Silca enters the tire market with gravel, road, and 32" models

Silca has just entered a completely new category for the brand. After years of developing pumps, tools, and practically all the components necessary to set up a tubeless system, the company now presents its first tires. The new range is called Protocol and comes with options for gravel and road, large volumes, and one size that clearly stands out from the rest: 32 x 2.4 inches.

Silca presents its first tire range: the Protocol starts from MTB

The new family is also born with a fairly defined philosophy. Silca believes that a good part of gravel tires have historically been developed from road tires to which volume, rubber, and protection were simply added. For Protocol, it has decided to take the opposite path and use the design of a Cross Country tire as the starting point.

According to Silca, increasing the volume of a tire should not necessarily mean making it heavier and stiffer. The brand has developed the Protocol around the low pressures that wide tires currently allow, seeking to reduce material where it considers it is no longer necessary.

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The common base is a Race Casing with 120 TPI and large volume, combined with the new Pulsar Compound, a rubber compound reinforced with silica that Silca aims to balance rolling resistance, grip, and durability.

In the gravel models, specific work has also been done on the shape of the lugs. The outer lugs are taller than the center ones to make contact with the ground sooner when the bike begins to lean, while the patterns are directional and asymmetrical to optimize traction during braking and acceleration.

Another particularity of the entire family is the CarbonBead BeadLock. Instead of the usual Kevlar or aramid, Silca uses carbon fiber in the bead. According to the brand, this material prevents problems arising from moisture absorption and helps maintain the tire's dimensions stable throughout its life.

All Protocol tires are also Tubeless Ready.

Three gravel tires and a surprising 32" version

The gravel family is organized into three fairly simple levels. The Protocol RCG-1 is the fastest option for compact tracks and routes with a lot of asphalt; the RCG-3 seeks a balance between speed and grip for mixed terrain; and the RCG-4 incorporates the most aggressive tread for mud, sand, loose stones, and more technical conditions.

All three are offered in 45, 50, and 55 mm, with weights starting from 460 g for the 45 mm RCG-1 and reaching up to 650 g for the 55 mm RCG-4. The price is €115 regardless of the model or size.

But the big exception in the collection is the Protocol RCG-3 of 32 x 2.4".

This is a tire with an ETRTO size of 61-686 and a declared weight of 710 grams that, despite appearing within the gravel family, clearly approaches the realm of Mountain Bike in dimensions.

Silca has developed it specifically for bikes built around 32-inch wheels and highlights as main advantages the greater rollover and stability that this diameter offers on rough terrain.

Additionally, this tire had already appeared in competition before its official presentation. Mike Woods used it in the last Leadville Trail 100 MTB mounted on the prototype of double suspension and 32" wheels developed by Ventum.

Silca also enters the road with tires up to 38 mm

The other leg of Protocol is the RCR, Silca's first road tire and a good example of how far widths have evolved in this discipline.

There is no version of 25 or 28 mm. The range starts directly at 29 mm and goes up to 38 mm, with an intermediate option of 34 mm. The declared weights are respectively 290, 320, and 350 grams.

Silca bets here again on taking advantage of a greater volume of air and lower pressures to absorb impacts and improve performance on deteriorated asphalt without resorting to especially heavy casings. The brand proposes its use from criteriums to long days on broken roads and cobblestones.

To support its bet on wide tires, Silca publishes a particularly striking comparison. In its laboratory tests, the Protocol RCR of 38 mm recorded 31.7 W compared to 40.5 W of the Vittoria Corsa Pro Control of the same width, a difference of 8.8 W.

Silca also claims that its tire weighs 70 grams less, which would mean saving 140 grams in a pair. In any case, these are results obtained and published by the brand itself, not an independent comparison.

The Silca Protocol RCR costs €104.95. Due to initial demand, the company has opened limited reservations for upcoming batches, with delivery expected by September 20, 2026.