Yep, take two of this post. None of the writeup properly saved itself, so start over.
There's a dearth of reviews of these tires (or tyres if you swing that way) online excepting SevenDayCyclist, supported really by marketing/self-promotional articles by Pirelli (and a smattering of motorcycle tire reviews of the original Pirelli Angels). So I figured I'd add a quick one now that I've got somewhere around 1500km on my set.
Quick background: I ride a PlanetX Tempest, with my riding being primarily commuting, with a few longer weekend rides 70-100km road rides when I can fit them in. I ordered these tires early June after swapping out my winter tires (Marathon 365) and wanting to replace last year's Lifeline Prime Armour. The Primes are Wiggle's rebranded-Chinese cheap-o touring tire, they're solid, hard, and hard wearing – but very durable, and quite a deal considering I likely paid ~£10 for them at the time on-sale. Sadly I blew out the bead re-mounting them earlier this year causing me to drop back to a backup pair of Kendas whilst I waited for the Pirellis to come in (the Kendas are cheap, heavy, and slow – and came OEM on an old bike).
The Pirelli Angel series is a set of three identical tires (should the marketing be believed). The reasonably smooth GT, the off-roadish-looking XT, and my hope of Goldilocks of the DT. They're all 60TPI, with a 5mm anti-puncture layer, and reflective sidewall. There's no option for tubeless-ready, and they're all, sadly, wire-beaded.
The first thing I noticed with these tires was the weight. At 840g for the 37-622, they're not light. Interestingly the amount of mould flash is pretty minimal implying these are entirely a new tire – but the style of the tread appears to have a small flare at the edges giving them a bit extra impression of tread width.
For my everyday commute, I have been keeping the tires inflated to about 65psi/4.5bar. The Pirellis, at this pressure, are quite smooth and free rolling. But the weight is never forgotten, and getting to speed takes effort. The reflective sides are bright and clear, and lend a bit of comfort to riding in low-light mornings/evenings.
Thus far, no punctures. This year has seen a higher-than-average amount of broken glass along the on-road bike lanes than I am accustomed, including a smashed tablet that remained in the lane for a few weeks spreading its shards of gorilla glass. At 1500km, though, the rear's showing its wear (front looks nice still) and flattened off at the centre of the tread.
Traction-wise, I've had no concerns. Both: rain/shine they've given me no pause or worry. Riding on various surfaces: asphalt, concrete, gravel, dirt, packed limestone – they seem to just work well. I don't have any reason to think about it. I don't feel as though they're any quicker/slower on turn-in than the average tire I've used in the past. I can easily charge up dirt trails without concern for traction, and I would think the chunkier XT variants wouldn't really offer a whole lot more in situations I'd take these tires.
You never escape the weight of these tires. They absolutely feel heavy, and they don't let you forget it. But once you get up to speed: the weight disappears until you want to change speed again. For reference: the 37-622 sized Marathon Green would be 730g (with the Marathon 365 being 760g). These feel very clearly aimed at e-assist bikes.
Overall rating: 4/5 if you can get a decent price on the tires. 3.5/5 if not. I'd say sevendaycyclist's review is spot on.
I'll be hanging these up as backup next year, with a fresh set of Marathon Greens going on for next year.
by SpikedLemon