The world of the dual-sport rider is often one of compromise. You are compromising between speed and torque. You are torn between devoting your vacation time to a cross-country road trip with your cruiser buddies or a cross-state trail trip with your off-road buddies. It's a hard life.
Tires are of particular concern for a machine that can go from tarmac to trail without the least bit of preparation. Continental's TKC 80 attempts to bridge these worlds with as little compromise possible.
You would think that Continental had no sense of fun by their mission statement of serious safety and quality, but these tires prove they have a flair for adventure. The block pattern gives a decent-sized knob that provides excellent traction on soft terrain. Breaking and cornering feels surprisingly stable, especially if you're trading in a half-knobbed tire. The ample gaps made the TKC 80 a good self-cleaning tire. You will feel more confident on everything from dirt, to gravel, to, yes, even road.
I'm not saying that these offer sportbike street performance, but they will handle well enough on the road that you won't be annoyed into switching tires all the time. A strong sidewall and wide-block tread allow for decent street cornering performance on dry pavement, but slowing down for wet roads is advised due to the tread's reduced surface-to-surface contact.
Despite Continental's claims of a long-lived tire, many riders find the tread to wear down too quickly. Again, it's the saga of the dual sport: compromise. If you want a tire that will dig into the dirt but be tacky enough to corner on the street, you're going to have to sacrifice something -- and I'd rather sacrifice longevity than performance or safety.
You'll experience good performance with the Metzeler Dual Sport Tourance tires.
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