Bridgestone S21 Review

[MacRR]

Link to 44 Teeth's Bridgestone S21 video review on track in Abu Dhabi, 14 minutes long, usual entertaining and interesting stuff and some great shots of the circuit

http://44teeth.com/video-bridgestone-s21-review/

 

[DL84]

seen this today , what a pair, there vids with James hillier are hilarious, will be good to see Alistairs take on doing the tt this year.....

 

[alex]

Queued up for post match

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

My bro lives in Abu Dhabi and i visit him once a year, when im there we go running or cycling round the track on an open night every Tuesday.
Watching this it does it no justice it truly is a spectacular track and the inclines are huge on some parts. also hearing some of the cars come under the Vice roy hotel hotel is breathtaking. Especially the old school F1 cars

 

[DL84]

sounds awesome iain, you must be fit lol.....

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

not particularly, my brother does triathlons so he is fit, but seen more meat on a butchers pencil. I didnt say how fast i run it , put it this way he laps me twice. He is used to running in the 40degree heat though haha. (thats my usual excuse)

 

[DL84]

lol , my brother in law lives in dubai... cycles a lot. ... stupidity warm over there.....

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

He used to live in dubai and before that he was in bahrain. Never went to Bahrain but Dubai is AMAZING!! the burje kalifah its crazy ezpecially stood at the top hungover hahaa.

 

[alex]

Baack on topic.
Interesting he suffered brake fade on the RR.

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

When he talks about tyre size, why would running a 200 be more suitable for all weather riding?

 

[alex]

When he talks about tyre size, why would running a 200 be more suitable for all weather riding?

Probably more psychological than real.

200/55 has to have a bigger contact patch than a 190/55 because the aspect ratio stays the same. The tyre is wider and taller.
The 55 is 55% of the width. So 55% of 200 = 90mm. 55% of 190 = 85.5mm. So there's a 4.5mm increase in tyre height + the 10mm extra width which creates a slightly bigger contact patch for the same tyre pressure.

The only negative could be a reduction in pressure per sq.in through that contact patch when trying to cut through water.

But it's all marginal - we're not talking about massive differences. The tread, profile and compound make far more impact.

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

I did wonder if it was just a confidence thing, couldnt think of any real benefits for all year riding. Thanks for the info Alex

 

[alex]

I am tempted to try a 200/55 as it's slightly slower turning. I've made the bike quite lively with all the weight reduction inc wheel change and the suspension. So a slightly slower to turn tyre might not be a bad thing.

You might STEER with the front wheel but the bike TURNS on the rear.

 

[Iain-s1000rr]

I am tempted to try a 200/55 as it's slightly slower turning. I've made the bike quite lively with all the weight reduction inc wheel change and the suspension. So a slightly slower to turn tyre might not be a bad thing.You might STEER with the front wheel but the bike TURNS on the rear.

Yeah i can imagine that's the case with yours now, he also mentioned that the profile of the bridgestones makes it slightly slower turning and not as sharp. Could be a good option for you pal.

 

[stevo_swuk]

Bigger contact patch in the wet, but the bigger tyre would affect turn in.

 

[MacRR]

Yep, I think the point they were making in the vid. is that many of the latest superbikes have 200 section rear tyres which meant people were running more track orientated rubber that had limitations in cold and wet weather as there were very limited options for an all year round long lasting 200 tyre that you could also do a track day on. There are certainly now at least two options that seem to fulfill that brief very well in the S21 and M7RR

 

[alex]

Yep, I think the point they were making in the vid. is that many of the latest superbikes have 200 section rear tyres which meant people were running more track orientated rubber that had limitations in cold and wet weather as there were very limited options for an all year round long lasting 200 tyre that you could also do a track day on. There are certainly now at least two options that seem to fulfill that brief very well in the S21 and M7RR

Indeed!

And the ContiSportAttack 3's
http://www.continental-tires.com/mo...ycle-tires/sport-hypersport/contisportattack3

TBH I feel that in retrospect getting the Racetec RR K3's was a folly. And I'll go back to Conti's where I'm happier in due course. I'm off to Anglesey on the 12th of April. I need to decide if I'm going to put the cast wheels with their ContiSA2's back on for that trip or risk the RR's. Couple of training days, nothing to be gained by binning it if it's wet - which Wales obviously can be!

 

[MacRR]

Yeah there's nothing new in this, its being realistic about what you use your bike for and how fast you REALLY are on track. I think you should go with the Contis which will be more than up to the job and save the Racetecs for some (hopefully) hot, sunny track days in the summer

 

[fast_ryan]

Metzeler Racetec RR

Having spent a few wet laps on Metzeler Racetec RRs I would certainly not recommend them for anything other than dry conditions.

 

[alex]

Just been offered SA3's (190 rear) for ?220 fitted and balanced - keeping the RR's for later in the year. But if I fit them, will I ever put the RR's back on...decisions decisions...