Hutchinson Blackbird road bike tyre review: Not the fastest rolling, but great in many other areas

Hutchinson is a relative newcomer in the road cycling tyre market of late, but has actually got a long history of performance road tyres and road tubeless going back to the early 2000s. Now firmly back in the road tyre market, the Blackbird represents the top of the range offering from the brand currently aimed squarely at the best road bike tyres market segment. Starting life making bicycle tyres in 1890, the company still makes their tyres in France which makes up a huge part of their heritage.

Available in 26, 28 and 30c sizes with hookless compatibility on the latter two sizes, the Blackbird is a modern race day tyre designed to be tough enough to use across all seasons of racing while still being speed focussed. This puts in the same sort of classification as the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 4S or Vittoria Corsa Pro Control, but possibly a bit more between them and the Vittoria Corsa Pro. It still maintains a puncture protection belt unlike time trial specific and super-fast rolling options, but that adds to usability and durability, especially in the UK. A weight of 285g also sees it be pretty competitive against other tyres in this category, with rolling resistance performance being reasonable rather than standout, according to our own lab tests. 

At £62/$64 per tyre it certainly sits towards the lower end of the price spectrum, and with good grip, reasonable rolling resistance, and decent durability it offers pretty good value for money.

Design and specifications

These Blackbird tyres are primarily built upon the Mach Tread 3.0. This is claimed to be the fastest tread the company has made, with a claimed 25% return of energy from superior rebound properties, suggesting use on rough surfaces may be enhanced. We did find in our Rolling resistance testing that the tyre performed modestly on a smooth tarmac surface, in-line with several other all-season race day tyres. Hutchinson also claim a 75% improvement in tear resistance over its 11Storm compound, as well as featuring ‘optimised hardness’. The brand claims this helps strike a balance between responsiveness and durability, I suppose allowing for some deformation but maintaining a consistent shape when cornering hard. The tread is also 15% wider than previously for enhanced traction when banking heavily during cornering.

Another new material used for these tyres is the SwiftEasy casing which sits beneath the tread and is visible along the sidewall. It’s a 127 TPI casing which wraps around the bead for three layers on the side for protection, and two on the top for reduced rolling resistance. This is then bonded to the polyamide reinforcement strip for puncture protection. Hutchinson claims a 10% reduction in rolling resistance compared to previous technologies, with greater deformation and lower tyre pressures the stated reasons for this.

• What is TPI?

Size wise the tyre is available in three sizes, 26, 38, and 30mm widths. Only the 28 and 30c are hookless compatible, while all are tubeless or tube capable. A claimed weight of 290g for the 28c actually comes in fractionally under on my scales at 285g actually making it lighter than some race day specific offerings we’ve had on test. Colour wise there is the standard black option, as well as the tan walled option which is more of a gum colour.

Performance

As with all tyre reviews, the first port of call is fitting them to a pair of wheels. The Hutchinson Blackbird were impressively easy in this respect, mounting on to the rims with limited additional force required, and pumping up and sealing nicely with a track pump. On the test rims, a pair of Shimano 105 WH-RS710 C46 TLs with 21mm internal and 28mm external width, the tyres came up at the advertised 28mm. They are directional, so be sure to fit them the correct way round.

Hutchinson claims this to be a race day tyre but with enough durability to survive various puncture hazards, although certainly not an all-road tyre. Taking them out on an array of roads of varying surface quality, the tyres do roll over rougher surfaces quite nicely. It’s hard to quantify any feeling like this into actual data, but Hutchinson states that the tyre was designed to offer good deformation over road surfaces to assist in improved rolling resistance. Using my regular 80/85 front and rear pressure, I would say that the Blackbirds felt quite supple, more in line with a higher TPI option like the Vittoria Corsa Pro Control than their 127 TPI would suggest. These are certainly a good tyre for more broken road surfaces such as lanes around the UK countryside.

In our own rolling resistance testing, the Blackbirds performed modestly against the competition, coming in middle of the pack but close to some world tour competition options. They were not a match for the likes of the Continental GP5000 range, but were close to several all-weather race day tyre options while being on the more competitive end of the pricing spectrum. Our testing was done using a fairly smooth tarmac roller though, so performance on rougher surfaces was not tested (we would have needed to conduct another full day of testing for that!). Riding on smoother tarmac, they certainly aren’t as spritely as the noticeably faster GP5000 AS TR, which are exceptionally fast for an all-seasons tyre, but they felt better than the likes of the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 4S.

