Crap Tyres

Is there such a thing?

I know we all have our preferences but surely each tyre has its own capabilities, as we do. When you hear a statement " i crashed because i had shit tyres on", "the're no good in the wet", "not Sticky enough", " I high-sided because they didn't warm up quick enough", "the front tucked on the 4th lap, i didn't do anything different on the 1st 3" etc etc etc......Is it not us the rider that is at fault? Hell, even the best who have everything at their disposal in bsb, wsb, gp, crash. Don't you think that maybe our experience (whatever level that may be) is just not good enough to master whatever tyre was fitted at the time we binned it? Everything has its limits, we crash when we go past ours. Even the costliest, stickiest tyre you can buy will run out of grip eventually......
You hear people say "if you do track days on road tyres you WILL eventually crash". Well racers do races on the best tyres you can get and they eventually crash ??? Horses for courses comes to mind, you could actually do a full trackday on a superbike fitted with a touring tyre and not crash. It all boils down to ability and how much you want to test your own limits, i know i could go faster if i was prepared to drop my s1k as i think maybe most of us could.

Whats yout thoughts?

I agree wholeheartedly , it is all down to personal preference, I like to have decent tyre life & wet grip so it is a trade off, even thinking of trying pilot road 3's next. I do 10k a year so 4 sets of tyres takes the piss, & track tyres on the road only work in the summer anyway. You can get used to the bike sliding abit it all adds to the fun!

Super sticky tyres just let you take more liberties on the road/track as they boost your confidence knowing traction should be the least of your worries, so you can concentrate on something else! lol

Tyres have been well covered on this site and we all have our own opinions and preferences. What ever tyre we opt for depends on many factors , how we ride, depth of pocket, track/rode use, weather conditions we ride in etc etc etc. The biggest factor for me is the confidence the tyre gives me , if I'm riding and don't have to think about the tryes limits but my own = job done !

bananaman link=topic=1664.msg15734#msg15734 date=1352402930 said:

Thats what i'm trying to say, its when our own limits meet the tyres limits, who/what do we blame? Increase in tyre confidence = increase in personal confidence = oh sheeeeeet....... £££££.............

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When it comes down to the 'oh sheeeeeet' bit...it's usually rider error!

I agree with all that has been said ,that said ,we are all close too or pushing the limit / ability at times maybe caused by you or some other factor.Then this is the time I would say the beter the rubber is the answer ,I was going to get Metz 5s but I am going to stay with the K3s and ride slow or stay at home in the rain JACK SPRAT

It's a fair challenge.

I'm far from a fast rider, in fact compared to most of you it would be fair to say that I 'bimble' around generally enjoying myself. This being the case, I've had no issues so far with the Conti "heart attacks" that a lot of people bemoan.

Having said that , they are now shot and will be changed before the first outing next year, so of course I'm largely guided by the recommendations of others who have a greater experience than my own, albeit I acknowledge that those recommendations are largely based on personal preference.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that, for me, the bike with what ever tyre will out perform my mortal capabilities in the saddle.

As far as I'm concerned, regardless of make, compound etc, if you like the feel and feedback your tyres are giving you then you in turn will ride better and more confidentally thus be able to ride faster. There's so many factors involved in what makes a 'better' tyre, but to me riding style and personal preference are among the main ones. I've got a pair of Pirelli Road 3's on my GSXR750J which I think are superb but one of my mates with the same on his R6 can't get on with them at all. I've got Conti Attack 2's on the s1k but to honest as they came new with the bike and the weather's been crap since I haven't had chance to get a proper feeling for them yet.

Bearing in mind the racers of yesteryear (1980's, remember them!) had hugely inferior tyres compared to even today's road tyres and they managed pretty well, well most of the time ;D And they didn't have traction control and ABS back in those days!

being slow myself , I agree with most of whats written here except that conti tires are genuinely shite IMHO...me no likey , and for good reason , ( they arent as grippy as the K3's) you can feel it!!
Have never fallen off because of tires though had some near misses which have always been my error

adding anything here would just be repeating, think most of us go for an all round tyre, not the best in one catagory, but decent in all, including wear. My only add one would be the conti ii's are a very different tyre to the original sports attack. I wouldnt and didnt put them back on mine but they weren't a bad all rounder. It's just that im a fan of the diablo rosso corsa's and they give me the confidence that people have already spoke of.

My 2011 came with the original Contis which weren't that bad but even I could get them to lose traction in the dry. I decided that they would not be up to a trackday so changed to the Dunlop GP 211's which were awesome but hideous back on the road unless very hot. Having trashed those the Pirelli DRC's went on which have done everything well so I think they will get replaced for another pair so they'd better keep making them.

bananaman link=topic=1664.msg15723#msg15723 date=1352395997 said:

Is there such a thing?

I know we all have our preferences but surely each tyre has its own capabilities, as we do.

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Crap Tyres, you ask 'is there such a thing'?

Yes and No, thats not an answer but as you say each tyre has its own capabilities, it is just a shame that the only way a rider can find out what those Capabilities are is by using them and pushing them to find the Limit. Agreed a lot of riders will not even think of pushing to find the limit of a tyre but for those that do the riders reactions must be Super Fast and the rider should also have the knowhow to save a slide if and when it happens (front). Ham fisted throttle will lose the rear without thinking. Being super smooth helps iron out rider fault when a tyre lets go.

Imo, Crap tyres are ones that are perfectly fine one second but then let go the next without any warning (in normal conditions, not wet/cold, without pushing).

Good Topic btw