Vredestein Fortezza Senso T All Weather

Simon Whiten

Preview of the Vredestein Fortezza Senso T All Weather tubular tyre

After our recent previews, we received a lot of impassioned support for Vredestein clinchers from all quarters. They are still under review, so in the meantime we decided that we had to check out the Dutch company’s tubulars, so here we have the Fortezza Senso T All Weather Competition tubulars…

 
Tubular tyres are still the go to item for professional and the top amateur riders. Many reasons are given as to why but lighter overall wheel weight, nicely rounded profile for fast, predictable cornering and the ability to keep riding even when flat whilst the team car catches up, are key factors for riders from the top flight.
 

 
Fresh from the box, these Vredesteins certainly feel a bit special when handling them. They feel light weight yet still of substantial construction, no doubt helped by their 25mm width and ‘All Weather’ designation. The build is traditional and yet there’s a sense of something more, something tougher – I hope I’m right about that.
 
The Dutch company tell us that they are designed for ‘all weather conditions with low rolling resistance and outstanding grip in both wet and dry weather’, which makes them sound ideal as a Spring Classics type racing tyre.
 

 

As with their clincher cousins, Vredestein use TriComp Technology whereby they employ a specific, more durable centre tread with the aim of reducing rolling resistance in a straight line, and a softer, side wall rubber compound to achieve better cornering grip, no matter the weather conditions. The all-weather designation is supported by a newly developed AWS rubber compound.
 
There is also Vredestein’s Curve Control System for added durability and better ride quality, even in corners. The idea is that Vredestein have calculated the wear rates of the centre tread and shoulders, and though they wear at different rates, this construction ensures the tyre still maintains its round shape for longer.
 
For puncture protection, there’s what they have called ‘Vredestein Excellent Protection’ which is a ‘tightly woven polyamide layer embedded in the “central overlap” of the highly flexible casing.’
 

 
The weight is 285g which is good for an all weather classics’ tubular and if you like to consider the tyres thread count it’s a formidable 290 TPI (threads per inch) which is close enough to the top Italian tubulars to be considered very supple indeed.
 
As you can see from the photos we have got them mounted on a pair of wheels but have yet to ride or race them but it’s on the cards for this weekend, so expect the review in a month or two once we get a good idea of performance. For an idea of longevity, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Meanwhile we’ll await all of the supportive tweets, emails, likes and so on from the Vredestein’s many advocates…
 
Vredestein Fortezza Senso T All Weather £70 / $95
 
Vredestein
 
Saddleback (UK Importer)
 
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