Metzeler Z6 Interact - Review http://www.bikechatter.net/media/reviews/photos/thumbnail/320x320s/b4/28/07/1049_metzelerroadtecz6interact_1267481971.jpg Hot

Metzeler's all new sports touring tyre featuring Interact Technology handles exceptionally in the wet and dry, the cold and no doubt warm when it eventually arrives

Interactive

Initial Thoughts

Progress marches on and the Metzeler Z6 Interact is no exception to this with the inclusion of Interact which in laymans terms gives different tensions to the internal steel belt on certain areas of the tyre, as an example the shoulder of the tyre is given a slightly greater amount of flex to allow the contact patch to spread when it is needed the most whereas the centre area is wound tighter to keep the contact area more uniform while in use and reduce friction which in turn reduces heat and consequently wear - clever stuff! From my point of view though I need to know it will grip when I need it in all conditions and with everything from cold and dry to cold and wet at my disposal I really have the finest conditions for a sport touring tyre.

Construction

First up it is worth mentioning that these tyres are following on from a firm favourite and very capable outright sports tyre and being able to throw the bike around in very much the same way is the benchmark, normally I would expect to have to back it off a little with a tyre aimed at the touring market, granted though I am not riding at ten tenths in the height of summer but get out on a decent dry day, get some heat in them and you will not notice they are not your regular sports tyre. I found they liked to be run at a slightly lower pressure than other models I have tried and when pumped up to my usual pressure they squirmed a tiny bit on fast bends - drop the pressure by a psi or two though and they are transformed.

In the wet they are equally impressive and with us having nothing but cold damp roads with the odd smattering of dry they have earned their place on the bike with multiple motorway runs and afternoon scratches alike, longevity is fantastic and even after 3500 miles they probably have 50% life left in them and have not squared off as as have come to expect at this mileage. Warm up times are pretty fast, I say pretty fast as I have actually no idea how fast other than I have not had to curb my enthusiasm for more than a mile which to me seems fast indeed.

Rather than go for multiple compounds the Z6 Interact manages to find a useful middle ground between performance and longevity that other tyres can only hope to achieve, I have not had a single loss of grip or even moment where the tyre let go - in fact even from cold I managed to give it some beans away from a traffic light the other day and rather than slide it gripped in and hoisted a mono - sweet! One final point to note is that over bumps the Z6 Interact delivers good feedback where I have previously experienced an odd rolling and moving sensation from other models, this usually ends in me backing off as it makes me feel like the rear wheel is loose and its just Sheffield's terrible road surfacing, the Z6 Interact just seems to get on with the bumps and tracks them nicely without giving you a reason to doubt their efficacy

Technical Info:

The successor of Roadtec Z6, able thanks to the revolutionary INTERACT™ technology to offer the best performance answering the new needs of the modern sport touring riders.

• New INTERACT™ technology guarantees a progressive and intelligent pressure distribution all along the profile ensuring performance exactly where needed for high adaptability to different riding styles
• Flexibility of usage thanks to new highly efficient compound mixing technology designed to give maximum stability in all riding conditions
• Increased silica / carbon balck ratio improves total wet behaviour for maximum confidence in every weather condition