Which tyres?

[FALCONICITY]

Being a typical Yorkie I've gone for Metzeler Roadtecs for mileage. Should last me years, and then when they are worn out I've promised 'em to our lass so she can use 'em to grow turnips in.

[willmoir]

just had road angels fitted £186 a set initial feeling is very good

[Viking]

Metzeler Z6s here. (No, not the Z3s - they were crap).

14,000km and still going strong. Plenty of grip wet or dry and reasonably priced.

[DAN8*]

Newbie on the site but have went through a varied selection of tyres so here's my two bobs worth :

Dunlop 208: good wear but scared the hell out of me never again wouldn't even grade it for the wet 0/10

Michelin pilot: poor wear. grip ok but didn't inspire confidence. fair in wet 6/10

Bridgestone BT014: good grip. confidence inspiring. good wear. fair/good in wet 8/10

Pirelli diablo corsa: excellent grip. poor wear. confidence inspiring (very). excellent in wet 9/10

Pirelli diablo (not corsa): excellent grip (just take a couple of minutes longer than corsa to get to temp) good wear. confidence inspiring. excellent in wet 9/10

Pirelli diablo strada: excellent grip. excellent wear. confidence inspiring. good/excellent in wet 8/10
one problem myself & another diablo strada rider at a tracknite noticed on the hairpin (Knockhill) we were riding off the edge of the tyre, almost highsiding but remember it is designed to be a sport tourer tyre

This may be off no help whatsoever as different rider/style type of roads etc will affect opinion but as i said 'two bob worth'

Next i am going to try Pirelli Angel st so will update when i can afford them lol

Have now had the Pirelli Angel st's on for 5 months now have done around 3500 mls and the rear is just starting to show signs of wear, they are a bit slower on the turn in than the Diablo but that can be put down to the wider profile front tyre. Would go as far to say i will be replacing them for another pair when they are fekked, totally predictable and very confidence inspiring with excellent wear, 9/10 only because of the slow turn in but i am more than happy with them. Track night booked for Knochill in April so hopefully lean angle won't be an issue this time, will update then.

[mrapriliafalco]

I have 016s and they are fantastic,i can highly recommend them done a trip abroad thrashed the nuts off them at a trackday(posted pics somewhere of the tryes) and still going strong

[sfoley1]

Hello all

My rear Corsa has had it. I have decided to go for a roadsmart replacement.

I have a corsa front that is still fine. Is this an ok mix?

What size rear do I want? I have standard wheels.

Cheers

[mrapriliafalco]

I had 016s and preferred them to all the others I have tried.
I do like to think that I am smooth on the throttle and preserve rubber pretty well(ask the mrs ) but I did a track day and toured Scotland until the death of my RIP mate Sid and the tyres still had loads left in them.
My new Falco has Michelins but thanks to the Scottish police I cannot test them out

[Firestarter]

Hello all

My rear Corsa has had it. I have decided to go for a roadsmart replacement.

I have a corsa front that is still fine. Is this an ok mix?

What size rear do I want? I have standard wheels.

Cheers

Size you want is a 180/55 ZR 17".

As for the mix, there's no 100% answer, but even within a manufacturer's full range they're often reluctant to put tyres from different ranges on a bike (i.e. Diablo Corsa front, Strada rear probably wouldn't get a recommendation) - the profiles of a range are designed to work together front & back, a rear tyre from a different range might not work well with the front. There are exceptions, I think the Diablo/Strada combo is generally accepted, same with some of the Bridgestones (sports & sports-touring rear)

As for mixing manufacturers, I don't think you'll get anyone to say that's a good idea. It may well "work", and might even be OK, but no-one will hang their hat on it, the construction, profile etc won't have any testing done by manufacturers, so you'll very much be running at your own risk

If you want Roadsmarts, get a front & rear deal a flog the front Corsa on ebay, or keep it if you decide to put Corsas back on in the summer

[wavey]

Got to agree with Firestarter here. My only experience with mixing tyre brands was in the early 90's when I bought a GPZ1000RX (not the best handling bike in the world, but OK if you behaved yourself).

It had dunlop front and conti rear, it was awful & dangerous, thought I'd bought a baddun. So I stuck a set of Metzelers on and it was a revelation.

