Reviews of Soma Supple Vitesse EX K Tire - 700 x 42 Black/Skinwall

Pros

Fast, supple and comfortable. Works best on pavement and well on gravel. Lightweight for it’s size. Beautiful tan walls. Feels best on 35-40psi.

Cons

Tan wall is a touch pale.

Other Thoughts

Best alternative to the more expensive rene herse tires.

Pros

Long time Soma Supple Vitesse EX rider here. Loved the 33s, tried the 38s a year ago to test the "supple big tire" theory espoused by many and it didn't really move the needle for me (could be a few factors there). Tried SV E 48s on a different bike and saw the light. 42s fit on my vintage touring bike and they have been wonderful over crummy city roads and paths!! ~395g per tire, which honestly isn't bad at all for something this large. 39.0mm wide or a little more at 40 PSI (wider at 45 PSI etc) using 16.7mm internal width DT Swiss rims. 38.0-38.5mm wide with "old school" ~13mm internal width Mavic rims (MA2, Open 4, Open Pro, etc). Folding bead is slender like any good road tire. Tires "true up" easily (when you adjust at 12-15 PSI before pumping to desired pressure and seating things fully), a Soma SV 'feature' I greatly appreciate.

The kicker for all of this is that, as a long-time 23-25mm tire (on a race bike) fan, I carry the exact same speed on the flats/when seated with these 42s as those race bikes, *while also* being able to roll over junky sections of road without being jarred to death. It's been revelatory, to say the least! You can apply steady and good power without being interrupted by road conditions. Depending on your frameset of choice, it will lose either a touch or maybe more of out-of-the-saddle snappiness (compared to a much smaller and much lighter tire, which makes sense of course), but for me, the fact that a 47cm chain stay touring bike retains as much snappiness as it does with these is a huge win. And I get all the aforementioned benefits. You can always "tune" the ride and response with a wheelset as well, but these tires are fantastic, and not crushingly expensive. You really get what you pay for.

Cons

None that relate to the tire other than wishing nominal/claimed width matched actual width, but it's close! If you want silent tires, get smaller ones. These do hum a little at speed, but their benefits far outweigh that drawback, even for me who likes a quiet ride (on the whole).

Other Thoughts

Naturally a larger innertube will need to be used, which bumps up wheel weight further. If that is a concern, thinner butyl or latex tubes are good options so as to keep weight increase in check while also (allegedly) promoting further suppleness and lowering rolling resistance. As it stands with normal tubes, things are more than fine!

Also note that like all Soma Supple Vitesse tires, the first quarter mile or little more of riding is needed to wear off the initial layer (protectant?), which manifests itself as a your tires being a temporary road lint roller, picking up every piece of rock and sand and flinging it up into your frame and everywhere else. There will be white areas to either side of the tire's contact patch for a little bit as well. Miles and leaning into turns a little more gets rid of that (protectant) soon enough.

Pros

Excellent ride and rolling resistance.

Cons

A bit costly. Only put 300ish miles on them so far. If they last I would definitely order a couple more.