Avon Trailrider
 

So I had to replace my front the other day and was going to go with a Distanzia that the shop still had, but thought I might as well take the plunge and go with the relacement model, the Trailrider.

Went to FWR in London, good blokes and always do their best on price.
I've only done about 60 miles commuting so far in the dry, but I have to say it seems pretty good so far. Seems to warm up fairly quickly and grips pretty well straight out of the shop, but I'm not pushing it just yet.

It does seem to turn in a fair bit quicker than the Distanzia and I'm finding I need to lighten my touch on the bars. The Distanzia needed a bit more leverage on the counter-steer to turn in. Might just be the newness of the tyre or a different profile, but starting to like it a lot already.

Found a good review of them on

http://earth-roamers.blogspot.com/20...railrider.html

Basically they took them on a 25,000 km ride on all surfaces and really put them to the test. It's a good read and you can click thru to the next instalment at the bottom of each page.

Now looking forward to my rear Distanzia wearing out so I can try a pair of Trailriders. Apparently the fronts outlast the rears quite well, so should all work out nicely. Don't think I'll be disappointed when the time comes. For the time being I can say they work ok together as a non matching pair.
Running 30psi as I did in the Distanzia. Apparently Avon have designed them to run fine with lower pressures. And supposedly they only start to cup on the front when they are nearly dead. A problem I always had a bit too early on the Distanzia.

Will update as I get more miles on them in different conditions.

Glad to hear your liking the Trail rider. ...I have heard it 'turns' in a bit quicker. The wet weather grip is supposed to be excellent , always a good thing. As stocks of Distanzia's run down I'll be switching to these tyres myself. .....so good to hear your thoughts on them. Steve

Happy to be the Guinea Pig Steve. Have high hopes that they may be an even better 'Distanzia'

I�ll change to the Trailriders on my Tenere, when the Scouts I run now, are shot. I do like the Scouts(used three sets), but the more road orientated Trailriders seem the perfect follow-upsfor me, as I hardly do any offroad(only some gravel roads).

Happy to report that the wet weather grip thus far is proving to be very good indeed. Almost unnaturally good. Feedback is excellent. Not tried them in a deluge yet though.

By way of an update. I'm now used to the different feel of the Trailrider front over the distanzia. Have to say they are equal if not slightly better. I'm back to a chicken strip of 2 or 3 mm on the rear Distanzia. Looking forward to getting a rear TR to match the front. Wet weather grip continues to be confidence inspiring.

Now a pair
 

Took the plunge a got the rear to match the front. Interestingly it's slowed the steering down a tad and all is good. Only managed about 5 miles before getting home, but already down to a 15mm chicken strip. High hopes these are going to be fun. Have to wait till Wednesday though. It had better not rain.

Well that jinxed it. Arse

I installed a set of Avon Trailriders on my Xt660x today and the bike feels much better to me than when I had the old tyres on. Pirrelli Diablo I I.
They were good but so far today these fell better and give me more confidence in the cold wet and greasy conditions currently in the U.K at the moment.

Weird issue with trail rider
 

Further update.
I've noticed that the front tyre seems to have what can only be described as a weird notchy head bearing feel.
It's like there is a resistance to the tyre moving from dead straight to either side. It's only noticeable at low speed, but takes some getting used to.
Nothing wrong with the head bearings that I can detect when it's on the centre stand, wheel off the ground. MOT station didn't notice anything either.
Pressures are fine too.
Anyone else got this issue?

You won�t notice anything when holding the handlebars. Too much leverage. I had to remove the wheels and forks to be able to feel how bad it really was.

I had the same issues with my Tenere, with a worn TKC80, so I figured with a new tire, it should be ok.

Nope...

Had to order new bearings, and watch youtube for a while, buy a Dremel and some other hardware.
It took me about 5 or 6 hours to change them.
But, I figure, next time, I should be able to do it in about 2 hours...

I was wondering if it could really be the tyre.
I put the bike on the centre stand and tried to feel the notch through the bars, but as you said, very difficult to feel.
However when I lifted the wheel from the front spindle, ( the crash bungs ) it seems as if there is some wear present. It has a little bit of resistance, then kind of flops over to the side. A bit like its climbing a hill and then rolls suddenly from the top down the side ( if that makes sense )
Anyway, I've ordered a new kit from Wemoto ( the Japanese one )
Now I need the time to do it or I may ask a garage to sort it. I don't have a bearing puller.

I broke off the bearing housing with a screwdriver, and cut a deep notch in the remains with a dremel-tool, and split it with a chisel (it is very hard steel, so very brittle)

Then I used the remains upside down to help install the new bearing.

Search for it on youtube. Several videos there. Some use screwdrivers as a wedge to force the bearing off the stem. I found that this was not easy, and used the dremel-method instead.

Ha! I can imagine it was a headache to do either way.
I did it over 20 years ago on an XS400, my first bike.

I'm going to go the lazy route and let a mechanic do it for me. Two kids gives me precious little time for basic maintenance.

They think 2 hours to complete. A lot less time than it'll take me, although not nearly as satisfying.

Thanks for your help

So Mr.Jlovold, it seems you were spot on in your diagnosis.
My steering head bearings had covered 39000mikes and I'm not a wheelie monster by any stretch of the imagination. As you said it was very difficult to detect any wear or notchiness through the bars.

The difference in ride-ability is astonishing.

The mechanic said there was very little wear, but oh what a difference.
It feels so much more confidence inspiring in the corners, the vagueness has gone.
My chicken strips of 8-10mm are already less after one commute to work.

Apologies to Avon and your trailrider tyre. Nowt wrong with them.
I'll be expecting it to be even nicer once I complete the second tightening in a few hundred miles.

Happy days.