Ian's Completely Unqualified Tyre Psychology Part 2 - Using my powers for good

In Part 1 of my Completely Unqualified Tyre Psychology, I showed how an ill timed phrase can wreck someone's confidence in their new tyres before they even ride them, and that lingering doubt could impact their riding until they swap tyres.

But that's not what we want, we want people to have faith in their rubber, to enjoy their new purchase, to ride the tyres and wear them out and come back for more, yeah!

Today let's think about the transition from sports tyres to sports touring tyres.
Now, I don't know about you..... but I am obviously Valentino Rossi, and you probably are too... and superfast boss racers like us NEED the best sports rubber to help glue us to the roads, oops I mean TRACKS as we do speeds of 200 hundred miles per hour.... we NEED that sports tyre.

Except, damn it, it's worn out in 2000 miles, daaaamn.

So we have to ask the question of shame...... how much are sports touring tyres please?
They last longer, so financially it makes sense... but inside we're dying. No more fun riding. Ever. Might as well give up on life and buy a Volvo.

But honestly... and this is true.... modern sports touring rubber is sooooooo grippy.

And more honestly ... and this is sadly also true.... we might not actually be Valentino Rossi ... and sports touring rubber is more than enough for most of us. BUT FORGET THAT BIT!!

So we will have to make this sports bike rider feel better, simply by pointing out, enthusiastically, and truly ... "You will be AMAZED at how much grip those tyres have mate! They will surprise you!"

And Mr Sports BIke will ride off and once scrubbing in the 100 dry miles he will notice..

New sports touring tyres = much better than worn out squared off sport tyres
New sports touring tyres = genuinely very grippy in dry weather when going quickly
New sports touring tyres = better grip when cold and damp and wet
New sports touring tyres = longer life span

And he's happy despite no longer being on pure hypersport rubber.
They really are that good.
And if you happen to notice that they don't quite have the same level of dry grip then you truly are Rossi.
But then we all are, that's why we ride these very silly dangerous toys.

And we are awesome.

But wait..... there's more.....

Metzeler Roadtec 02 are available and they have a very neat party trick.... You likely already know just how much motorbike tyres deform and give a palm-sized contact patch ...well that palm sized patch is a mix of rubber, and grooves... that's just the way it is... and when it's wet that is what you need.

But what if it's not wet?
What if we are Valentino Rossi and we don't want grooves reducing the size of our contact patch and reducing grip?

Well Metzeler have got you covered ... at normal speeds your Roadtec 02 have a nice mix of rubber and grooves, but as you speed up and the tyre deforms harder into the road... the grooves close up, putting more rubber onto the road and more dry grip.

It's not a sports touring tyre... its a HYPER sports touring tyre.
Yes, they are pricey, but SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!!!

July 15, 2026 | View: 17 | By: Sticky Mick