tyres are either clincher or tubeless. Somebody who runs tubes does not want a tubeless tyre, with a thicker sidewall and higher weight. Sure, you can run a tube in a tubeless tyre, but you'd be silly, due to the existence of tyres exactly like these!
To the Editor - raise the standard. That's atrocious. You want to be a respected medium for review, be spot on with terminology.
Tbf, tyres are either tubeless ready, or tubeless compatible. TLR "should" meet some hazy standard on locking beads or some such, while TLC tyres possibly won't
Thanks for your feedback. Continental, the international company famous for its tyres, disagrees with you.
https://www.continental-tires.com/bicycle/service/faq/tubeless-ready
You're really too kind. But it wasn't a criticism and they weren't marked down for it – if you read the review I say "Then again, they're not tubeless ready – Veloflex does the Corsa Race TLR for that – so there's only so much faff you can expect."
I run tubes and don't want the extra weight, but some riders like tubeless and will, presumably, think the specs of these (very positively reviewed) tyres are relevant.
In a similar vein several bike review websites seem to think it's fine to criticise a rim brake bike for not having disc brakes.
Yes, it would be... if I had. I didn't though, I gave them 8/10 and a glowing review. Apologies for causing confusion with the 'cons' section - I put that there simply as info, in case anyone assumed these were tubeless ready. I think we'll be removing it.
To clear up any further confusion, no, I would not criticise a 25mm tyre for not being 28mm.
I've some of these and they are lovely tyres. The branding could do with lower placement though as the rear ones have almost vanished from mine!
When riding Veloflex tyres I find that the better you are at cornering, the more worn out the branding becomes!
I'll take that then!
I have just bought a pair of Corsas from Merlin. £20 each.Not fitted them yet though.
Those are the previous - but still excellent - Corsa tyres, back when Veloflex had a different name for each tyre width/colour combination. The tread pattern is a little diffferent, but I'd be buying the old stock while it lasts at that price. It appears that Veloflex have gone direct to consumer now as it's only the old stock getting sold at 3rd party retailers like Merlin, but I can vouch that they ship tyres ordered on their website to arrive next day from their Italian warehouse