Tired of watching almost every other tyre manufacturer rake in huge profits with an ADV tyre offering, Bridgestone finally has one ADV hoop of its own.
Rumours of the new Bridgestone ADV tyre began circulating earlier this year, and the tyre is finally out, laying heated speculations and arguments to rest. The Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 is a knobby dual-sport tyre designed for adventure touring machines.
Although it is rather surprising that the Japanese brand has not offered such a lucrative tyre til now, all that hardly matters now that the AX41 is finally rolling off (pun not intended) the company’s production line. Bridgestone debuted the tyre at INTERMOT this year, and will start shipping it worldwide next year. There is no news of any OEM agreement of any manufacturer with the tyre maker yet.
The tread pattern of the AX41 Adventurecross looks aggressive with big blocks staggered on the tyre’s circumference. The Battlax will come in a wide range of sizes once it debuts early next year. Reviews are not out yet, but the tyre has a solid name backing it. After all, the insane Kawasaki H2R also sits on Bridgestone tyres, leading us to believe the firm knows its stuff well.
While the Battlax A41 is a good 90/10 for ADV bikes, a 50/50 dual-sport is sorely missing from the Japanese company’s list of offerings. A comparo is nigh, between major tyres such as the Continental TKX80, Metzeler Karoo 3, Michelin Anakee Wile, and Pirelli Scorpion Rally.
Dunlop is the only major tyre maker that does not have an adventure tyre offering now, but we are hoping it will follow Bridgestone and widen the range for us enthusiasts. Interestingly, Bridgestone also debuted a ‘Scrambler’ variant of the AX41, aptly named the AX41S. The company has also quietly debuted its next sport bike tyre, the Battlax S22.
