Bridgestone S22 Review

[Oli]

Miles ridden = 4075
Rear size = 190/55
Tyre pressures (HOT) = Front ~ 36 psi and Rear ~ 42 psi. Cold = ~ 34f and 38r.

Summary
For a road biased sport tyre; they are fairly slow steering, extremely stable, with superb front end grip and ample grip at the rear, last well and provide acceptable grip in the wet.
Would I recommend/buy again? Yes, for a certain type of rider.

Handling - Dry
The first thing I noticed when riding on these, coming off a set of Michelin Road 5?s, is how much slower steering the S22?s are ... whilst you get used to it, this is in my opinion, a negative. I don?t like this characteristic of the tyre and I don?t think it suits both the RR and the category of tyre.
However ...
Front end grip is superb, an immediate and significant step up from any sport touring tyre. Warm up is quick, to the point that by the time I get to decent roads they?re always good to go.
If you enjoy riding at high lean angles, these consistently allow you to reach > 50 degrees lean angle without excess movement.
I went for a progressive ride when the ambient temperature was 38 degrees C and whilst they got to temperatures reminiscent of a track day, they handled it remarkably well. I can quite see why people would use these on a track day, they?d be perfectly acceptable.
Is it a step on from the S21? In my opinion, no, but never the less in this regard they provide more grip then you could ever reasonably need in a road tyre and I still think the front end grip in the dry are the tyres greatest strength.
Rear grip is good, certainly more then you ?need? but certainly not as impressive as the front.
Movement when reaching the limit is predictable, controllable and ultimately confidence inspiring, in the dry.

Handling - Wet
I?ve only ridden on these tyres in fully wet conditions a few times and on occasion I?m reminded that Sport Touring tyres are in a different league in this regard. On highly abrasive, stony surfaces, the grip is OK and you get some feeling which allows you to press on a bit. But, on anything other than abrasive surfaces I struggled to get much feel and I?m ashamed to say it actually caught me out on one occasion, causing me to run wide in a turn. This happened on a known road when the conditions had changed from bone dry to greasy, riding at a spirited but ?restrained? pace, in my opinion. The front just went, and went early. It?s moments like that where you are reminded that you can?t eat your cake and have it too, if a tyre offers more grip in the dry, it has to come at a cost elsewhere ... they?re certainly not dangerous, in fact they?re perfectly adequate. But there?s no magic tyre that can provide optimal grip all year round and these are definitely geared toward dry grip. That being said, maybe I just misjudged the grip lol [emoji848] ...

Longevity/Wear
They?ve lasted 4075 miles, now granted the right rear shoulder was, erm, slick by that point ... but, I was riding like a bit of a spanner towards the end of their service life and so I can confidently say that if you ride smoothly you can get 4K miles out of a set.
They wear fairly evenly front to back, but the rear does wear slightly faster, particularly as you get close to the wear bars. Overall I think the calibration is still good in this respect, as was the S21.
The grip and handling characteristics are consistent as you approach the wear bars, though as the rear approached the end of its service life there was a significant drop in grip. Nothing dangerous, in fact it was great fun as meant you could imagine being a GP rider spinning up the rear coming out of corners lol [emoji1787]

Would I buy again/recommend?
Yes, but only if you intend to use them in Spring and Summer in mostly dry conditions. If you ride year round and do decent mileage, then you?d be better served using something like a Michelin Road 5 in the Autumn/Winter and something like the S22, M7RR etc. in Spring and Summer.
I personally wouldn?t what to use these in the wetter and perhaps more crucially ?colder? months.

Hope this has been useful and that you enjoy the rest of the Summer [emoji41]

- Oli

 

[bmwbadboy]

Re: Bridgestone S22

Aren't the 36/42 pressures supposed to be Cold?

 

[Oli]

Bridgestone S22

Aren't the 36/42 pressures supposed to be Cold?

Pressures seem to be quite a controversial topic [emoji41]
In my opinion, the tyres are developed to a baseline pressure of 36/42 psi, as stated by the manufactures. For safety, they will be developed to handle a certain pressure range around that baseline.
If you use 36/42 psi cold and then go for a spirited ride in the Summer, the pressures will go considerably higher. If however, you ride cautiously in the Winter with those pressures, you may see 1 psi change, max.
In this situation, you have no control over your tyre pressures as they are rolling down the road, the deformation in the tyre will be different, the tread channel width different and ultimately, the handling will be different.

If you use that baseline of 36/42 psi as a ?hot? pressure (or as hot as they get when riding on road), then your cold pressures vary throughout the year and depending on how you ride.
In my opinion, this reduces variables, which is always a good thing.

In my experience, on the RR, tyre wear and handling is good using these pressures on Road tyres.
I would even stick to this principle on track, if using a Road tyre, unless a manufacture specifies something different, as is the case with race compound tyres.

The attached video is quite good

https://youtu.be/01YlwusCSlE


- Oli

 

[r25sti]

Re: Bridgestone S22

arnt the manufacturers allowing for the pressure rise and this is why they give cold tyre pressures in the hand books. its easier to read a cold pressure than hot unless using warmers. tyre pressures read differently depending how hard your riding, where your riding and how quick you stop and check your pressures. the only way to be constant is when there cold unless with warmers. even when im checking hot off track, if i dont check as soon as im off the bike its a waste of time as the tyres cool so quick.. imo.

 

[Oli]

Re: Bridgestone S22

arnt the manufacturers allowing for the pressure rise and this is why they give cold tyre pressures in the hand books. its easier to read a cold pressure than hot unless using warmers. tyre pressures read differently depending how hard your riding, where your riding and how quick you stop and check your pressures. the only way to be constant is when there cold unless with warmers.. imo.

Yes, ?by the book? it?s cold pressures.

