Anlas Wintergrip Plus M+S rated winter tires

[Wintersdark]

Finally had a chance to get out on my new Anlas Wintergrip Plus.  Just an around the block run (A mode, as always, TCS1), but it's -15c and snowy so I figure is post some first impressions, and update after a 50km ride tomorrow.  

In loose snow... Not particularly helpful.  They're better than the stock Dunlop's, mostly in that you don't get stuck instantly, but I wouldn't want to ride in fresh falling snow.  A fair bit of wheel spin and the front feels really wishy-washy.

On packed icy snow (unplowed and we'll driven roads, such as in the pic below)... Not bad.  I was pretty gentle, but never triggered TCS (even in 1) unless I suddenly goosed the throttle.  Felt ok being gentle in first, riding slowly and being careful in turns.  Haven't yet really explored the limits of traction there, and somewhat hesitant to do so.  

On slushy/icy/very cold pavement?  Just fine.  Felt comfortable up to 60kph, no vagueness or slip.  

I've previously ridden in winter on Road 5's, and while they're ok once they warm up, initial riding on very frozen pavement with cold tires was super sketchy, with the tires feeling largely like PVC tubes. Even just getting started with these Anlas tires - at -15c rubber and road, remember - they felt quite grippy and confident.

 

More to come after I get some miles on them tomorrow.

 

[piotrek]

20 minutes ago, Wintersdark said:

A mode, as always...

This makes it better for riding in the snow? 🤔

[Wintersdark]

1 hour ago, piotrek said:

This makes it better for riding in the snow? 🤔

Neither better nor worse.  Mostly I didn't think about it because I just leave it in A mode all the time.  Never had a bike with riding modes before, so 25 years of habit comes into play.  Mentioned it because that's where it was.

The only time I had difficulty though was loose snow, and no riding mode change would have impacted that - the problem is more the front than the rear there. 

 

[betoney]

10 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

it's -15c and snowy

Perfectly sensible to leave the bike in the garage and take the truck.  🥶

[texscottyd]

11 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

...it's -15c and snowy so I figure is post some first impressions, and update after a 50km ride tomorrow.  

 

You are a better man than I am...   It was 45F here this morning, and I was thinking "it's kind of cool outside" 

[Wintersdark]

5 minutes ago, texscottyd said:

You are a better man than I am...   It was 45F here this morning, and I was thinking "it's kind of cool outside" 

Heated helmet and jacket, thermally insulated riding overalls, stock heated grips.  I'm warm and toasty

[betoney]

11 hours ago, Wintersdark said:

Finally had a chance to get out on my new Anlas Wintergrip Plus.  Just an around the block run (A mode, as always, TCS1), but it's -15c and snowy so I figure is post some first impressions, and update after a 50km ride tomorrow.  

In loose snow... Not particularly helpful.  They're better than the stock Dunlop's, mostly in that you don't get stuck instantly, but I wouldn't want to ride in fresh falling snow.  A fair bit of wheel spin and the front feels really wishy-washy.

On packed icy snow (unplowed and we'll driven roads, such as in the pic below)... Not bad.  I was pretty gentle, but never triggered TCS (even in 1) unless I suddenly goosed the throttle.  Felt ok being gentle in first, riding slowly and being careful in turns.  Haven't yet really explored the limits of traction there, and somewhat hesitant to do so.  

On slushy/icy/very cold pavement?  Just fine.  Felt comfortable up to 60kph, no vagueness or slip.  

Even just getting started with these Anlas tires - at -15c rubber and road, remember - they felt quite grippy and confident.

More to come after I get some miles on them tomorrow.

Not that I have any desire to ever ride on icy and snowy roads, I am curious as to how these perform in normal "commuting" type conditions, ie non-sport riding, - stoplight to stoplight, on ramps, lane changes, turns through intersections etc.  

 

[betoney]

For snowy conditions, go big or go home!!  👍

 

[stumpy]

Anlas Wintergrip Plus M+S 

i had no idea that anything like this existed.  and i live in canada!

i prefer my rear tire to be a 137' x 1.25" and my front tire to be two skis. 😎

[Wintersdark]

54 minutes ago, betoney said:

Not that I have any desire to ever ride on icy and snowy roads, I am curious as to how these perform in normal "commuting" type conditions, ie non-sport riding, - stoplight to stoplight, on ramps, lane changes, turns through intersections etc.  

 

That's tonight's ride - I only have an MC license, not a car license(silly renewal issue years ago, I'd have to take another road test to get my regular car license back and just haven't), so 99% of my commuting is on the bike.  I've a 25km each way commute, just regular street riding.  about 10km of highway, the rest is stoplight to stoplight, on and off ramps, stuff like that.  

 

54 minutes ago, betoney said:

For snowy conditions, go big or go home!!  👍

 

These look super cool, but are only practical for ice racing.  Everyone asks where my studs are, but studs + pavement = no traction whatsoever.  On car tires, they're retractable, but that doesn't happen on MC studded tires.

