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Avon Trekrider AV84/85 Tires

24K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  Ziggy  
#1 ·
I haven't been able to find many reports about the new Avon Trekrider AV 84/85 tires. Avon claims they are a 50/50 adventure tire, and frankly, I'd be happy with a 70/30 tire.

Anyone have any experience with these new tires? Look like they would be a balanced compromise for a tire between something like the Shinko 804/805 and a more 90/10 tire like the OEM or Continental Trail Attack 2s.

I bought a set. So I'll test them out...

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http://www.avonmoto.com/products/adventure-sport/trekrider
 
#5 ·
I'm curious and will remain so. Apparently, the one business in Canada that had a line on these tires no longer knows if they'll ship to Canada this summer. Hmmm. Bummer they look like a really great tire and I've tried the Heidenaus, Mefo Explorer (basically the same), so the only other 50/50 or 60/40 tire that I might try next is the Metzeler Karoo 3.

Their next closest tire is the Avon Trailrider which also looks promising and gets excellent reviews. I was just hoping for more of a compromise leaning towards gravel/fire road and offroad. Not a full dirt tire and not a 90/10 tires like the Trailrider.

I am going to put on the Shinko 804/805 tires this summer instead.

If anyone gets to try these out I'd be curious.
 
#9 ·
I'm a fan of the Mitas E07s. While I've not used them on my AT, I did on my Super Tenere. I found they provided excellent traction in all but the worst off-road conditions (slick mud, that would be impassable on any tire). They last a long time.

A note those. My E07s center block did not have a wear bar on them. The center blocks went down to the carcass. I notice the newer ones have a center wear bar. I call them a wear bar but they seem to be pretty tall and in my mind there is still quite a bit of miles left on them. I would imagine once it wears to that point they might be slick like the heidenaus on wet pavement.

My only couple nits with them was the transition between upright and leaned over. Unlike more round profile tires it did feel there was a transition point from upright to leaned over. Not a big deal, not sudden, but something I noticed. Also the front end feel was a bit numb on-road. Not bad, but it does remind me of the AT on the stock Dunlop front tire.

I think if I was taking a long trip, I'd opt for the Mitas.
 
#11 ·
I'll pick them up in the US (Montana) in about a week. Now I'm torn. I'm going to ride from Calgary to PEI through Northern Quebec (James Bay) and Labrador (Trans-Labrador) - about 8,300 kilometres to get there. Then riding back straight West – about 5,300 kilometres.

Reports for the E07s are from 6,000 to 15,000 kilometres. What did you get out of yours?
The Avon TrekRiders are an unknown quantity but I'd imagine they'd last from 8,000-10,000 kilometres (hopefully more given the competition).
 
#10 ·
It looks like Revzilla has both. So I bought a set of each and will drive down to Montana to pick them up. That's provided that there isn't a mishap with their website showing stock when there isn't any.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I picked up my tires today. The Avon Trekrider 84/85 look beefy, the tread is significant and the sidewall is just as stiff feeling as the Mitas E-07. Just a rough measure and the tread depth of the rear tire is about 12/13mm.The only available size for the rear right now is a 140 80R18, which should still fit fine.

I compared it with the Mitas E-07 treads.The Trekrider is about 2-3 mm shallower in the tread. I think I'm still going to try the Avons on my summer trip just to try a new tire that so far goes without a lot of anecdotal evidence. They look more suited to road riding which is 3/4 or more of my journey - they look deep enough to get 8-10,000 kilometres as a guess. We'll see how long they last in July when I go.
 

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#14 ·
Got the Avon Trekriders installed today. Did a quick rip out of town on highway and gravel roads. Lots of bite on the gravel, even on the deep marble type stuff. Had the bike up to speeds in excess of the speed limit and they were perfectly steady.

Two more weeks and they'll get their big test across Canada.
 

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#15 ·
Very curious about how these perform on wet tarmac. For example Mitas E07 and Heidenau K60 have sacrifaced the wet grip for durability by using quite hard rubber, hopfully the Avons perform better on wet.
 
#19 ·
I leave in two weeks, so I'll give a full report. I have about 300 kilometres on them now and they are really good. Good dry pavement traction and good in the gravel (they bite). The front is not quite as grounded as a knobby but it is a compromise tire and better than the OEM by a long shot. The turn in is linear and a bit slower to fall in than the OEM tires which are more like a sport touring tire.

I have a set of the Mitas E07s sitting in the garage and the compound feels about the same hardness but I guess time will tell.

So far, I'm really impressed.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Well, I've returned from my cross-Canada journey and I have to say - I like these tires, a lot! They are excellent.

Almost exactly 15,000 kilometers of riding on them before the rear was completely warn out. The front actually still has some life left.

I'd highly recommend the Trekriders to anyone looking for a good 50/50 tire.

Here are some observations:

On pavement it felt as good as the Pilot Road 4 Trails I had on my Varadero - which says a lot - they're that good.

I pushed them on twisty roads, rode in wet and rain on several occasions - excellent in all conditions.

Offroad they are steady and predictable and bite into surface well. I'd say about 10% of my time on these tires was in gravel and dirt road use. Worked well in packed dirt, loose gravel and even oatmeal type muck. The only place they didn't work well was loose sandy surfaces, but I'd guess that only a true knobby would work there.

It's a single compound tire and wears evenly through its life. The tires remained easy to turn in and cornered the same throughout their use right to the end.

I had a front flat (twice) on my journey and it was easy to remove the tire with simple hand tools.

At 15,000 kilometres they go on, and on, and on. If you use them primarily for dirt and gravel I'd say at about 12,000 kilometres they would stop being useful. On the pavement they were fine all the way.

If you're looking for a long-life and multi-purpose tire this is an excellent one. I've got a set of Mitas E-07 and Shinko 804/805 tires to try next to compare but I can safely say this is one of my favourite tires to date - period.

In the photos below you'll see that the rear tire is flat and worn across the surface and right to the bottom of the tread. The front has about 3mm left and still corners fine so could probably go at least another 1,000-1,500 kilometres.
 

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#24 ·
I'm about halfway through the Shinko 804/805 combo and the Avon TrekRiders are still better tires all-round in my opinion if you're not doing any really muddy trails or sandy terrain. They'll be a much better 50/50 or 70/30 than most tires out there.
 
#25 ·
Only got 4600 miles out of the rear Avon Trailrider!!! Right down to the cords!!! Front made it to nearly 10K miles... Mounted a Shinko 705 on the rear when the Avon wore out. Good handling, not bad in gravel and hard pan, wearing well, expect 8000 miles plus, fair trade for being a lot less expensive... Have a set of Dunlop Trailsmart to try next...