Metzeler to introduce sustainable sport touring tire in 2024

ROADTEC 02, the new sport touring tire from Metzeler, is successfully completing the final development and testing phases and, starting in January 2024, will be available for sale to the public.

Compared to its predecessor ROADTEC 01, the ROADTEC 02 significantly improves dynamic performance, primarily handling and wet road behavior, and does so by using a high percentage of materials of natural origin (materials entirely or partially derived from biomass: plants and vegetables) or recycled, according to the company.

ROADTEC 02 is intended for the sport-touring segment (i.e., tires used for mixed sport and touring use), but with this product, Metzeler says it has further raised the bar of sportiness by effectively creating a “Super Sport Touring” tire. The company says it has typical characteristics of a touring tire, such as high mileage and excellent grip on wet surfaces, combined with many of those more typical of super sport tires, such as its handling, which gives new levels of sportiness.

With the new ROADTEC 02 compounds, the tire warm-up times have also been reduced, benefiting safety from the first mile. Finally, performance in difficult conditions, such as cold, wet, and slippery asphalt, has been improved, according to the company.

“ROADTEC 02 will be a great representative of the Metzeler brand values. For us, travel is the quintessence of motorcycling to be understood as a lifestyle,” says Francesco Pietrangeli, Metzeler’s marketing director. “We are talking to the motorcyclist who always rides, even if it’s raining and cold. But also to the romantic one, hungry for adventure and experiences to tell. All without ignoring another value of primary importance for us, the quality: those who travel trust and rely on high-quality tires, safe even in rain and cold, which make riding easier and are not very tiring. ROADTEC 02 embodies all these values perfectly and does so with an eye towards the environment because it significantly reduces materials of fossil and mineral origin, focusing instead on those of natural origin or recycled.”

ROADTEC 02 represents the first Metzeler product line that will contain a high percentage of natural and recycled material, allowing a substantial reduction in the number of ingredients of fossil and mineral origin, the company says.