Are There Any Bad Tyres These Days?

[DJP]

I've long been a Michelin fan boy but my current bike came with Bridgestone 023s. Initially I was a bit “Meh” but I wasn't about to junk a nearly new set of tyres. In the end they did two winters without a single "moment" and lasted 9,000 miles (they weren't worn out then but they'd started to square off). The 023s are an old design but still a decent tyre.

Now I'm old enough to remember some truly dreadful bike tyres but it did make me wonder whether there are an truly bad ones left.

[EVOTECH3BELL]

My pirelli (factory fit) only lasted 3.5k on the rear and just cost me 139 to replace....a good tyre yes but bad for your wallet.

When the front is worn il change for something more mid range and wallet friendly as don't think you can go far wrong these days with bike tyres.

Car tyres on the otherhand...

[Tango13]

Even todays 'touring' tyres are light years beyond the stuff from the mid 80's, I shudder to think how awful the tyres from the 70's were if the clothes and most of the music are anything to go by

[Rene Souffle]

The general consensus in the bike shop I work at is Maxxis appear to be very soft and wear out really quickly.

Avon are the opposite and tend to be very hard compounds which make them a bit dodgy in the wet.

I’ve never ridden on either for any long periods of time, so couldn’t comment.

I’ve ridden on a few Dunlops and really didn’t like those. Felt and looked like a very flat profile which gave the sensation of turning very slowly.

Edited by Rene Souffle on Thursday 30th March 00:43

[Krikkit]

EVOTECH3BELL said:

My pirelli (factory fit) only lasted 3.5k on the rear and just cost me 139 to replace....a good tyre yes but bad for your wallet.

When the front is worn il change for something more mid range and wallet friendly as don't think you can go far wrong these days with bike tyres.

Car tyres on the otherhand...

Apparently a lot of brands fit tyres with less tread than a standard one, perhaps he next one is better?

[EVOTECH3BELL]

Krikkit said:

EVOTECH3BELL said:

My pirelli (factory fit) only lasted 3.5k on the rear and just cost me 139 to replace....a good tyre yes but bad for your wallet.

When the front is worn il change for something more mid range and wallet friendly as don't think you can go far wrong these days with bike tyres.

Car tyres on the otherhand...

Apparently a lot of brands fit tyres with less tread than a standard one, perhaps he next one is better?

Funny you say that, I thought it looked a bit more chunky.
I friend has just pick up a brand new version of the same bike so il check and report back

[DirtyHarley]

Rene Souffle said:

I’ve ridden on a few Dunlops and really didn’t like those. Felt and looked like a very profile which gave the sensation of turning very slowly.

I'd rather ride on bald tyres than put on Dunlops - for a long time they came stock on Harleys and they were absolutely abysmal in the rain and not much better in the dry!

I tend to stick with Michellin Scorchers of whatever the latest number happens to be. I've wanted to try Avon Cobra's but every time I need new tyres I can get Michelins installed within a day or two whilst its a 2-3 week wait for Avons so stick with the others.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Rene Souffle said:

Avon are the opposite and tend to be very hard compounds which make them a bit dodgy in the wet.

I’ve ridden on a few Dunlops and really didn’t like those. Felt and looked like a very profile which gave the sensation of turning very slowly.

Had a set of Avon 3D Ultra Sports years ago: they were decent in all weathers but Michelin were better on the bike and worth the extra. Bike was a 2005 Ducati Multistrada 1000S.

I have experienced a fair few Dunlops and didn't like them one bit. No feel and much worse performance- especially in the wet. My FireBlade came with GPR 300s on and I got shot of them quickly.

I'm no fan of Bridgestone either, not nice I'm the wet. Pirelli, Metzeler or Michelin are my favourites - if I was on a budget and had a lower powered bike I'd also use Avons.

[Rene Souffle]

Editted my post to add the word flat in where I missed it out.

My other half rides a 650 Ninja, that came with Dunlops fitted from standard. Bloody awful. The flat profile made it a struggle to move quickly. Like if you had to swerve, I’m not sure it would have moved quick enough.

It’s now on Pirelli Angel GT2s as is my GS and my next bike will be getting them too.

I’m a Pirelli/Metzeler fan boi through and through…

[trickywoo]

The factory fit Dunlop qualifiers that a new 2017 sv650 came with were a pretty bad tyre. Could spin the rear in the dry without trying.

I replaced them with Avon 3d ultra sport. Nice but the rear was at 1mm in less than 2k road miles.

There are still bad tyres.

[Krikkit]

EVOTECH3BELL said:

Krikkit said:

EVOTECH3BELL said:

My pirelli (factory fit) only lasted 3.5k on the rear and just cost me 139 to replace....a good tyre yes but bad for your wallet.

When the front is worn il change for something more mid range and wallet friendly as don't think you can go far wrong these days with bike tyres.

