The evolution of tires is constant and every year manufacturers raise the bar for overall tire performance or, if you prefer, increase the possibilities of use and versatility of their products. This is certainly the approach adopted by Metzeler in the new Roadtec 02, which succeeds the Roadtec 01 and 01 SE.
If the latter are recognized as excellent representatives of the Sport-Touring universe (with the SE capable of achieving a more sporty performance), the newcomer Roadtec 02 aims to combine the best of the sporty and touring worlds, almost defining a new category of tires, the “Super-Sport Touring”, which allows a wide range of performance according to the driving style.
Adaptive tread design
In the press release for the debut of Metzeler’s new product, we discover that the Roadtec 02 introduces a new technology that allows the behavior of two different tires in a single tire, through Adaptive Tread Design, which adapts the geometry of the grooves according to the rider’s driving style, thus varying the contact surface and consequently the tire’s behavior, from Sport-Touring to Supersport.
If touring performance or wet surface travel is needed, the long grooves in the design favor water evacuation and the good mobility of the tread compound, contributing to quick heating, comfort and grip, just like a Sport-Touring tire.
On the other hand, when adopting a more sporty driving style, on dry surfaces, load transfers and increased lateral thrust cause some of the grooves to close, thus increasing the compact shape and stability of the tread. This allows the grip qualities of the compound to be maximized, improving steering precision and changing the tire’s behavior to that of a super-sport tire.
Metzeler emphasizes that the front and rear tires are designed with the same tread pattern to ensure the same adaptive behavior on both axes.
