Tyres, Which ones to get?

Originally Posted by amnesia

For every person who says [insert tyre here] are awesome and they will instantly turn you into Vale with more grip than is possible to explain by physics, another will say those [insert same tyre here] are rubbish and if you use them you will have no grip, crash and kill kittens.

Black and round for me. With some lines on them. (Metzler Z6)

Further to my previous unhelpful and facicious post...

I have Metzler Z6's because more than one person on these forums said they were OK. No real science involved. I have found them to retain their black (ish) and round shape, although some of their grooves have started to disappear over time.

When I am due to change I won't put Z6's back on. Not due to me having any issues with them, but the low mileage I do means I can justify putting something 'more sticky' on - and then see if I can tell the difference!

[Dave20046]

Avon storms in my opinion. But it's horses for courses,down to riding style etc. I guess.

I have just had a pair of Pirelli Diablos fitted, a sports tourer tyre apparently, did a track day around Brands Hatch yesterday and they were great and feel superb on the road, give me loads of confidence. Price £180 fitted. Not dual compound so will see how long they last but luckily most of my riding is on A and B twisty roads so shouldn't square off their soft centres too soon. Went for them cos I wanted somthing a bit sticky for the summer and didn't want to go over £190. Basically anything that says sports- sports tourer and costs over £170ish will probably be fine, it's down to personal preference on a name at the end of the day.

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by amnesia

For every person who says [insert tyre here] are awesome and they will instantly turn you into Vale with more grip than is possible to explain by physics, another will say those [insert same tyre here] are rubbish and if you use them you will have no grip, crash and kill kittens.

This is very true. Simply put there aren't any terrible tyres from the major manufacturers, although of course there are some that would be less well suited your exact usage. So be honest about the use that you make of your bike, if you only ride to work and back every day buy a touring tyre, you'll get better life from them, and they'll work better in the cold and wet too. If you only use your bike for a blat at the weekend get something sportier. And of course if you're like the most of us and do a bit of both buy a sports/touring tyre. All the major makers offer tyres that cover the above categories, and out here in the real world none of us are good enough to tell the difference between a good tyre and a bad one anyway, so be honest about what you need and remember that even the most humble modern touring tyre has more grip and a longer life than loony tyres of twenty years ago, and racers went faster on them then than you do now.

If it's an RBO, or a BAR one it's fine, which one do you like the name of? Or maybe buy the one with the coolest looking tread pattern, or maybe you'll be sensible and decide to buy the sports tourer tyre that costs the least from the depot near you - now that's the right one.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

or maybe you'll be sensible and decide to buy the sports tourer tyre that costs the least from the depot near you - now that's the right one.

Now that's good advice!