Car tyres on the otherhand...

Apparently a lot of brands fit tyres with less tread than a standard one, perhaps he next one is better?

Funny you say that, I thought it looked a bit more chunky.
I friend has just pick up a brand new version of the same bike so il check and report back

Excellent, let us know what you find, like I say just a rumour but it would make sense based on what a few people I know have said about the tyres their bikes arrived with.

[KTMsm]

I can't tell the difference between all the major makes

I had 3 identical bikes in stock with 3 different sets of tyres and whilst there were differences in the bikes they were slight and more likely to be down to the suspension settings etc

Obviously a good rider on a track could, but road bikes at road cornering speeds - they all feel fine to me

[Birky_41]

Tango13 said:

Even todays 'touring' tyres are light years beyond the stuff from the mid 80's, I shudder to think how awful the tyres from the 70's were if the clothes and most of the music are anything to go by

I'm not old enough to remember. My era is more Dunlop D207 and Pirelli I think it was called something like Dragon Evo

They were OK when warm

Now I can bung a set of S22's and ride a decent pace yet still feel confident in the cold or wet

[black-k1]

Sport touring tyres like the Michelin Road and the Metzler RoadTec are so good that they'll "out ride" any rider in any road situation, wet or dry, and still deliver 7000+ miles per tyre.

[SteveKTMer]

I think most of the top brand tyres are probably all better than me, as Black-k1 says, but some of them do feel better than others. Grip is unlikely to be an issue.

I've got Michelin Power Sport on my R9T, which is probably not a very good match and the bike really doesn't need them, but they have the typical Michelin squashy feel. I had Roadtec 01 on it before and they felt very wooden.

On the KTM I've had the stock tyres which were Pirelli Angel GT which were a bit hard and uncommunicative and now have Metzeler M9RR which are absolutely perfect, loads of grip just like the rest but with a firm but plush feel too.

So I don't think there are bad tyres, just different tyres.

[Zarco]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

Rene Souffle said:

Avon are the opposite and tend to be very hard compounds which make them a bit dodgy in the wet.

I’ve ridden on a few Dunlops and really didn’t like those. Felt and looked like a very profile which gave the sensation of turning very slowly.

Had a set of Avon 3D Ultra Sports years ago: they were decent in all weathers but Michelin were better on the bike and worth the extra. Bike was a 2005 Ducati Multistrada 1000S.

I have experienced a fair few Dunlops and didn't like them one bit. No feel and much worse performance- especially in the wet. My FireBlade came with GPR 300s on and I got shot of them quickly.

I'm no fan of Bridgestone either, not nice I'm the wet. Pirelli, Metzeler or Michelin are my favourites - if I was on a budget and had a lower powered bike I'd also use Avons.

I used to run Avon 3D Ultra Sports on my SV650s 10yrs ago. Simply because it's what it came with and I couldn't fault them. Used to commute so wasn't fair weather only.

[Tam_Mullen]

DJP said:

I've long been a Michelin fan boy but my current bike came with Bridgestone 023s. Initially I was a bit “Meh” but I wasn't about to junk a nearly new set of tyres. In the end they did two winters without a single "moment" and lasted 9,000 miles (they weren't worn out then but they'd started to square off). The 023s are an old design but still a decent tyre.

Now I'm old enough to remember some truly dreadful bike tyres but it did make me wonder whether there are an truly bad ones left.

I used 023s on my SV650 and found them to be pretty good, I’m no riding god though so that won’t mean much.

I used 016Rs on my Speed triple, tyres that are as old as time itself but still hold up really well grip wise. I did manage to kill the rear in 1k miles though.

[Biker9090]

For some unknown reason the previous owner of my cbf500 fitted Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsas. They were like riding on plastic! I remember spinning the rear in third on the way back from the gym in the pissing rain. Absolutely terrifying. Soon changed them to Bridgestone T31 and now T32 which I've never had a problem with.

Also found Michelin to tramline something awful on the ruts in the road. Have Pirelli Angel GT2 on my VFR1200F and they're outstanding no matter the weather. Had an ST on the rear and that would frequently lose (but gain it again) traction in the wet.

[TheThing]

trickywoo said:

The factory fit Dunlop qualifiers that a new 2017 sv650 came with were a pretty bad tyre. Could spin the rear in the dry without trying.

I replaced them with Avon 3d ultra sport. Nice but the rear was at 1mm in less than 2k road miles.

There are still bad tyres.

The Dunlops on my 2012 SV650S were so bad I would class them as dangerous.

[airsafari87]

I seem to be the outlier here as I actually like the Dunlops I fitted to my bike, more so than the OEM fit Supercorsas that it came fitted with and that I’ve ran before on previous bikes.

I only fitted them because I couldn’t get hold of my usual preferred Michelin Power GP but I think I will more than likely continue using them going forward.