TYRE SORCERY Metzeler was certainly up to answering lots of questions with these two new hoops . And I was amazed at how much sorcery – Metzeler calls it science , but I know better – goes into the development of its tyres . And it has to , because the bike market is changing . For example , the Adventure bike segment is booming , increasing 13 per cent worldwide in the last year . Adventure bikes make up 50 per cent of the whole bike market in Europe . Also , the bikes are getting heavier , they are producing more torque and power , and are on an electronic Rider Aid evolutionary trajectory , which can only end in the bike saying to you one day : “ Just stop , stupid . Let go of the ’ bars . I got this .”
With that level of electronic sophistication in mind , it ’ s not easy to make huge leaps forward in terms of tyre technology . So while there ’ s some revolution , much of it is evolution . Metzeler has a paid lot of attention to slowing the drop-off in tyre performance as the hoop ages and wears . This was once a huge issue , but the sorcery has advanced and such drop-offs are less noticeable on the latest tyres . The aim is to have the tyre behave the same way at the end of its life as it does at the start . Stiffer carcasses , multi-radius profiles , knew knob-layout , self-cleaning treads , dual compound construction , shorter braking distances ( wet and dry ), higher corner speeds – all of these qualities are manifest in the new Karoos and Tourances . All that remained was an objective
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