But on bikes with onboard pressure monitors, they can bring warnings up that tyres are over pressure under certain circumstances on road, when the cold pressures are set at 36/42 psi.
Furthermore, it seems when road tyre pressures get discussed, cold pressures of ~ 34/39 are popular. In my experience these approximate pressures achieve ~ 36/42 psi when you take a measurement immediately after returning from a ride.

I decided to go by the ?hot? pressure as, whilst it?s not perfect, to me it seems advantageous over going by a cold pressure for the previously stated reasons.

When you get back from one of those 57 degree lean angle rides, maybe just take a reading and see what your pressures get up to? At the very least it will be interesting [emoji4]


- Oli

 

[r25sti]

Re: Bridgestone S22

, the problem with that is i have to ride through town at slower speeds to get to my pressure gauge so the temps will drop. im back on the power rs so am messing with the pressures to try to get them more stable. all ways 36 front as anything lower gives me strange wear. im on 40 rear as the normal 38 i run in the m7rr's make the rear move around too much. its all about what feels right to yourself. i dont think ive ever used book pressures but i do all ways check cold as i do it in my garage which is a fairly constant temperature all year round. ive only done 57's and one 58 this summer on the m7,s and now back on the moving RS's i doubt ill get anything over 54.

 

[Corkgsxr]

Re: Bridgestone S22

I use 34 36 cold.

That right side is abit slick alright. I only get 1600 miles a set for the last 2 of s21s tho

 

[Oli]

Bridgestone S22

, the problem with that is i have to ride through town at slower speeds to get to my pressure gauge so the temps will drop. im back on the power rs so am messing with the pressures to try to get them more stable. all ways 36 front as anything lower gives me strange wear. im on 40 rear as the normal 38 i run in the m7rr's make the rear move around too much. its all about what feels right to yourself. i dont think ive ever used book pressures but i do all ways check cold as i do it in my garage which is a fairly constant temperature all year round. ive only done 57's and one 58 this summer on the m7,s and now back on the moving RS's i doubt ill get anything over 54.

I check cold pressures too, they just vary by a few psi throughout the year. Never do they go excessively low. I just find it helpful to have a rough idea what they get up to.

I?m trying 36 psi cold in the front to see if that?s your lean angle secret. Either that or you have a shell grip parabolica where you live [emoji2957]

- Oli

 

[Oli]

Re: Bridgestone S22

I use 34 36 cold.

That right side is abit slick alright. I only get 1600 miles a set for the last 2 of s21s tho

Lol yep, should have changed them a bit sooner really.

1600 miles, how!? [emoji33]

 

[Monners]

The slower turning is probably due to the shape of the rear tyre, I find Bridgstones in general are less pointy on the rear than many other brands. It makes the bike feel stable around town but it drops into corners slower.

35 - 36 psi hot on the front is pretty normal on the soft Pirelli and Metzeller but I wouldn't dream of running those high pressures on the rear if I was getting that sort of lean angle on the road unless it was from slow roundabouts or something like that?! If I'm being a saturday hooligan I'm usually down around 32 hot and maybe 35 if I'm on the motorway to save the rubber a bit.

 

[Oli]

The slower turning is probably due to the shape of the rear tyre, I find Bridgstones in general are less pointy on the rear than many other brands. It makes the bike feel stable around town but it drops into corners slower.

35 - 36 psi hot on the front is pretty normal on the soft Pirelli and Metzeller but I wouldn't dream of running those high pressures on the rear if I was getting that sort of lean angle on the road unless it was from slow roundabouts or something like that?! If I'm being a saturday hooligan I'm usually down around 32 hot and maybe 35 if I'm on the motorway to save the rubber a bit.

Fully agree re the flatter rear tyre profile, I noticed it straight away when fitting them after the Road 5?s. Quite strange really considered the category of tyre.
I have never tried RS10?s, but would imagine their sportier offerings are a steeper profile(?)

32-35 psi hot for the rear?

 

[Corkgsxr]

Re: Bridgestone S22

I dont use the bike for much pottering or commuting. If it's out it's for enjoyment. And theres no distance to good roads either. If anything the power rs will last less

 

[Monners]

Fully agree re the flatter rear tyre profile, I noticed it straight away when fitting them after the Road 5?s. Quite strange really considered the category of tyre.
I have never tried RS10?s, but would imagine their sportier offerings are a steeper profile(?)

We've used both the S21 and the Metzeller M7RR on road and track and for what they are they are very effective. I've raced the M7RR in March for the last two years and whilst it didn't feel all that great on the BMW it did keep me shiny side up in 5-10 degrees mornings which was the only real goal. It overheated once the track warmed up in the afternoon though and I wished that I had the usual slicks but I would use them again.

32-35 psi hot for the rear?

Yes, although I should add this is usually on Metz RR or Pirelli Supercorsas. I'm not saying its right for everyone but if you are going hard then its definitly worth taking a small hand held tyre gauge to see if they are over heating and rising in pressure. If I went out with 35psi it would shoot up to 40psi in no time which is way too hot and spinning up the tyre. Basically its a complete waste of time checking tyre pressure when they are cold unless all you are doing is commute type riding or just cruising around for a coffee. The only reason tyre companies give recommended pressures cold is because many road users dont spank it and do not bother enough to want to check hot, plus road sports tyres have a large enough working window that it doesn't really matter if they are 5psi out. It definitely matters on road legal slicks such as Supercorsas or Metz like you have on the BMW though.

 

[Gobert]

I used a pair of these for a recent "road bike only" day at Oulton a couple of weeks ago. They warm up quick and are good to go in a lap - managed to run 54/55's which is quick enough for a "normal" track day fast group and tba I was quite impressed with them for a road based tyre.