How to choose a good tire for your motorcycle②

4. Patterns. The influence of motorcycle tyres pattern on tire performance lies in its depth and direction.
The depth of the pattern represents the drainage capacity of the tire and the way the tire contacts uneven ground.
The bald tire means that the rubber can contact the ground in the largest area, and will bring the best grip in a flat and dry track environment. But once it encounters water or gravel, the bald tires that have no drainage capacity and cannot adapt to the gravel road become very dangerous. Because of stagnant water, the appearance of sand and gravel on the street/mountain road is unpredictable and unavoidable, so bald tires cannot be used legally on the road and can only be used as track tires.
The deeper the tire pattern is, the better the tire's drainage capacity and the ability to deal with uneven roads such as sand and gravel, but it also means the reduction of grip (the area of ??rubber and the ground contact is reduced). However, this relationship is not completely positive. Nowadays, many tires with deep patterns (sports wagons, and some tires used in adventure models, such as Pirelli angel tires), although the pattern is very deep, but the grip is still quite It's not bad. Experienced racers can still use these tires on the track, grinding their knees and cornering.
The direction of the pattern has a certain influence on the sensitivity and cornering ability of the vehicle. Generally speaking, the longitudinal pattern helps to improve the passing ability of sharp and high-speed corners; the lateral pattern improves the stability of the vehicle's braking.
5. Wear speed.
Tire wear includes not only the rubber of the viscous surface layer being worn off, or the pattern being worn away (collectively referred to as Tire wear), but also a process called Outgassing.
As the temperature of the tire rises, the rubber will soften accordingly to better fit the road surface and provide a stronger viscosity to the ground. We all hope that when using a tire, it can reach the best working temperature and bring the best grip. But once it is stopped, the tire will be cooled from high temperature. This cold-hot-cold cycle process is also an outgassing process. In the process of degassing, part of the chemical substances in the tire material will become gas and dissipate, thereby changing the chemical composition of the tire. Pay attention to the tires used on the track, most of them will have a blue mark, this mark is the performance of outgassing.
After deaeration, the tire rubber will harden, so there is no way to better fit the ground, and it will not be as sticky as before. Tires specially designed for track use (the tires are usually marked with stickers or words). At the beginning of the design, they are considered to be tires that will be discarded after only two or three use, which is equivalent to two or three times from a cold rise to The optimal tire temperature and the re-cooling cycle are two to three deaeration processes. After that, the chemical composition of the tire will undergo a huge change, becoming a completely different tire, and no longer possessing sufficient grip.
The motorcycle tyres mainly used on street/mountain roads were originally designed to withstand hundreds of degassing processes, which greatly extended their service life.
Generally speaking, tires with fast abrasion speed have stronger grip, but the use cost is higher; tires with slower abrasion speed can be used for a longer time, replacement frequency is low, and money is saved, but the corresponding grip is not So strong.
After reading the above, I believe you should have discovered that there is really no kind of tire that is perfect. Each characteristic has its own advantages and disadvantages. The pursuit of one characteristic will inevitably affect other characteristics. At this time, it is time to compromise. Please learn to choose tires with suitable characteristics according to your riding needs and riding style.
Remember, choosing a motorcycle tyres is the same as everything else, the one that suits you is the best.