40 minutes ago, stumpy said:

Anlas Wintergrip Plus M+S 

i had no idea that anything like this existed.  and i live in canada!

i prefer my rear tire to be a 137' x 1.25" and my front tire to be two skis. 😎

Nobody does!  Every time I'm at a shop and mention them, it's suddenly show and tell time and everyone says the same thing: "I didn't know they made winter tires for motorcycles!" I'm a denizen of Calgary now; Vancouver previously, and have always ridden in the winter but never had tires like these before.  They're showing up a bit in Ontario, because of the winter tire requirements - few ride in actual snow (and these don't really help with actual snow either, to be sure - they're better than regular MC tires for sure, but not good enough to ride safely in snow).  

They're a German make, and I had to have them custom ordered.  However, it's not as hard to find a shop that can get them then you'd think, as Anlas also produces the Capra-X dirt tires which are (apparently?) quite popular, so most shops can actually order them in - they just don't know they exist in the first place.  Mail order wise, Pete's Superbike will ship them anywhere in Canada.  I just bought them at the local bike shop, though, and had them price-match Pete's.  

[Wintersdark]

2 hours ago, betoney said:

Perfectly sensible to leave the bike in the garage and take the truck.  🥶

Pshaw!  If I never rode in the cold, I'd never ride.  Our winter lasts from late September to May.  I mean, for sure most people do just that - I don't see a lot of fellow riders on the road when it's well below freezing - but I deeply resent having to drive, so any time I can ride, I do.  As I said above: heated helmet, jacket, etc; I'm warm and toasty - with the press of a button, I can be uncomfortably hot instantly.  Got a lot of money invested in this bike, so damnit, I'm gonna ride it

 

[roadrash83]

 You need to get your self a old KLR650 @Wintersdark, that way you won't care so much when you toss it down the road. I use to use an old clapped out Honda XL250 growing up in NY as my winter mode of transportation for 2 years. I tossed it down more than I care to think about. But turn- signals and levers were cheap back then. Ride safe!

[Wintersdark]

4 hours ago, roadrash83 said:

 You need to get your self a old KLR650 @Wintersdark, that way you won't care so much when you toss it down the road. I use to use an old clapped out Honda XR250 growing up in NY as my winter mode of transportation for 2 years. I tossed it down more than I care to think about. But turn- signals and levers were cheap back then. Ride safe!

I prefer to go with "not tossing it down the road" in the first place I would love an old KLR for that though, then I'd goof off a lot more!  Sadly, the spare cash just isn't there for a second bike.

I've managed a quarter century of riding without damaging anything in the winter though, so I'm not too concerned.  Got crash bars on the Tracer, so a low speed oops won't damage anything.  And, yeah, it's insured to the tits, so should I write it off, I just get a new one and don't lose a dime.  

[Wintersdark]

So, trip into work done.  Like my test ride, loose snow is still a no-go, and packed snow and ice is sketchy but manageable.  Trip in in B mode (since I've been reminded that's a thing), TCS1, 0c.  

0n the cleared /mostly cleared and slushy roads?  Right from the start, great grip. 

Testing out emergency stopping on both brakes, very good - not dry summer day good, but light rain in the summer with appropriate tires good.  On actually dry roads, just like my Road 5's.

Using just the rear, you trigger ABS at roughly the same point you would normally - once too much weight is transferred forwards, so you need pretty substantial pressure to do it.

I had it up to 180 on the highway, coming off an on-ramp hard, and it felt well planted around the on-ramp and accelerating hard onto the highway.  Very slight vibration after 160/100mph, but nothing substantial.  

Because braking is good, stoplight to stoplight riding is fine.  No worries about stopping in time, nor about losing rear traction accelerating from a stop.  

The tires handle some snow/slush fine, so the odd lump breaking off a car in front of you isn't a problem if you (like any other hazard) just hit it straight on and upright. 

Likewise, we've got a lot of gravel around.  These handle it much better than other tires, with more spacing between the tread blocks.

 

All in all, the real benefit here is very good cold performance.  If you want to ride in snow, these aren't the solution.  I'd go more with a KLR or other dual light dual sport and TKC80's or some such.  But, for cold weather riding, these are substantially better, particularly when you're just getting started and tires are very cold.

[Wintersdark]

Well, a few days of commuting in, and had a nice snowy ride home to really test stuff!

A layer of snow over the packed ice and frozen slush at -4c.  No problems at all.  There's definitely a loose snow depth limit for these tires.  If it's shallow enough that you don't fill the treads with packed snow, they handle it just fine.  

These tires get enormously better traction on ice than my work boots do.  Bike was parked on ice, and I nearly fell trying to get on it with the fresh snow on top, but the tires didn't care even a little bit.

Pro tip: don't forget to brush the snow off your windshield first, or as soon as you hit 40-50kph, you'll get a face full of snow.