Avon Spirit ST Tyres

Avon says its new hypersport and touring tyre is good for up to 10,000 miles on a single set. But what’s it like to ride on? We went to Portugal to find out...

- Carl Stevens

The new rubber is full of tech: the Advanced Tread Arc Combination, Enhanced Stability system and Lifetime Profile Engineering on the tyre work collectively to create consistent stability with stress distributed evenly throughout the carcass. This means that the varied tread profile can work to its full potential while keeping the tyre temperature down to give the maximum mileage possible. New 3D sipes offer a quick warm up time, and wet grip has been improved with a combination of Super Rich Silica and a clever tread pattern.

SO HOW DOES THE NEW TECH HOLD UP?

First up was testing the Spirit ST’s wet weather braking performance – an aspect of the tyre which improved massively from the previous Storm 3D X-M. With a tread pattern looking like almost a solid wet weather tyre it was incredibly exciting to fire down the sprinkler-covered tarmac patch; cranking up to about 35mph on a big old Suzuki Bandit before jumping on the front brake as hard as possible with absolutely no trouble at all.

Those inverted grooves on the front tyre really do displace the water incredibly well, and no matter how hard you hit the brakes (even with an ancient ABS system), the Spirit STs give an incredible amount of confidence and grip – perhaps the best in their class. So in the little wet weather test they excel, but how do they hold up when ridden on in the dry?