The first 100% Italian made moutain bike tyres — Pirelli unveils new Scorpion RC tyres made from certified natural rubber
New XC tyres feature fresh RACE Compound and enhanced tread pattern
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Pirelli's mountain bike tyre range is one that's slowly but definitely surely winning favour amongst elite-level athletes and weekend warriors alike. However, the brand looks set to bring better performance and eco-friendliness to its cross-country tyres as it introduces the new Scoprion XC RC and XC M to be faster and lighter while using FSC-certified natural rubber.
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Built for cross-country races, whether that's XCO through to marathon events and trail riding, Pirelli's fresh batch of Scorpion XC RC and M tyres boasts an all-new rubber compound for the brand. Dubbed the RACE Compound, it's been developed with help from Pirelli's motorsports engineers, and we're told that they're fully built in Italy.
RACE Compound is formulated to provide top chemical grip for traction on wet surfaces, but it's also said to be tear-resistant while being faster rolling. As is almost standard on many of Pirelli's tyres, these new ones use a single compound, which promises consistent performance even when worn out, says the brand.
2025 pirelli scorpion RC.jpg, by Liam Mercer
The Scorpion XC RC uses a similar design to the outgoing tyre while featuring small revisions to the tread, introducing a squarer profile on the shoulder knobs. As a result, the brand says the tyre should provide greater control thanks to a larger contact patch as well as improved cornering grip. Pirelli slates it as the all-rounder tyre in the range, claiming to balance speed and grip, so much so that it's said that it is 7% faster rolling than the old model.
2025 pirelli scorpion M.jpg, by Liam Mercer
As for the Scorpion XC M, that has received a complete redesign and is said to be ideal for modern marathon racing. This one is claimed to be 9% better tolling than the old tyre and apparently, 12% lighter. That new tread pattern is built for loose terrain owing to its more open knobs as well as that RACE Compound.
2025 pirelli scorpion wall.jpg, by Liam Mercer
On top of two new tyres, the brand is also bringing two new casings to the mix — LITE and ProWALL. LITE is set to be a lighter construction (who'd have guessed?), whereas ProWALL benefits from another redesign. It still uses a 120 TPI nylon and reinforced sides, but the fabric distribution has been tweaked for better puncture protection and stability.
Both tyres are available in 29x2.4in and can be picked up in Silver or Team Edition (yellow) graphics. As for pricing, expect to spend £70.
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