Anyone use Bridgestone T30 EVOs (tires)?

[stevesweetz]

Bike is hibernating for the winter now, but next spring I'll need new tires sooner than later.
 
Pilot Road 4s that everyone loves seem like overkill to me.  I try to avoid rain whenever possible and the few times I did get caught in a storm, the D222s seemed fine for conservative riding without needing an especially fancy tread.
 
T30 EVO looks like a good mid-range tire.  I'm not sure if these are a step up or down from the D222/Roadsmart 2 though.  I don't want to give up any dry grip, as I have experienced a little rear slip (luckily not catastrophically) when cornering on the D222s a few times (though maybe that's because of the suspension - I'm not skilled enough to know).
 
Anyone have anything good or bad to say about these tires?
 
 
 

[wessie]

In the UK the PR4, Roadsmart 2 and T30 are all priced about the same and all claim to be premium sport touring tyres made from dual compound (softer sides for good grip and hard centre for mileage). Bridgestone certainly aren't a mid-range tyre as they are standard equipment on many high performance motorcycles such as the Kawasaki H2R (not the T30 sport touring tyre though).
 
Whilst the D222 has the same tread pattern as the Roadsmart 2 it is of a different construction, using a single compound. Whatever you change to, it will be different as the D222 is not retailed.
 
If you were in the UK, I would be recommending the Avon Storm 2 - they perform as well as PR4/Roadsmart 2 in my view, but cost two thirds the price. Despite being owned by Cooper Tire, it seems Avon bike tyres aren't easy to find in the US.

[pcarnut]

Currently have T30s on my FJ and they are a great tire, good ride, neutral handling and decent life. I'm a big fan.
I also use them on my FJR. Here in the US the Bridgestones can often be found with a rebate. They recently offered a $50 rebate when buying a front/rear set. There is currently one going on for $40 I believe. I bought two sets. But, I'll also offer this, the PR4 on my FJR gives me about 8500-9000 miles, while the T30 is usually done by 6500. My favorite combo on the FJR, and one I'm going to use on the FJ-09 is a PR4 rear and T30 front. This is a great handling combo right up to the end of useful tread life.
 
I get my tires from Rocky Mountain ATV, very pleased with their prices and service.
 

[stevesweetz]

In the UK the PR4, Roadsmart 2 and T30 are all priced about the same and all claim to be premium sport touring tyres made from dual compound (softer sides for good grip and hard centre for mileage). 

In the US the PR4s are around $150/$205 (front/rear), while the T30EVOs are $115/$150, so they're a pretty significant savings.

[wessie]

In the UK the PR4, Roadsmart 2 and T30 are all priced about the same and all claim to be premium sport touring tyres made from dual compound (softer sides for good grip and hard centre for mileage). 

In the US the PR4s are around $150/$205 (front/rear), while the T30EVOs are $115/$150, so they're a pretty significant savings.

I bet like the Avons made in the UK, the Michelins are made in France and have import duty making them less competitive. Bridgestone probably make their tyres for the US market in one of their Firestone plants so cheaper for you in the home market. 

[bobaintstoppin]

I have always liked Avons best.  But they are a tough sell stateside.  Comparison from one vendor for a set of tires:
PR4 = $328
Road Smart 2 = $258
Road Attack 2 = $261
Avon Storm 3D = $485
T30EVO = $240
 
Never liked Bridgestone, but at this price it looks like it might be my next choice over the PR4 I'm running now.  Must be import duty killing the Avons here.

[britelitebob]

I've been running the Battlax series for some time, the t30's, evo's and the Battle Wings on my GS, and I  was using the BT-023's before the t30's came out. The main reason I like them is that the Bridgestones wear more evenly than the other brands with very little cupping clear down to the end of the tread life. 
Also all of the Bridgestones I have used were made in Japan so I think they may just have a bigger distribution network here because they have been popular here in the states for a long time. 

[lamwayne]

I have put over 13000km on the T30 evo. It is much better than stock D222 in many aspects : wet and dry grip, braking and conering stability, comfort, longevity. My rear tire still has about 3-4mm thread and should be good for another 3-4000km or so. I notice my T30 has lost a bit of grip recently but it still gives me more confidence now than the D222 new.

[jsp]

A couple years ago we did a 5,000+ mile trip to Sturgis. I used a set T30's. 5100 miles later, my tires looked awesome. I ended up with 9,000+ miles on them when I replaced them. I was sold. The T30 EVO is supposed to be better in all weather and cold conditions. Who knows, I live in SoCal, not much rain and not very cold. Great tire, great mileage, great price.
john

[stevesweetz]

Thanks guys, I'm sold on the T30 EVOs when I wake my bike up in spring.

[silverninja]

I just got a set of the T30's because I had a rear flat on the nearly new D222's and the dealer told me getting the stock rear tire was difficult and expensive??? but they had a new SET of T30's for $180 plus mounting. Having tried this tire and liked it on my FZ1's, I went for it. BTW, my favorite tire on the FZ1 was the Metzeler Z8's.

[2and3cylinders]

The RS2 were available for less than $200 shipped from CompAcc because the RS3 are out. I had cupping on the original version of the RS front and was not impressed but a buddy loves them and runs them on his ZX14 and SR1300, which says something. I really like the PR4 as they wear like iron (though I managed over 9,000 miles on the OEM D222) but grip well if not the sportiest, are fairly neutral handling and warm up medium fat but are very sensitive and squirmy on tar snakes which ale=ways gets your lower sphincter to pucker. I've run 3 pairs of the Avons (albeit not the most recent version) and they have gotten pricey here), which were decent if not as good IMO as the PR3 and PR4. Yers ago I ran the Conti SA rear RA front combo and they were also pretty decent.
 
I have waiting to be matriculated by my NoMar tire machine onto my FJ-09 hoops as the first of hopefully many pairs of fresh rubber doughnuts a set of the Metzeler Roadtec 01, which can be had for about $305 before a $40 debit card rebate (so they are now much less than the PR4 and Avons and only about +$20 than the T30 EVO which are rated 3rd by MCN GBritain after the Metz Z8). The Roadtec 01 are supposed to be brilliant and very sporty but still a true sport touring blacky. It's interesting in the test that the PR4 were considered a low-mid performer and heavy on the touring end of the equation. The Pirelli Angel GT I believe were rated below the RS3 but they did say every tire in the test could make you happy.

[betoney]

Right now a set of T30 EVO is $250 at Rocky Mountain MC with a $50 rebate gift card!  GREAT price!
 

[wessie]

I just got a set of the T30's because I had a rear flat on the nearly new D222's and the dealer told me getting the stock rear tire was difficult and expensive??? but they had a new SET of T30's for $180 plus mounting. Having tried this tire and liked it on my FZ1's, I went for it. BTW, my favorite tire on the FZ1 was the Metzeler Z8's.

My other bike, R1200RS came with Z8s. I like them and will get a price when my current tyres on the Tracer, Avon Storm 2 Ultra, need changing. I will select the cheapest of those 2 options as they are both great. The Avons are made here in the UK and seem to undercut the price of tyres from other parts of the EU or Japan.

[steve4658]

Hi, I use t30 evo. I got them after doing a Ron haslam race school , it's what they use on the cbr 's. Took me and the wife on a 2500 mile tour to the French alps last year.
Performed really well loads of life left for our trip to Austria this year and will certainly use them again. Even scrapped my boots two up riding the mountains and I'm not a really quick rider , but gave loads of confidence.