On the Pirelli test track near Milan, we compared the cornering grip of the tyres on a watered concrete circular track. The rider accelerates the bicycle, which is driven by an electric motor, in a circle until the tyres reach their grip limit. During the ride, the speed and the data from a gyro sensor, which measures the degree of lean, are recorded. The measurement runs are carried out in both directions. The test rider is a TOUR editor and the raw data was also analysed by TOUR staff.
The advantage of this method is that the driver can carefully approach the limit range and move the tyres at the grip limit over a longer period of time. The differentiation is more precise than in our previous test, and better conclusions can be drawn about behaviour at the limit. Last but not least, the risk of injury is lower.
The maximum achievable cornering speed is our measure of wet grip. The handling grade expresses whether a tyre rides predictably and safely at the limit or whether it requires a lot of corrections when leaning.
The video of the Pirelli tyre test track shows that not everything always goes according to plan:
The complete test report with all individual descriptions can be found in TOUR 7/2019.
Jens Klötzer
Editor
