pritch
3rd April 2011, 22:10
Needed new tyres last week and since I'm sort of stuck in Palmerston North for a while I visited ANZA. A trip around the South Island and a weekly commute New Plymouth/Palmerston had stuffed the Metzeler M3s. I thought some sport-touring tyres might be a good idea.
My preference was for Dunlop Roadsmart tyres. Until the Bridgestone 023s came along BIKE rated the Roadsmarts to be the pick of the sport-touring bunch. Last pair of Bridgestones I owned (020s) got the toss early for being singularly uninspiring in the wet. The Roadsmarts though had received some good press in this regard, BIKE comment that they provide great wet grip. There is only one other s-t tyre BIKE give four stars, the Pirelli Angel ST. I'd had those on the S4R and liked them, they performed well on wet roads, but I wanted to try the Dunlops so...
If it seems I place heavy reliance on the gospel according to BIKE that's because I pay them quite a lot of money so, all things being equal, I might as well heed their advice.
The new tyres were fitted early Thursday, so when the opportunity presented, I headed over the Saddle Road and back in an effort to wear off some of the silicone before I went home Friday. The forecast for Friday wasn't great and the idea of scrubbing in new tyres in the rain didn't hold much appeal. I still had overly generous chicken strips when I departed for home though.
Just as well I had done the Saddle Road thing, I got to travel north with the promised “fast moving front”. Two hours of rain and wet roads. Somewhat dampening to the spirits (and the nether garments) but no problems with the Dunlops though.
Saturday dawned fine and I did a quick blat over Mt Messenger which reduced the chicken strips to my more normal (still relatively expansive) size.
So far so good, I'm happy with the Dunlops. I'll be interested to see how they hold up regarding mileage. Of course, by the time these wear out there'll probably be a new class leader sport-touring tyre.
Really, we've never had it so good...
My preference was for Dunlop Roadsmart tyres. Until the Bridgestone 023s came along BIKE rated the Roadsmarts to be the pick of the sport-touring bunch. Last pair of Bridgestones I owned (020s) got the toss early for being singularly uninspiring in the wet. The Roadsmarts though had received some good press in this regard, BIKE comment that they provide great wet grip. There is only one other s-t tyre BIKE give four stars, the Pirelli Angel ST. I'd had those on the S4R and liked them, they performed well on wet roads, but I wanted to try the Dunlops so...
If it seems I place heavy reliance on the gospel according to BIKE that's because I pay them quite a lot of money so, all things being equal, I might as well heed their advice.
The new tyres were fitted early Thursday, so when the opportunity presented, I headed over the Saddle Road and back in an effort to wear off some of the silicone before I went home Friday. The forecast for Friday wasn't great and the idea of scrubbing in new tyres in the rain didn't hold much appeal. I still had overly generous chicken strips when I departed for home though.
Just as well I had done the Saddle Road thing, I got to travel north with the promised “fast moving front”. Two hours of rain and wet roads. Somewhat dampening to the spirits (and the nether garments) but no problems with the Dunlops though.
Saturday dawned fine and I did a quick blat over Mt Messenger which reduced the chicken strips to my more normal (still relatively expansive) size.
So far so good, I'm happy with the Dunlops. I'll be interested to see how they hold up regarding mileage. Of course, by the time these wear out there'll probably be a new class leader sport-touring tyre.
Really, we've never had it so good...