Hutchinson Top Speed

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Product: Hutchinson Top Speed road tire. Test Platform: Fuji Team (aluminum with carbon wishbone seatstays and carbon fork). Product Put in Service: Summer 2008. Date of Review: May 2009. Reviewed by: Rich Ries. Cost: $35 MSRP; not in the current Hutchinson catalog so they are deeply discounted. Weight/Mass: 7.76 oz. /220 g. Recommended? No.

Executive Summary: Heed the cryptic warning on the package and buy a different tire.

Ratings

(1 is lowest, 5 is highest)

Comments

Traction, all conditions

Grips well in all conditions

Performance

Generally sluggish and uncommunicative; tended to feel soft at times

Ease of Installation

Average for a road tire

Cost/Value

Squirrely handling removes all value

Wear

Average tread life but exceptional puncture resistance

The Kevlar Pro Tech band did its job on these tires; I didn't have a puncture in 2,500 miles. At that point I replaced the rear as its profile was completely squared off. I replaced it with another Top Speed (I buy tires in threes, as per our Top10 Tire Tips). The original Top Speed is still on the front.

The recommended pressure ranges on the package are indexed for rider weight. The highest rating is 116 to 125 psi for riders greater than 175 pounds. But the only recommended pressure given on the sidewall is 100 psi and the max shown there is 110 psi. At 192 pounds I'm on the high side of Hutchinson's charts, but I was reluctant to run the tires at anything above 110 psi and most often ran them at 90 psi in the front and 105 psi in the rear.

It didn't much matter what pressure I used. These tires had an unsettling habit of feeling flat unexpectedly. Sometimes at warp speed on descents, sometimes at cruising speed on level roads, sometimes at creepy-crawly speed entering parking areas, the tires would suddenly lose all control, as if there had been a blowout. But there was no blowout, no loss of any pressure. It could be the low thread count (66 threads per inch) of the casing, but that seems unlikely. If anything a low thread count yields a sidewall that's excessively stiff, not frighteningly soft. And this phenomenon didn't occur just once. It happened dozens of times. Although I was always able to recover and the loss of control never led to a crash, it was never a peaceful, easy feeling, either. This trait negates any other value offered by these tires.

The retail packaging has “Grip Resistance” printed on it. At first I thought that was just a clumsy interpretation of some French selling point. Now I realize it was the manufacturer's sneaky was of saying that these tires do, occasionally, resist having grip. A better interpretation would be “Control Resistance,” but the point is - you were warned. Buy other tires.

Photos

Here's the Top Speed mounted.

This cut never resulted in a flat, a testament to the effectiveness of Hutchinson's Pro Tech Kevlar belt.

A new Top Speed. Note the rounded profile and diamond sidewall pattern, which is supposed to improve wet-conditions traction. I didn't ride these tires much in the rain, but their traction seemed adequate in all conditions.

After about 2,500 miles the rear Top Speed was squared off to the point where I replaced it.

Here's the Top Speed in its retail package.

Hutchinson tells you about the grip issue right on the package.

And here's Hutchinson's attempt to warn you off this tire.