Advice: Rubbery facts

Rubbery Facts

I thought it was about time we delved into the black (and round) art of tyres.

The truth is that "what tyre should I use?" is one of the most frequently asked questions I get. My answers don't always please those people asking the question, as I rarely give the answer they were expecting.

Sometimes history can be the greatest source of information. Let me go back in time... When I first starting going to racetracks late in 1983 (no, not a typo... I mean 1983), the 'gun' tyre to have on my RD250LC was the brand new Dunlop Elite. This thing was so trick. It heated up much, much quicker than any tyre I'd ever used before. It had more grip, less tread on the edge and moved around less at max lean. It was almost a slick! I was absolutely amazed at the incredible technology that was the Dunlop Elite.

Compared to today's tyres, the Elite would not exactly be on the top of your shopping list (if it were still available). And I'm pretty sure that in 19 years time, the tyres we are currently using, won't either. I dare say you'll look back with fond memories at these golden years of your riding life and remember just how bad your tyres were, just as I do with my 1983 experience.

Chances are, you're not using your tyre anywhere near its capabilities right now, just as I never used the Elite anywhere near its capabilities. Interestingly, even though I know this is the case, the amount of times a tyre "just let's go..." or "just slides out from under..." a rider I speak to, is way more often the way of describing what caused a crash than not.

In my early days of riding and racing I crashed 13 times in 18 months, yet I was nowhere near the front of the field. Was I using the tyre anywhere near its limits? No! So how did I crash so many times? Interesting question.

The difficulty with good rubber is that the average rider is not going to take it up to the temperature or load that it's designed to deal with. If the tyre isn't being used to that level, it won't regenerate itself by shedding layers of rubber at the correct rate. For a tyre to stick, it needs to present a fresh layer of rubber to the road surface.

Ever been on a racetrack? Notice the way your tyre looks? It is literally regenerating as it is degenerating. As the heat and friction cause the layer of rubber that is contacting the road to shed, a new grippy face is being presented to the road surface.

A current model GP road tyre such as the 208GP Dunlop needs to be ridden with a certain amount of force or load to perform at its best. If it isn't ridden to that level, then the layers of rubber tend not to shed. This means that they have been heated, but not heated enough to be released.

They then stay stuck to the tyre and the tyre has less grip (this is what is meant when a tyre is 'cooked'). This leaves you wondering what happened. You've got the best tyres on, you got in a little hot in one turn, and when you really needed the tyre, it just let go.

What's the solution? Simple. Select a tyre that is suited to the type of riding you're going to be doing (and the speed you travel at) rather than the "grippiest" and you'll get the best performance possible. The truth is that most riders would get much more value from the street-based versions of the race-spec tyre.

Don't think that a softer compound or 'racier' tyre is going to be the best solution for you. It could be quite the reverse.

Good luck with your riding.

Steve Brouggy is the owner of the

Contact:
2 / 76 Rushdale St
Knoxfield, VIC 3180
Australia

Phone: 1300 793 423
+613 9763 3338