Re: [ST] Are "sticky" tires worth it

[rmcclaran@xxxxxxx]

Thanks to all who chimed in and those who responded off list as well. Like alot of folks I was one of those guys who had to have the stickiest tires I could get last season. The Dunlop 208's were great for the first 1200 miles or so but as they wore (quickly wore) I had less confidence in them than my old 010front/020rear combo. 
This past Sunday I went on a 470 mile bug killing rampage with a friend on a big heavy slow ass BMW GS running metzler dual sport tires. Now mind you, my tires are well worn to both edges and I ride fairly agressively. But this guy left me like I was on a goldwing on a 40 mile stretch of twisties. And he's got 12,000 miles on them, plenty of tread to go. I don't think it was the tires that made him faster.
Truthfully how many of us real world riders are REALLY using all the stickieness a sport tire offers; how many of us are sliding into turns and spinning out of them like Valentino Rossi. (If you are why on earth are you riding a Sprint?) Even when I'm riding on my edge I'm leaving 15-20% for a margin of error (I don't want broken bones either).
I don't want to compromise to save money, but I sure don't want to throw it away either. I'm convinced the marketing of sport tires to 98% of us is just that, marketing. And I don't think modern sport touring tires are a compromise.
Cheers,
Robbie

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