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After just reading Murgie's report on his experience with the Yoko NRF, I was motivated to provide a report on my recent trials on the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Runflat. I had the opportunity to ride two good spirited sessions mixed in with a good number of gentle country roads, in all kinds of weather. Its performance characteristics didn't seem to change much with the weather.
The Basics
195/55R16 Runflat
Weight: 21 pounds!
LRR Asymmetric tread
Tire pressure, spirited: 37 psi
Tire pressure, commuting: 33 psi
The Good
The low weight (21#) for a runflat makes it VERY nimble in compound curves.
If your style is a smooth, easy-flowing, easy on and off the throttle style, this tire is good.
It displaces water very well.
The Not-So-Good
Regardless of the road surface conditions, it simply will not take much hard throttle when on a lean. It did fine if you were easy on and off the throttle, but as soon as you cranked hard while on a decent lean, it would spin loose. It would slide sideways every time; how far depended on the road grip. I imagine there might be some folks that might enjoy a 'drifting' tire, but I am not one of them. On two occasions it spun while straight up coming out of a tight hairpin in second gear. It felt like the sidewall was flexing laterally when under cornering stresses. Increasing the tire pressure might have helped that, but it would have also become too bouncy.
It also generated more heat that other good CTs under similar riding conditions. Simply commuting, it would quickly gain ~6 psi and top out at ~8 psi gain, which is equivalent to an 80F increase. Under spirited conditions, it gained 10 psi, equivalent to 100F. On a hot day, that is simply too much gain to trust.
Bottom Line
Simply put, this tire does not have the grip necessary to trust it under spirited riding conditions. After 4500 miles, I am going to just use it up going back and forth to work. The edges have a little left and the center has a lot left. I do not recommend this tire for spirited riding and at the $160+ price, there are other better tires for the money.
The Basics
195/55R16 Runflat
Weight: 21 pounds!
LRR Asymmetric tread
Tire pressure, spirited: 37 psi
Tire pressure, commuting: 33 psi
The Good
The low weight (21#) for a runflat makes it VERY nimble in compound curves.
If your style is a smooth, easy-flowing, easy on and off the throttle style, this tire is good.
It displaces water very well.
The Not-So-Good
Regardless of the road surface conditions, it simply will not take much hard throttle when on a lean. It did fine if you were easy on and off the throttle, but as soon as you cranked hard while on a decent lean, it would spin loose. It would slide sideways every time; how far depended on the road grip. I imagine there might be some folks that might enjoy a 'drifting' tire, but I am not one of them. On two occasions it spun while straight up coming out of a tight hairpin in second gear. It felt like the sidewall was flexing laterally when under cornering stresses. Increasing the tire pressure might have helped that, but it would have also become too bouncy.
It also generated more heat that other good CTs under similar riding conditions. Simply commuting, it would quickly gain ~6 psi and top out at ~8 psi gain, which is equivalent to an 80F increase. Under spirited conditions, it gained 10 psi, equivalent to 100F. On a hot day, that is simply too much gain to trust.
Bottom Line
Simply put, this tire does not have the grip necessary to trust it under spirited riding conditions. After 4500 miles, I am going to just use it up going back and forth to work. The edges have a little left and the center has a lot left. I do not recommend this tire for spirited riding and at the $160+ price, there are other better tires for the money.