Vittoria has been my go-to tyre brand as of late. I race on the Vittoria Corsa tubulars and train on the Vittoria Rubino clinchers. I also race on the Vittoria Rubino in road races when I'm not using my deep dish tubular wheels.
In New Zealand we have a lot of harsh chip and rough roads. There are a lot of tough, resilient tyres out there, but they are generally very heavy and have a low thread count. The low thread count results in an even harsher ride; the tyre ideally needs to be supple and resilient. The Rubino has 150 TPI and is of a competitive weight.
The width of the tyre also has an influence on the rougher roads. I ride 25mm width, which I find ideal for all types of road surface, but if you were mainly riding on hot mix I would probably recommend using a 23mm.
The price of the Rubino is unbeatable for the quality. If you ride over some glass and slash the tyre (although I've not yet slashed one), you don't have to go to work for a week to buy a replacement.
The tyre seems to wear very well; it wears evenly and generally I get around 4000-5000km per tyre, which is very competitive given our rough roads. Generally I will ride at around 90 psi to help soften the ride, but this may result in increased wear. Following the earthquakes here in Christchurch, there are still a lot of potholes and roadworks going on, and the Rubino has held up to the punishment.
The Rubino isn't an all-out racer, but for everyday riding and the odd race, it stacks up very well given its price point.
By Mike Phillips - Pushys sponsored athlete