They say, ‘Good shoes take you to good places’, and just like that, the motorcycling equivalent to that is, ‘Good tyres take you to good places and in one piece.’ The last bit holds a lot of importance because tyres are the only thing that connects a motorcycle to the road. The sooner you realise that, the better it is. In the current market of two-wheelers, there are a lot of brands offering all sorts of styles. While that’s a good thing, what does get compromised is the quality and type of tyre for the said application. And it doesn’t take much time for an experienced rider to realise the limitations of the motorcycle due to average tyre performance, which eventually robs away the joy of motorcycling.
Taking these factors into consideration, Reise Moto is the newest entrant in the Indian tyre market under the ownership of Mahansaria Group has tied up with Mitas tyres, a European tyre brand, to offer well-engineered tyres at competitive prices. While the company is currently focussing on adventure and touring class of motorcycles, they also have tyres designed for sportbikes, scooters, and retro motorcycles which they plan to introduce soon. That said, the company strongly believes in what their tyres are capable of and hence to demonstrate the same a bunch of journos were invited to Adventure Square (previous 19-Degree North) to test the TrailR dual-purpose tyres.
Currently, the company is manufacturing the TrailR tyres in profiles that are compatible with motorcycles like the Royal Enfield Himalayan, Hero XPulse, KTM 390 Adventure and so on. Being 50:50 on/off tyres, Reise has put in a lot of effort to ensure grip levels are above the standard from the way the tyres have been designed. To give an idea of the design aspects, the thread pattern on the TrailR tyres is based on knobbies with wide grooves to dig into mud and sand terrains. Furthermore, the centre line section is designed in a way to provide maximum traction at all times, while the outer side is designed to carry a decent level of lean through corners while the thin grooves are present to channel out water.
Enough of spec talk, time to put these tyres to the test. Shod on the Royal Enfield Himalayan, a motorcycle that I have extensively ridden on a variety of terrain, the TrialRs feel better right from the get-go. The venue Adventure Square is infamous for its challenging terrain that comprises rocks, loose grit, soft mud and ruts. The deep and wide groove pattern of the TrailR digs into the ground inspiring confidence to put the power down effectively. Also, when riding over loose soil, the tyre digs into it rather than skidding which usually happens with stock tyres. During the trail section, the TrailR tyres were subject to all sorts of thrashing that included jumps, slides and skids, but regardless of how aggressively the Himalayan was ridden, the grip levels from the TrailRs were fantastic. Unfortunately, the testing of the tyres was only limited to within the venue so I cannot comment on how they are on the tarmac. However, after experiencing how the tyres have performed, they won’t be bad on paved surfaces, to say the least.
For the available time, the Reise TrailR tyres have impacted a positive initial impression. That said, a comprehensive detailed review of the tyre’s performance on different road terrains and varying conditions is needed which we will do once we receive a set for testing. On the pricing front, Reise Moto has mentioned that its tyres will be 10-15 per cent of direct competitors, which is great for the level of quality and performance offered.
