Blackbird Racing Lab TLR: £61.99 / €69.99.
Blackbird tube type: £43.99/€49.99
Sizes: 26,28,30c
Weight: 275 (26c), 290 (28c), 310 (30c)
Hookless: 28, 30c only.
Hutchinson has launched a new top-end performance road tyre named the Blackbird today. The French manufacturer says the Blackbird is the fastest it has ever developed, providing improved rolling resistance over previous tyres, and greater grip thanks to a wider tread. It also features the 'Racing Lab' moniker, the name given for all of Hutchinson's performance tyres that are handmade in France.
Hutchinson has manufactured bicycle tyres since 1890. The brand says four years of research and development have gone into developing the new Blackbird tubeless tyres. The Blackbird will replace Fusion 5 as the brand's top-end road offering.
The tyres appear to be a complete redesign for Hutchinson and feature new tech, treads and tyre compounds. Hutchinson says that the Blackbird tyre improves rolling resistance over the Fusion 5 model by 10% whilst citing a 'class-leading lifespan of over 4,000km of real-world riding' for the Blackbird.
A new SwiftEasy 127TPI (threads per inch) casing design helps reduce tyre rolling resistance according to the brand. This sees the tyre casing wrap around the tyre bead and then bonded to a polyamide protection strip instead of what the brand says is the usual process of just overlapping these layers. A final layer of casing then runs from bead to bead which is said to reduce air leakage. Hutchinson claims a 28mm Blackbird tyre weighs in at 290 grams.
A brand new tread
The Blackbird tyre features Hutchinson's Mach Tread 3.0, a new which the brand claims is the fastest and most efficient tread it has ever developed. The tread compound itself is a new formulation with a 'high rebound' that gives an increase in energy return of 25% when it comes into contact with the road. There aren't any more technical details regarding this claim, but we assume it is rolling resistance related.
The previous Hutchinson top-tier road compound was 11Storm and the logo appears on the outside of the current Fusion 5 tyres. Mach Tread 3.0 is said to be 10% harder than 11Storm which should provide good wear resistance and lifespan
Hutchinson claims the tyres have been designed around modern wider wheel rims and have a surface that is 15% wider than previous-generation tyres. This combined with the new SwiftEasy casing means an increased tyre contact patch is created, improving cornering and rolling resistance.
The tyres will be available in black and tan wall colour options and 26, 28 and 30c options, the latter two will be hookless compatible. A version for inner tubes will also be available, though these tyres will not feature the SwiftEasy casing to provide the enhanced puncture protection necessary for a tubed tyre, says the brand.
