Can Road Tyres Be Used on the Track?

A case for riders using rubber that’s lower down the stickiness scale

A decision that all riders will have to make at some point, particularly those less experienced, is what ‘level’ of rubber should they throw onto their steed for track use.

Assuming money was no object, I’m sure many riders would end up with a similar conclusion; to go for the best they can get.

It goes without saying that super sticky track rubber is going to give them the greatest amount of grip, bringing with it a bigger safety net for rider error. But that high grip ceiling doesn’t come without its drawbacks.

Not only will the tyre cost more (considerably more in some instances), but they’ll wear out quicker too, meaning they’re paying over the odds for a tyre that they likely can’t appreciate the full potential of.

What this means is that, ultimately, buying them becomes false economy. But the drawbacks aren’t exclusively monetary.

These super sticky tyres offer grip levels far higher than a substantial amount of track riders are able to make use of, so how can they ever expect to get comfortable with (and learn something about) traction limits while using them?

Then there’s the fact that as you move up the stickiness scale, the tyre needs to be worked harder in order to get the heat into it and make it work properly.

An under temperature Dunlop KR slick, for example, isn’t going to give you the same level of traction you’d get from an up to temperature road biased track tyre, such as a Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa.

One tyre costs considerably more than the other, yet if you can’t get it up to temperature you are seeing virtually zero benefit from it. Well, apart from a psychological advantage, perhaps.

Some schools in the UK even use sports touring rubber because they know they’ll offer enough grip for the students to be able to ride comfortably, they’ll last a good few thousand miles more, and they can sometimes cost half the price!

Here’s a great picture to illustrate what I’m talking about.

The above rider has a pair of Dunlop Roadsmart IIs on the bike. These aren’t even a road biased track tyre, they are a sport touring tyre.

It’s clear from the above that edge grip is not something the rider is struggling with in particular.

So Where’s the Difference?

Having said that, high lean angle doesn’t instantly mean uber quick lap times, and the biggest differences in the tyre will come from two areas in particular.

On the brakes – Less track focused rubber isn’t going to give you the same level of grip when hard on the brakes, and when carrying much of that braking effort into the corner.

On the power – Where a Dunlop slick would offer oodles of grip for the latest litre sports bike to lay down all that power and fire out of a corner, lesser rubber won’t withstand that onslaught, affecting the bike’s exit drive potential.

But again, we’re talking about a level that so many track riders aren’t even getting close to.

Feeling the Signs

I’d wager I could take a wander down any track day paddock and find a wealth of people who have no idea what tyre movement feels like. But it’s not their fault.

It’s the result of extremely capable rubber coupled with the use of tyre warmers, which in turn means that tyre potential is always well above what they’re capable of using and that they rarely get to experience what a lack of grip feels like.

Balancing Learning and Safety

Using less sticky rubber in the interest of learning (and money saving) is all well and good to a point, but when you start going too far in the other direction you start to raise questions about safety.

I’m not suggesting for one second that riders pick up the cheapest black hoops they can find that’ll fit on their bike.

From a safety standpoint, you will want to pick something that was designed with sporty riding in mind, just not necessarily something that was designed for riders at the front of national and international championships.

See my article on good road and track day tyre options for an idea.

The above tyres were designed for sporty road riders that want to get a few track days in too. However, these tyres are so good that I really believe that many fast group riders wouldn’t necessarily be able to get the best out of them.

Coming down the performance (and price) scale somewhat, even some of the following tyres would perform excellently on the track and provide a vast amount of track riders with all they would need to get out there and play.

While billed as more road biased tyres, any of the above are more than capable of attacking the track, and with some being nearly 30% cheaper than more track focused rubber like the Metzeler Racetecs or Pirelli Diablo Supercorsas for example, you could just save yourself a pretty penny and still find yourself with one capable tyre.

There’s no need to just take my word for it though. Punch any of them into Google or YouTube and see how people are using them, then consider where you sit on the ability scale in relation to how they’re being used.

You may just be surprised.

Technique Has to Be There

It should be said now that while I am telling you to think about going for tyres that offer less grip, I do it under the assumption that all of you reading this will be applying and practising good technique.

Super sticky rubber does an amazing job of hiding glaring issues in technique, so you could even argue that riders not practising good technique need that rubber to save their bacon.

But if a rider falls off at the track on less race focused rubber, does that mean the rubber is no good?

Not necessarily. It could simply be that their poor technique didn’t give the tyre a fighting chance. The trouble is by that point the mental damage is already done.

If you’re practicing good technique then you are going to put yourself in the best position to feel the signs from these so called ‘lesser’ tyres and actually learn something about traction limits.

Think of Your Wallet

If you can afford the latest and greatest rubber and you want to buy it, I’m not going to argue with you. I did exactly the same when I started out.

But if you’re one of the many who are looking to save the pennies wherever they can, in hindsight I would say going for less track focused rubber is a very realistic option for you.

The biggest disadvantage is that the tyres will have less in reserve to deal with glaring rider issues, but if you’re somewhere close to the mark in what is expected of you from a technique standpoint, this point should be moot.

It’s sometimes hard not to listen to and follow the crowd and just go with what everyone else is using, simply because you don’t know any better, but if you’re not scared to be different and take an alternative path you may just wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.