Metzeler Roadtec 02 tyre review - 'After over 1000 miles in all conditions they're hard to fault'

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Nowadays, it’s not enough for a motorcycle tyre to do just one thing well. Trackday tyres need to perform in all conditions, off-road tyres need to endure tarmac, and sporty, touring tyres? Well, not only do they need to last for thousands of miles, but they have to perform for fast riding, motorway mileage and offer grip in cold and wet conditions, which isn’t an easy balance to strike – yet that’s exactly what Metzeler claim to have done with the Roadtec 02.

With so many different size options to choose from, this is a tyre that needs to cater for a huge variety of bikes, weights and power outputs – and with the previous Roadtec 01 winning MCN’s Tyre of the Year Award in 2017, the 02s have big boots to fill.

So what’s new?

Before we talk about how the tyres feel and last, it’s worth noting the sheer amount of development that has gone into creating them. First up is the new ‘Dynatread’ adaptive pattern, which behaves differently depending on the way the machine is being ridden.

It does this by altering the shape of the tread when the tyres are under heavy load in order to squash the grooves for more stability and grip, while they open under softer loads for better water dispersal in wet conditions. There’s also a new, full silica compound for the front and on the shoulders of the rear (the middle is a harder compound for longevity) in order to warm up quickly, while 43% of the materials used are recycled or bio-based. 

Safe, yet sharp

But leaving the marketing fluff behind, the Roadtec 02s truly feel like one of the best sporty touring tyres on the market. This is because they perform like they have a split personality, and from the outset in poor conditions they offer an incredible amount of feel and feedback, even when temperatures are sitting in the single digits.

Yet that same tyre, with the same pressure still delivers an impressive level of composure for more spirited riding, with good stability under braking and a really light feeling on the way into corners, thanks to the soft shoulders.

Although they do come unstuck a little when pushed on beyond what is deemed a sensible limit for the road, it is worth remembering that they are still a touring tyre built for mileage. If you’re a fast road rider the 02s are ace, but if you’re heading to a trackday on something with a shed load of power, you’ll find the limits.

Going the distance

But that’s not really what the Roadtec 02s are made for. One thing they are however is big mileage tyres, and they offer a good level of stability at motorway speeds, combined with very little road noise. It’s a tyre that could easily munch up a big-mile trip which is a handy trait, as perhaps one of the most important aspects of the 02 comes in the form of their longevity. 

Although our MT-09 test bike isn’t the heaviest, nor is it the most powerful of the bunch when it comes to outright bhp, it does pack 67lb.ft of torque, and even with my excitable throttle hand on some seriously hot days in the saddle, it was difficult to set off any major blistering or wear on the edges. In addition, more than 1000 miles of motorway mileage has done very little to square the rear.

Verdict 

Some tyres promise a lot but deliver much less, yet that is not the case with the Roadtec 02s – for their purpose of a sporty, touring tyre it’s genuinely hard to fault them, especially after over 1000 miles of use in all conditions.

Not only do they offer a solid amount of support, but they also manage to transmit an impressive amount of feedback back to the rider, resulting in serious confidence to ride in a sportier, more spirited manner.

Yet the finest thing is how they perform in cold, wet and damp conditions – offering not only a very decent level of grip, but also an impressive amount of feel, something which is difficult to find in a lot of tyres built with mileage in mind.

Couple that with very little noticeable wear across months of riding, and the result is a tyre that really does offer a huge window of capability. 

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