Road Bike Tire Test: Vittoria RideArmor TLR 28
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 15.7 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 65 Points
- Static Wet Grip: 74 Points
- Conclusion: 5.0 / 5 Highly Recommended
- Comments
- Vittoria RideArmor TLR 28
(100% is best)
The RideArmor is Vittoria's roughest road bike tire, delivering dependable puncture resistance, durability, long wear life, and outstanding grip in all weather conditions. The RideArmor is a "road bike" tire, but it also extends into the touring bike section with the availability of the 36 and 38 mm sizes, and that makes it an exciting tire for those interested in a light touring bike tire.
Ad Buy Vittoria RideArmor TLR at Amazon.com
The RideArmor comes with a hefty amount of casing layers and a thick layer of rubber to make this one of the most durable road bike tires out there. Vittoria specs the RideArmor as both a tubeless-ready and tube-type tire, and we can see that working well with this tire type as you normally need a bit more puncture resistance on tube-type tires.
The foundation of the RideArmor is a classic 100 TPI casing construction with three layers under the tread and two layers on the sidewalls. In between those layers, we find an extra layer of Kevlar that runs from bead to bead and increases both the tread and sidewall puncture resistance. Something we don't see often is an extra inner layer that Vittoria calls "Inner Shield" that also runs from bead to bead but is only applied to the smaller 26, 28, 30, and 32 mm sizes of the RideArmor.
Bigger tires can often get away with less puncture resistance because the air pressures are lower and the pressure per square mm of contact area is also lower, which makes it harder for objects to penetrate the tire. From a performance point of view, the 34 mm and up sizes should roll a bit faster, and from Vittoria's specifications chart, they are a bit lighter as well.
All sizes come with Vittoria's ArmorSkin sidewall layer, which is made to offer additional cut and abrasion protection. That makes up for 5 layers of casing material under both the tread and sidewall for the 26 up to 32 mm sizes and 4 layers for the 34 and up sizes. Our test results also indicate both the tread and sidewalls are much thicker than your typical road bike tire, and we end up with a tire that should handle nearly all conditions when it comes to puncture resistance.
Let's jump over to the test results and see how the RideArmor compares to the competition.
Manufacturer Specifications
| Manufacturer Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Vittoria |
| Model | RideArmor TLR |
| Year | 2024 |
| Tire Type | Tubeless |
| Supplied By | Bought in store |
| New or Used | New |
| Mileage | 0 km |
| Price Range | High |
| Buy At | Ad Amazon.com |
| Manufacturer part number | 11A00527 |
| EAN | 8022530030625 |
| TPI | 100 |
| Compound | Graphene + Silica |
| Bead | Folding |
| ETRTO | 28-622 |
| Size Inch | 28" |
| Specified Width (mm) | 28 |
| Specified Weight | 375 grams |
| Max Air Pressure (psi) | 95 |
| Made In | Members Only |
| Available Sizes |
26-622 (700x26c) 28-622 (700x28c) 30-622 (700x30c) 32-622 (700x32c) 34-622 (700x34c) 36-622 (700x36c) 38-622 (700x38c) |
Vittoria RideArmor TLR 28 Test Results
Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
| Size, Weight and Thickness Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Specified Weight | 375 grams |
| Measured Weight | 372 grams |
| System Adjusted Weight (tire + valve + rim seal) |
392 grams |
| Measured Width | 28 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Height | 24 mm (un-round) |
| Total Tire Thickness Center | 3.4 mm |
| Total Tire Thickness Sidewall | Members Only |
| Unmounted Casing Width | 69 mm |
| Unmounted Tread Width | Members Only |
| Tread Cover (Tread / Casing Ratio) | Members Only |
| All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim. | |
Rolling Resistance Test Results
| Rolling Resistance Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Inner Tube | None (20 ml sealant) |
| Measured Width | 28 mm (un-round) |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 132 psi/9.1 bar 25-27 = 120 psi/8.3 bar 28-29 = 108 psi/7.4 barUltra High Air Pressure (108 psi / 7.4 bar) |
15.7 Watts CRR: 0.00471 |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 110 psi/7.6bar 25-27 = 100 psi/6.9 bar 28-29 = 90 psi/6.2 barExtra High Air Pressure (90 psi / 6.2 bar) |
17.0 Watts CRR: 0.00510 |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 88 psi/6.1 bar 25-27 = 80 psi/5.5 bar 28-29 = 72 psi/5.0 barHigh Air Pressure (72 psi /5.0 bar) |
Members Only |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 25-27 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 28-29 = 54 psi/3.7 barMedium Air Pressure (54 psi / 3.7 bar) |
Members Only |
| The Road Bike section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load. |
|
Puncture Resistance Test Results
| Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better) | |
|---|---|
| Total Puncture Score Tread | 65 Points |
| Total Puncture Score Sidewall | Members Only |
| Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Members Only |
| Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Members Only |
| Tread Total Tire Thickness | 3.4 mm |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Members Only |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Members Only |
| Sidewall Total Tire Thickness | Members Only |
Static Grip Test Results
| Static Grip Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Wet Grip Average | 74 Points |
| Wet Grip Center | Members Only |
| Wet Grip Edge | Members Only |
| Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 Road bike grip test rim width = 19.0 mm |
|
Conclusion
- Vittoria RideArmor TLR 28
(100% is best)
The Vittoria RideArmor comes with the toughest sidewalls of any tire that we've tested to date. Even when we look at the touring bike tires that we've tested over the past 10 years, there is no tire with tougher sidewalls. The tread puncture resistance is also strong, but it's more in line with other road bike tires that offer additional tread puncture resistance.
The RideArmor also performs well in our wet grip tests, with the edge grip coming in very strong for such a robust tire. Rolling resistance obviously isn't the best point of this tire, but given its performance and durability, it still isn't all that bad.
Our test results apply to the 26 up top 32 mm sizes of the RideArmor that come with the additional "Inner Shield" layer. We're looking forward to testing the bigger sizes of this tire as well to see the difference the inner shield makes to the overall performance of the RideArmor.
Ad Buy Vittoria RideArmor TLR at Amazon.com
RATING:
5.0
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Highly Recommended