What would it take for you to change your brand or model of bike tyres? Like the fabled bank account (that people keep for 26 years on average), the stats say you’re more likely to go under the knife and swap gender than pledge allegiance to another tyre manufacturer. And even then, you’ll switch to another established player than take a punt on anyone unknown in the market.
Noah wouldn’t have put the ark out in this. We, however, thought it a proper good test for an unknown tyre...
PICS: LLOYD HORGAN
That’s the problem that Mitas has. Your first question is, obviously, who the hell is Mitas – and this shall be addressed. With tyre production dating back to the 1930s, the brand is based in Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Big in offroad and scooter tyres, the firm is starting to reach out into the new fangled world of radial tyres, having invested substantially in the equipment to do so. They supply tyres to the Speedway GP scene, Extreme Enduro events and are the OE supplier to small Italian supermoto firm TM – so there’s a pedigree there, just a bit too muddy for the likes of us. All this may still illicit a ‘so what’ response, but with the release of the new Sport Force+ tyre the firm now has a product that could attract a savvy and cost conscious buyer.