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02-06-05, 09:56 PM

Had my SV fitted with the Conti Road attacks today (Jon Benson faints

) and have scrubbed them in after doing about 60 miles. After spending an extra 20 mins on the Jonboy Institute's Tyre Evaluation Facility the rear has only 1cm of chicken strip left and the front about 4-5mm. Will vanish them completely when I've got some time next week, but at least I'm sorted for the AR05.

So what are they like? Well obviously I've only just put them on so this is an initial appraisal and I'll add to it in a couple of weeks once I've thoroughly put them through their paces (if anyone's interested).

They're quicker steering than the 020s no doubt about it. Some will like that others won't and I'm in the latter category. Maybe it's because my preload it set too high and the rear shock is quite knackered but the bike just drops into corners once you're past point X which I find unnerving and was hoping this situation which also occured with the 020s would be cured (was going to go for a 120/70 section to see if it helped this but decided against and had the standard 120/60 fitted which at least allows a direct comparision with the previous 020s). Okay maybe I need to be a little more gentle with the counter-steering here and need to understand the tyre's behaviour better. Once I got to grips with this it was interesting as the tyre was shouting "chicken" at me and I'm quite convinced that it would go right down to it's edge on good tarmac and still stick.

The tyre wall seems a lot more flexible than the 020s (which have an exceedingly strong sidewall) and I could feel some feedback which was marred by the badly worn shock (once I change it I'm expecting a far greater level of control).

High speed stability in a straight line wasn't quite as composed as the 020 but banked over at highish speed (again on my test track) it was very confidence inspiring with no hint of drama.

I'm quite sure I'll have a lot of fun with these tyres and think that the SV's severely restricting suspension will be the limiting factor rather than the rubber itself.

And for the record I paid £160 fitted ridein/out from Wheelfit in Cambridge, who were most professional.

.

02-06-05, 09:56 PM	#72
jonboy Guest Posts: n/a	Had my SV fitted with the Conti Road attacks today (Jon Benson faints ) and have scrubbed them in after doing about 60 miles. After spending an extra 20 mins on the Jonboy Institute's Tyre Evaluation Facility the rear has only 1cm of chicken strip left and the front about 4-5mm. Will vanish them completely when I've got some time next week, but at least I'm sorted for the AR05. So what are they like? Well obviously I've only just put them on so this is an initial appraisal and I'll add to it in a couple of weeks once I've thoroughly put them through their paces (if anyone's interested). They're quicker steering than the 020s no doubt about it. Some will like that others won't and I'm in the latter category. Maybe it's because my preload it set too high and the rear shock is quite knackered but the bike just drops into corners once you're past point X which I find unnerving and was hoping this situation which also occured with the 020s would be cured (was going to go for a 120/70 section to see if it helped this but decided against and had the standard 120/60 fitted which at least allows a direct comparision with the previous 020s). Okay maybe I need to be a little more gentle with the counter-steering here and need to understand the tyre's behaviour better. Once I got to grips with this it was interesting as the tyre was shouting "chicken" at me and I'm quite convinced that it would go right down to it's edge on good tarmac and still stick. The tyre wall seems a lot more flexible than the 020s (which have an exceedingly strong sidewall) and I could feel some feedback which was marred by the badly worn shock (once I change it I'm expecting a far greater level of control). High speed stability in a straight line wasn't quite as composed as the 020 but banked over at highish speed (again on my test track) it was very confidence inspiring with no hint of drama. I'm quite sure I'll have a lot of fun with these tyres and think that the SV's severely restricting suspension will be the limiting factor rather than the rubber itself. And for the record I paid £160 fitted ridein/out from Wheelfit in Cambridge, who were most professional. .