The tire has a single layer of cushion compound between the cords of the carcass reinforcement that are furthest radially outward in the crown and the cords of the belting that are furthest radially inward in the crown. The single layer of cushion compound may have either a high modulus of elasticity of between 7 and 25 MPa for high crown rigidity or a low modulus of elasticity of less that 6 MPa for reduced hysteresis energy loss.