We’re beginning to see more tire manufacturers creating longer lasting, true 50/50 tires for the adventure market. Avon is a British motorcycle tire company (est. 1911) and is well established in the motorcycle industry. Unusually, their TrekRiders are stamped with “Made in England,” whereas many others are manufactured elsewhere to apparently save on costs.

The key to the longevity of these tires lies in their dual-rubber compound. The center patch of the tread pattern utilizes a harder rubber for longer wear while the flanks have a softer compound for better grip on the twisties.

Having just returned from riding up mountain highway 18 on the way to Lake Arrowhead, California, I can attest to the grip quality of these tires on a tight mountain road. Intentionally, I turned off the traction control to get a better feel for any potential tire contact issues. I didn’t encounter any quirkiness at the spirited pace descending the mountain, with only positive feedback at both slow first-gear riding and high-speed tarmac carving. What a superb ride!

They delivered off road, too. Testing in the sand of the Cactus Flats OHV area, I dropped the street pressures of 41 psi to 30 psi in the rear and 33 in the front. The rather large channels between each chevron allowed fistfuls of sand to gather in the cavities to act as temporary push-offs, propelling the bike forward in the soft terrain.

On typical easy- to medium-rated forest service dirt roads (3N16 in the San Bernardino National Forest), they hooked up well using the same tire pressures I used in the sand. On one section of the dirt road in Holcomb Valley, I encountered a patch of fresh mud from the recent snowmelt run-off. As expected, they continued to behave exceptionally well, once again taking advantage of the big gaps in the tread pattern.

I can easily say these are the smoothest on-road 50/50 tires I’ve experienced and attribute this smoothness to their rather large chevron patterns. The tires are also well rounded so that when you lean in, you don’t feel as if you’re falling off the tire edges into the sidewall area as with stiffer popular counterparts which begin to square off. The sidewalls seem more pliable than the Mitas E07s and Heidennau K60 Scouts making installation relatively easy. 

Not only are the Avon TrekRiders surefooted both on the street and off road, but they also should deliver good mileage. As far as the wear, due to the dual-compound design, I’d expect 8,000 miles of average use on the rear, and for the front, perhaps 10,000 miles on my 2015 Yamaha Super Ténéré ES. Be sure to check the adventure forums for expected tire life and keep the Avon TrekRiders in mind when considering your next set of 50/50 tires…. you may be happy you did! MSRP: $158.36–$210.38 AvonMoto.com

Where to Buy:

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