RATING RUBBER...

We love a tyre launch, and especially ones of a sporty disposition. So when Michelin dropped us a line about not one, but two additions to their range, we didn't need our arm twisting to get stuck in and see what they're all about...

EIsewhere in this issue, and in many other issues of Fast Bikes, you'll read I about the fantastic new and used bikes we celebrate and enjoy. We marvel at their engineering and performance, and how, with the relentless march of time, they just keep getting better and better.

However, ask anyone in the know, and they'll tell you that the absolute single most important part of any motorbike is the humble tyre. Tyres can be the difference between a peach of a bike or a dog of a bike, regardless of how much trick suspension, engine, or chassis tech it's got, so when we get an invite to try out not one but three new tyres from one of the world's largest tyre manufacturers, you can be sure we'd be there with a notepad and pen and some fresh new knee sliders.

Of course, there is a caveat when it comes to trying out tyres: much like when a new bike comes out, the best way to really understand their place in the world is to try them alongside their competitors. In isolation, all you can do is say what you feel beneath you, which, in the case of tyres, comes down to how much confidence they give.

Tyres are also big business. According to Michelin, the size of the sportsbike tyre market in Europe alone was 1.5million tyres in 2023 which, by any measure, is a lot of tyres. It's also a heartwarming fact to know that there are enough sportsbikes in Europe to chew up and spit out approximately 29,000 tyres every week. At a time when in the UK we are constantly being told by doom-mongers that sportsbikes are dead and no longer relevant, this fact provides reassurance. While it is true that new sportsbike sales are lower than in the past, there are obviously still plenty of people out there riding plenty of sportsbikes; giant steps in development may have stalled in the sportsbike class, but this is very much not the case when it comes to tyres, because they're relevant to all sportsbikes regardless of age.