Commuter Tires

["Tom Brown" <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gentlemen:

The original post was from a guy slugging it out as a commuter, I assumed that
he's travelling in some sort of city traffic through at least part of his
journey and that he probably doesn't get as much leaned over time on his bike
as he'd like.

I've run both Bridgestone and Metzler tires down to max mileage.  This is
usually about 10K or a bit more.    When commuting, most people use up the
center of the tire a lot faster than the outsides.   Under those
circumstances, I like the Bridgestones better because they reasonably fun
tires from the beginning of their life to the end.

The Metzlers are more fun tires for back roads, but if they get squared off,
front or rear, from too much straight line riding, they really start to handle
strangely.  Even if there is tread, you think something's wrong with your bike
and feel like a miracle has occured when you buy new tires.   This tendency is
less with Bridgestones as they are a little more consistent; not as spot-on
when new and not as odd handling when old.

I've ridden 020s to 10K or so on 3 different RTs..even got 13K on a set during
lots of cross country touring. While the front tread scalloped and made noises
as you tipped the bike into turns, the tires still felt and stuck pretty well.
In contrast, when I've tried the same thing with Z4s or Z6s, the tires get
decidedly less fun after 5K of mostly straight line riding and commuting.
You can still run them, but turning becomes an ordeal instead of a joy.  It
could be the shape of the tires or the construction of the carcass or some
other thing, but there is a difference.

I'm not saying I prefer Bridgestones over Metz, just depends on what I'm going
to do with the bike.   My 1200RT had 020s on it when it was new.  I put Z6s on
it when I replaced the original set.  I got a flat in the rear and replaced
it, but not the front, after about 3K miles.   When that set wore out, the
bike was handling terribly.    I decided to go back to 020s.   They're not as
terrific when new in really cool back road riding, but they do handle very
well.   I've only got about 2K on them now, but so far, so good.

When I say there are no tread wear indicators on the rear Metzler Z6, I'm not
counting the cord or the fabric layer under the first layer of rubber.    For
a communter bike, I'm thinking a standard tread wear indicator located
anywhere but the center of the tire will not show wear until the center is
corded (or, as TC says, the center cotton starts to show).  The center always
wears out first here in the flatlands of Chicago.   TC is in semi-rural
Pennsylvania and "Doesn't do slabs"...what a luxury!

On a commuter bike, I see nothing wrong with running the rear tire down to the
cord.   Just remember when you get to 5K or so on the tires to monitor the
tread wear.   When you see the cotton stripe in the middle, change the tires.

There were some guys using bias ply tires on their Oilheads for longevity.
I'm not sure how this works, but I think Metzler or Michelin make a tubeless
bias tire that will fit on them.   Bias tires seem to have a lot longer life
at the expense of some cornering and braking prowess.   If you really want to
stretch your tire dollars, it might be smart to look into this.   I know
nothing about it except what I've passed over on sporttouring.com and
advrider.org.  Also check the tire company websites.

- -TB

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