A customer dropped off a rear wheel built with the same rim as the F2R from FF Yamaguchi.
This is a wheel I built back then.
I'm too modest to go around boasting that this is the wheel that won the Ibuki Mountain hill climb.
The request was to replace the hub bearings, but setting that aside, this tubular tire is a track-specific one that they're using as their hill climb race tire.
The label is single-sided, not double-sided.
Some TUFO models and such have exceptional cases where, based on tread pattern interpretation, the tire should be mounted with the label on the left side, but basically the convention is to install single-sided label tires so the "right label" faces outward.
However, with this tire, interpreting from the tread pattern also provides the basis that there's no other option but right label orientation.
Since this is originally a track-only tire for counter-clockwise rotation, the front-to-back groove pattern characteristic of Corsa (an Italian velodrome) only appears on the left side.
↑When mounted with right label, it looks like this when viewed from the left side
This tire, especially if used on the front wheel, might be useful as a test to see whether you can actually feel the performance differences from the tread variation in right and left corners on the descent. It's dangerous to stop during the descent after a hill climb race, so testing it that way isn't feasible, but with a rim brake front wheel, you can remove the wheel and flip it left and right. So I thought it might be fun to swap them back and forth on the way down, but to begin with, this tire doesn't have the width and characteristics to attack corners aggressively.
Addendum: The tire in question is not a current model but an older model with just the "Pista" designation—except for the red lettering Graphite 2.0. The current model lineup consists of three models labeled "Pista [something]."
There's the Pista Oro (indoor track only as specified by the manufacturer), the Pista Speed (marketed for wooden banking), and the Pista Control (marketed for outdoor banking). Of these, Oro and Speed have slick patterns, while Control alone has a single-sided groove pattern. Since Oro and Control are 23C width to match recent demands, and Speed is the traditional 19C width, this old model Pista has specs like a "single-sided groove pattern Pista Speed" that doesn't exist in the current lineup.
Pista Speed is 19C width with a claimed weight of 140g. That seems about right, but the WO (wire-on) tire version of Pista Speed is 23C width with a claimed weight of 165g, and being heavier than a tubular tire despite having a separate tube is common for this type of tire.
Pista Control is 23C width with a claimed weight of 250g, which is quite heavy. There are plenty of lighter 22-23C width road tubular tires, but since the tread pattern is specialized for banking, there might be something exceptional about rolling resistance or similar characteristics. The WO tire version of Pista Control is a claimed 210g, which is lighter than the tubular tire. With the same nominal width, the WO tire is lighter because it doesn't have a tube.
※Tubular tires maintain nearly constant tire width at proper inflation pressure regardless of the rim width they're mounted on, but WO tires vary significantly in width and shape depending on the rim's inner width.
And finally, the Pista Oro.
Oro means gold, so it translates to something like "gold medal guarantee tire," and Pista Oro comes only as a tubular version with a claimed weight of 165g in 23C width—considering the width, that's pretty insanely light.
This is a wheel I built back then.
The request was to replace the hub bearings, but setting that aside, this tubular tire is a track-specific one that they're using as their hill climb race tire.
The label is single-sided, not double-sided.
Some TUFO models and such have exceptional cases where, based on tread pattern interpretation, the tire should be mounted with the label on the left side, but basically the convention is to install single-sided label tires so the "right label" faces outward.
However, with this tire, interpreting from the tread pattern also provides the basis that there's no other option but right label orientation.
Since this is originally a track-only tire for counter-clockwise rotation, the front-to-back groove pattern characteristic of Corsa (an Italian velodrome) only appears on the left side.
↑When mounted with right label, it looks like this when viewed from the left side
This tire, especially if used on the front wheel, might be useful as a test to see whether you can actually feel the performance differences from the tread variation in right and left corners on the descent. It's dangerous to stop during the descent after a hill climb race, so testing it that way isn't feasible, but with a rim brake front wheel, you can remove the wheel and flip it left and right. So I thought it might be fun to swap them back and forth on the way down, but to begin with, this tire doesn't have the width and characteristics to attack corners aggressively.
Addendum: The tire in question is not a current model but an older model with just the "Pista" designation—except for the red lettering Graphite 2.0. The current model lineup consists of three models labeled "Pista [something]."
There's the Pista Oro (indoor track only as specified by the manufacturer), the Pista Speed (marketed for wooden banking), and the Pista Control (marketed for outdoor banking). Of these, Oro and Speed have slick patterns, while Control alone has a single-sided groove pattern. Since Oro and Control are 23C width to match recent demands, and Speed is the traditional 19C width, this old model Pista has specs like a "single-sided groove pattern Pista Speed" that doesn't exist in the current lineup.
Pista Speed is 19C width with a claimed weight of 140g. That seems about right, but the WO (wire-on) tire version of Pista Speed is 23C width with a claimed weight of 165g, and being heavier than a tubular tire despite having a separate tube is common for this type of tire.
Pista Control is 23C width with a claimed weight of 250g, which is quite heavy. There are plenty of lighter 22-23C width road tubular tires, but since the tread pattern is specialized for banking, there might be something exceptional about rolling resistance or similar characteristics. The WO tire version of Pista Control is a claimed 210g, which is lighter than the tubular tire. With the same nominal width, the WO tire is lighter because it doesn't have a tube.
※Tubular tires maintain nearly constant tire width at proper inflation pressure regardless of the rim width they're mounted on, but WO tires vary significantly in width and shape depending on the rim's inner width.
And finally, the Pista Oro.
Oro means gold, so it translates to something like "gold medal guarantee tire," and Pista Oro comes only as a tubular version with a claimed weight of 165g in 23C width—considering the width, that's pretty insanely light.