Wiltshire-based Avon Tyres have been developing motorcycle tyres for more than a century and have just announced a new adventure sport touring tyre, the TrailRider – Avon’s most advanced tyre yet apparently.
The venerable ‘Gripster’ (de rigeur for fans of Mad Max) is a terrific tyre, especially regarding longevity, but it has been around for ever. As adventure bikes grew in size, weight and power, Avon introduced the Distanzia but even that was some time ago and demands from riders and manufacturers continue to increase. Today we all want stability, grip, longevity, comfort, puncture resistance… as we ride across continents fully loaded. Oh, and most of us want our tyres to look cool too. It’s a lot to ask.
So, Avon has spent the last two years working flat-out on the new TrailRider, starting off with the very latest in carcass construction technology, using an Advanced Variable Belt to give stiffness and flex in the right areas. Then they added a zero-degree jointless steel belt around the tyre circumference. On top of that goes Avon’s latest tri-compound tread, with a softer compound on the tread edge, for more grip, a harder centre compound for mileage, and under the surface tread is a low-hysteresis bonding compound (which is all to do with energy release when stretched and thus heat build-up among other things). The tread compounds themselves are very high in silica, for superb wet weather performance.
Finally, the TrailRider wears an all-new tread pattern, with 3D Sipe technology to clear water faster. Avon’s acclaimed 3D Sipes use clever interlocking ‘teeth’ inside the tread slits, to fine-tune the tread flex, improving warm-up times, while stabilising the tread blocks under load. This gives more stability, higher grip, and longer life.
Ashley Vowles, Avon’s motorcycle design engineer, says “We’ve designed the TrailRider carcass construction to deliver improved grip and handling. Our chemists have come up with a new super-rich silica compound, using the latest compounding technology to enhance wet grip without affecting mileage. We’ve also used a multi-compound tread on the rear radial models, giving softer tread on the edge for better grip, and a harder compound in the centre of the tyre for better mileage.”
It all sounds very impressive and we are about to test a pair around Spain and Portugal so will let you know the results.
There are TrailRider sizes to suit all the usual models
80/90-21 48S TL TrailRider
90/90-21 54V TL TrailRider
100/90-19 57H TL TrailRider
110/80R19 59V TL TrailRider
120/70R19 60V TL TrailRider
120/70ZR17 (58W) TL TrailRider
110/80-18 58S TL TrailRider
120/80-18 62S TL TrailRider
120/90-17 64S TL TrailRider
130/80-17 65H TL TrailRider
140/80-18 70S TL TrailRider
130/80R17 65H TL TrailRider
140/80R17 69V TL TrailRider
150/60R17 66H TL TrailRider
150/70R17 69V TL TrailRider
160/60ZR17 (69W) TL TrailRider
170/60R17 72V TL TrailRider
180/55ZR17 (73W) TL TrailRider