Speed isn’t all about rolling resistance though, with cornering being another highly important area for performance. I was pleasantly impressed by the Blackbirds when it came to this metric, with them feeling grippy both in the dry and also on wet roads with a mix of standing water and ice slush. I wasn’t railing these down any European switchback laden mountains, but for high speed long corners and tight bends there were never any situations where the tyres felt skittish. This also translated to performance up steep inclines out of the saddle where zero wheel slip was present even in wet and low cadence conditions. Again, it’s hard to quantify against other tyres directly, but the Blackbirds don’t dent confidence in any way, and in the wet inspire a little more of it than many alternatives.

Of course to go fast, you need a tyre that remains inflated, and for UK use puncture hazards are a common enemy to road cyclists. The Blackbirds do feature a puncture protection belt as well as reasonable thickness tread. I didn’t go out of my way to intentionally puncture the tyres, however I did ride as many hedge trimmed lanes as I could and ride in the gutter of some busier roads where debris builds up. Through all that testing, there are been no shrapnel that has penetrated the tyres, and the tread is looking to be holding up very nicely. Hutchinson claims a 4000km lifespan, however it’s not mentioned if that is the front or rear, as the rear tends to wear out far quicker than the front. Puncture resistance also decreases as the tread wears down. My one concern about the Blackbirds is the limited sidewall protection. The tread has been extended further and another layer of that 127 TPI casing is used on the sides, but sidewall impacts could be a weak point. However, this is a race day tyre, so it’s expected to see some reduction in puncture protection and these are certainly better equipped to deal with that even more than the all-season Vittoria Corsa Pro Control.

Weight is another key area for race day performance tyres. Being at the end of a rotating mass, the weight has a greater impact on the capacity to accelerate and decelerate the wheel. At 285g per tyre, the Blackbirds are actually very competitive. Only the fastest race day tyres with near zero puncture protection come in lighter, with many similarly focussed tyres adding 10-30g per tyre to the weight. When accelerating up steeper inclines, they aren’t light enough to feel a real difference, but they don’t feel sluggish on this terrain unlike some heavier duty winter tyres I’ve tested. It’s certainly a point in their favour as a race day tyre offering.

Value

At £62 per tyre, the Hutchinson Blackbirds come in at a pretty reasonable price for a race day tyre. The likes of Continental, Vittoria, and Pirelli are all a fair chunk more expensive. However price isn’t the only consideration when it comes to value, the performance for that cost is what matters.

The likes of the Vittoria Corsa Pro Control are more expensive, heavier, and slower rolling, the same with the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 4S. The Blackbirds also perform very similarly to the Schwalbe Pro One TLE and Goodyear Eagle F1 R while being a bit cheaper and lighter. Grip wise I would also say they outperform all of the aforementioned tyres across both dry and wet conditions. The Continental GP5000 AS TR is as grippy and quite a bit faster rolling, however it is significantly heavier and 50% more expensive.

The biggest competitor to the Blackbirds are the Specialized S-Works Turbo 2BR T2/T5 which undercut it on price and roll faster, but I can’t comment on the grip or durability.

Overall, the Hutchinson Blackbirds are a reasonable value offering. They are not the best, but they are up there for the combination of rolling resistance, weight, and grip.

Verdict

The Hutchinson Blackbird tyres are a pretty solidly performing tyre overall. The standout features are the low overall weight for an all-weather race day tyre that features specific puncture proofing, and impressive grip both in the dry and wetter conditions. There is potentially limited puncture protection compared to some similarly specified tyres, but so far testing has yet to yield any punctures.

Rolling resistance wise the tyres are decent, but not impressive, certainly not on a smoother road surface. They do however feel impressively supple over rougher roads. I also appreciate how easy they are to fit and inflate. All this comes in at pretty good value for money as well, although not class leading. One notable downfall however is the limited size range on offer, with 30c becoming somewhat dated as more bikes and wheels move to 32c+ clearance.