So if it was me, I'd get a new corsa rear or a new set of roadsmarts.

[D-Rider]

When I was moving over from the excellent Diablo Stradas to the amazingly good Diablo Rossos, only the front needed replacing. They weren't at all keen to sell me a different tyre for the front to that which I had on the back. In the end they did it for me as:
1) They were both of the same make
2) The sportier one was going on the front
3) They knew me ... and I begged them to do it

Never had a problem with that combo (though when I fitted a set of Rossos front and back I really felt the benefit).

Couldn't recommend different brands font and rear .... but I'm not saying that it definitely won't work

[sfoley1]

D-Rider

What's the difference between the Diablo (I actually have these, not Diablo Corsas) and the Diablo Strada?
Do the Stradas get more wear?

I have found somewhere where the Stradas are only a £1 more for the rear and £6 more for the front, come in at £144.75 for the pair

[D-Rider]

D-Rider

What's the difference between the Diablo (I actually have these, not Diablo Corsas) and the Diablo Strada?
Do the Stradas get more wear?

I have found somewhere where the Stradas are only a £1 more for the rear and £6 more for the front, come in at £144.75 for the pair

I've never actually ridden plain Diablos or Diablo Corsas - just Diablo Stradas and Diablo Rossos.

The Stradas are more Sport touring - you can get some pretty fantastic mileages out of them (for bike tyres that is)
I think they are being phased out to be replaced by the Pirelli Angels - though if I had the chance of a cheap set of Stradas I'd certainly buy them - great for touring and or winter use.
Oh I did my one and only track session on a set of Stradas.

So my understanding of how the Pirelli range goes - Sport/touring at the top to track at the bottom:

• Diablo Strada & Angel
  Diablo
  Diablo Rosso
  Diablo Corsa
  Diablo Corsa III
  Super Corsa

I think the Stradas and Rossos probabluy have some of the best warm up times and work well in winter as well as the warmer weather.

That said, I'm no expert - this is just what I've concluded so far ....

Pirelli Rossos .... I love them

[Firestarter]

D-Rider

What's the difference between the Diablo (I actually have these, not Diablo Corsas) and the Diablo Strada?
Do the Stradas get more wear?

I have found somewhere where the Stradas are only a £1 more for the rear and £6 more for the front, come in at £144.75 for the pair

The Stradas are the sport-touring tyre of the Pirelli range - the Diablos are the "sport" tyre, with the Corsa and Rosso being even more "sporty".

The Stradas do get better wear, I think they're a harder compound, also I think they've got a different profile so the handling will be different - more suited to stable running (i.e. touring) than quick turning. In terms of ultimate grip, they probably won't go as far as the Diablos - but I think they warm up quicker/easier so are more suited to the current inclement conditions, and it's not like you'll be aiming for 63deg of lean angle through the winter?

I think a few people have run the Strada rear/Diablo front and been quite happy with it - but again, not my recommendation

[Firestarter]

So my understanding of how the Pirelli range goes - Sport/touring at the top to track at the bottom:

• Diablo Strada & Angel
  Diablo
  Diablo Rosso
  Diablo Corsa
  Diablo Corsa III
  Super Corsa

I think the Stradas and Rossos probabluy have some of the best warm up times and work well in winter as well as the warmer weather.

You learn something new every day - I'd presumed the Rosso, being a "newer" tyre than the Corsa, was the stickier tyre, didn't know it was between the Diablo and the Corsa.

Might have to have a butchers at some point, when mine finish squaring off (some time in 2012 when the wee' un starts school, I guess )

[D-Rider]

TBH I'm not certain quite where the Rosso comes - I've just assumed that it comes between the Diablo and the Corsa as they keep talking about Corsas for fast road and track work.
I thought the standard Diablos were meant to be on their way out (but as with the Stradas, you still seem to be able to get them)
I thought the Rossos were due to replace the straight Diablos but were supposed to be a bit more sporty/grippy but with similar wear rates.

Another thing I heard with the Rossos is that they are supposed to wear at a similar rate front and back so that you always replace them as a pair.
Those I'm running now went on together - when I wear them out I'll let you know if that's true.

I just wish that the manufacturers would be a lot clearer with how their tyres stack up compared to each other and which are aimed at what jobs - that comparative data always seems hard to come by.