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Tyres and Wheels / Re: Anybody using Bridgestone A41?
« Last post by Paul_Smith on Yesterday at 12:25:08 am »-- Update 1 --
Got out for a decent spring buzz today and I am growing to rather like these tyres. It was still cold with temperatures running between 8 and 11C (45 - 50F) and conditions ranged between dry and sunny to pretty pissy. On good roads in good conditions, these tyres were superb. They have a steeper profile then the Scorpions which meant I was leaning further over in the same corner at the same speed, and they have a stability that meant I was thinking "Oh wow, look how far over I am leaning" instead of thinking "Oh f...", which meant I was taking the same corners faster and smoother. I am not a rider that worries about chicken stripes, but I have to admit I caught myself thinking about my lane positioning, not from where my wheels would need to go, but from where I needed to position the bike to keep my head safe
Don't get me wrong, these tyres are not perfect but in fairness to the conditions, nothing would have been. I had one particular corner where I was not aware of any particular stress involved, but the tyres had to actively scrabble for grip. I am not sure if it was loose gravel or sheep shite but both tyres took a couple of steps out of line and gave me a short sharp reminder to curb my enthusiasm. I also had another stretch where short wet mossy grass was growing down the middle of the road and when I strayed onto it, the front tyre just could not find any grip. A seriously butt clenching few moments ensued where I surprised myself by being conscious of thinking "RELAX YOUR GRIP" and when I was stable again I was genuinely surprised that I hadn't gone down. For you off-roaders out there who choose to do this sort of thing for fun, my estimate of your skills has gone up a notch. My estimate of your sanity however...
One part of the route:
https://www.google.ie/maps/dir/53.9491418,-8.0913724/54.190258,-8.0153717/54.1177976,-7.9197842/53.9433972,-8.0946275/@54.039331,-8.1256111,10.79z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0
Got out for a decent spring buzz today and I am growing to rather like these tyres. It was still cold with temperatures running between 8 and 11C (45 - 50F) and conditions ranged between dry and sunny to pretty pissy. On good roads in good conditions, these tyres were superb. They have a steeper profile then the Scorpions which meant I was leaning further over in the same corner at the same speed, and they have a stability that meant I was thinking "Oh wow, look how far over I am leaning" instead of thinking "Oh f...", which meant I was taking the same corners faster and smoother. I am not a rider that worries about chicken stripes, but I have to admit I caught myself thinking about my lane positioning, not from where my wheels would need to go, but from where I needed to position the bike to keep my head safe

Don't get me wrong, these tyres are not perfect but in fairness to the conditions, nothing would have been. I had one particular corner where I was not aware of any particular stress involved, but the tyres had to actively scrabble for grip. I am not sure if it was loose gravel or sheep shite but both tyres took a couple of steps out of line and gave me a short sharp reminder to curb my enthusiasm. I also had another stretch where short wet mossy grass was growing down the middle of the road and when I strayed onto it, the front tyre just could not find any grip. A seriously butt clenching few moments ensued where I surprised myself by being conscious of thinking "RELAX YOUR GRIP" and when I was stable again I was genuinely surprised that I hadn't gone down. For you off-roaders out there who choose to do this sort of thing for fun, my estimate of your skills has gone up a notch. My estimate of your sanity however...
One part of the route:
https://www.google.ie/maps/dir/53.9491418,-8.0913724/54.190258,-8.0153717/54.1177976,-7.9197842/53.9433972,-8.0946275/@54.039331,-8.1256111,10.79z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0