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27 April 2006

DedaTRE: RS Corsa - Open Tubular Review

The Tubular-Like Clincher

"Deda makes tires?" This was the first thing that all my riding partners said when I had the new RS Corsa tires by DedaTRE mounted on my Zipp 303s. Yes, Deda does make tires, and they do it quite well.

DedaTRE, the tire division of the Lombardia company Deda Elementi, produces a range of handmade tubulars and clinchers. They are new at the tire manufacturing game, but based on the tire quality you would not know it. In fact, a certain Alessandro Petacchi won the 2005 Milano-Sanremo using tires by DedaTRE.

"Sono Tubolari?" (Are those tubulars?) This was usually the second question that I was asked as I was enjoying the new rubber that Deda had mailed to the BiciRace.com headquarters. I did not even think that the RS Corsas looked like tubulars until it was pointed out that the tread style, combined with the "gum-looking" sidewalls, made for a tubular look.

The tires, handmade in Italy, are in fact called "RS Corsa - Open Tubular." The "Open Tubular" name could not be more correct; the look and quality is very similar to DedaTRE's Olimpico tubular, but the tire is "open", meaning it is a clincher and can be easily mounted and changed.

The DedaTRE tires were a nice and tight mount, giving a sense of security that they were not going to pop off during a Savoldelli-like descent.

A Comforting Grip

Mounting the feather light (193g) tires was simple. We made sure to use DedaTRE's "Flap" rim strip that was included, a nice blue ribbon that makes the old adhesive cloth rim tape look... well, very Sixties. The DedaTRE tires were a nice and tight mount, giving a sense of security that they were not going to pop off during a Savoldelli-like descent.

After adding some air, around 8 bar, we had a closer look at that tread design. DedaTRE kept a simple design for grip on dicey roads, but the tires are not overbuilt, avoiding unneeded weight. The RS Corsa tires are definitely meant for serious riding, given the rubber thickness and tread cut, which results in fast rolling.

On a quiet Sunday morning ride in the nearby hills I swear I could hear the tires gripping the Italian roads.

The grip on the road was something else. The DedaTRE's RS Corsa tires were noticeably gripping in fast corners, even after kilometers of usage. On a quiet Sunday morning ride in the nearby hills I swear I could hear the tires gripping the Italian roads.

The black rubber look combined well with my carbon Zipp 303 rims and made for a very stealthy affair. My only issue with the aesthetics was the cream sidewalls. The tires would be much faster looking in an all-black affair. BiciRace.com has been informed that the RS Corsa does come in a black-on-black color... YES!

I was skeptical about the durability of the 193g tires. The DedaTRE RS Corsa tires were so thin when I took them out of the box that I was thankful they were clinchers. I initially thought "I am going to be stopping for flats on every ride!" I was proven wrong by the RS Corsa. Maybe it was the same tightly woven cotton casing (300 TPI) that the Italian company uses in their tubulars that made the difference, or the "puncture resistant belting", but the DedaTREs never flatted!

I took the RS Corsa tires over some dodgy roads: bunny-hopping sections of road construction and hitting hard cracks in uneven pavement, but they never gave in to the BiciRace.com stress. I thought surely these tires would pinch-flat, but no. DedaTRE's quality manufacturing, and the right amount of pressure, made for an indestructible, and fast, set of tires.

The RS Corsa tires are very comforting. If you are racing using clincher rims, then the DedaTRE tires are for you. And they are also great for buzzing along the Italian roads for pleasure, they are great!

Details:
•  Handmade in Italy
•  Cotton Casing 300 TPI
•  Dotted-twilled tread
•  Puncture resistant belting
•  Width: 23mm
•  8 - 10 bar pressure
•  Weight: 193g
•  Available full black and black tread with cream sidewalls
•  Price: $50 USD

Visit the DedaTRE website to learn more about tires. Or visit RBK-RulloBike.com, a great source for DedaTre Tires.