Vittoria today announced the launch of the Corsa N.EXT, a new road tire with a nylon casing instead of the traditional cotton casing. The company claims this will provide competition-level performance while offering better puncture protection and improved grip.

When it comes to the best road bike tires, cotton casing is considered king, as it keeps weight down and provides a supple ride. Vittoria's existing Corsa series uses a 320 TPI (thread-per-inch) core-spun cotton casing with a tread bonded to it.

The casing is a large part of the tire structure, encasing each bead (the part that must be forcefully pressed against the wheel rim) and creating the U-shape of the tire; the more threads per inch, the finer and more supple each thread becomes.

However, the problem with such a high number of TPIs is that they often lead to reduced durability, so with the switch to nylon, this number was reduced to 100 TPIs. In addition, Vittoria claims that the Corsa N.EXT uses a rubber compound with silica and graphene that improves rolling resistance by 9%, grip by 32%, and puncture protection by 21% over standard compounds.

Vittoria casually pokes fun at its competitors, placing the Corsa N.EXT at the "Competition" level alongside Continental GP5000 and Schwalbe Pro One tires, while Core Spancott's Corsa tires remain in the upper "Pro Competition" category The company states that the core spun cotton Corsa tire will remain in the higher category of "Pro Competition.

The construction of this tire is based on three layers of nylon casing folded together to increase puncture resistance. On top of this, a puncture-resistant belt runs through the center strip of the tire, and a new graphene-silica compound completes the tire. The tread has the same linear design as the Corsa, without the horizontal sipes found on the Corsa Control. The lines are wider in the center and closer together on each shoulder, which improves control in the wet and grip when cornering.

Apart from this, Vittoria has printed a QR code on the sidewall of each Vittoria Corsa N.EXT tire. Scanning this QR code accesses the Help Center, where information on tire pressure and fitting guides can be obtained.

The Corsa N.EXT is available in tube-type and tubeless-compatible clinchers, each available in six sizes.

The narrowest width, 24mm, weighs 190g for tube-type and 260g for tubeless-ready, best suited for rims with 17mm inner width; the 26mm and 28mm widths are best paired with rims with 19mm inner width, with each size jump for tube-type and tubeless versions The weight increases by 10g and 15g, respectively. The remaining sizes are 30mm, 32mm, and 34mm, best suited for 21mm rims, with the heaviest weight coming in at 240g for tube-type and 340g for tubeless.

For widths wider than 28mm, the Corsa N.EXT is considered hookless compatible, but narrower widths must be used on rims with hooked beads.

Regardless of width, the tube-type tire is priced at $74.99, while the tubeless version is $10 higher at $84.99.

So, to return to the original question of why, the N.EXT is the "next generation" of the already high-performance Corsa tire, and rather than finding a slight advantage, it may be that it provides a stepping stone to performance for the competition-minded amateur. The N.EXT is highly regarded by Rubino It's an upgrade from the Rubino tire without sacrificing durability and puncture protection.