TUFO Calibra Plus Review

Robert Matusek

This is a review of the TUFO Calibra Plus. A super lightweight road racing tyre. Here Robert is looking at the 25mm Calibra Plus. We reviewed the 23mm version here

The tyre-maker TUFO, founded in 1991, is highly regarded within the cyclo-cross community. TUFO’s victories are numerous. TUFO don’t just make CX tyres though, they have a wide portfolio of tyres for different disciplines.

The Calibra Plus is indeed a lightweight road racing tyre intended for competition and serious training. They are good to go for pure training purposes too, however I wouldn’t necessarily endorse them for training only. This is a race-day tyre, period.

Two aspects are worth noting immediately. Its weight of 213 grams [25mm] is stunning. Another one is the noise or the lack thereof when this tyre rolls on tarmac. Total silence and smooth rolling. Its width isn’t on par with current trend of 28-30 mm tyres, however [TUFO features a 28mm version as well, in case you want to go this direction. I wanted to test the 25mm version though]. Having said that, I measured 26.8 mm on a ZIPP 303. The tyre’s supple construction makes up for a narrow-ish size.

I had to play around a tad with the tyre pressure given its size and the various terrain I used them on. It settled in at 5.5 bar [I weigh 58kg] eventually. I would call it a sweet spot, as, albeit a built in puncture proof ply is a given, race tyres are prone to micro tears and frequent punctures. Thus far however there were none.

My gentle gravel adventures on this tyres didn’t last long, and those gravels weren’t in fact very demanding but it isn’t its forte and even though I haven’t noticed any micro tears its slick surface necessitates to lower the tyre pressure even more in order to avoid slippage in smallish gravel. So, yes, in case there is an absolute necessity to roll through a short segment of a gravel, go for it. Otherwise TUFO is well set up with its gravel dedicated tyres in its portfolio.

The manner the Calibra Plus A behaves on mirror-like tarmac roads is spectacular. Let’s call it cultivated. The speed and inertia the Calibra Plus A is able to hold warrants my respect. I have no bottom-line lab measures in terms of rolling resistance, thus I am not going to compare it to its competitors, but the experienced sensation was in a similar league with Schwalbe or Continental’s top tier tyres.

The wear is another aspect that made me give it fairly high rate. It is a light weight race tyre, so something has to give. Given this fact, however, even after 2000 + km there is plenty of room to go forward and make more miles. After my first ‘testing-the-water’ with TUFO’s road tyres finished on a positive note. TUFO has the expertise and proficiency to offer tyres in all segments.

Tufo Website

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