Road a quick 12 mile loop to Cycling Concepts and back yesterday as I only had about an hour to spare, but I really wanted to get to check out my new Hutchinson Tubeless Fusion 3 road tires. I road them at 95 lbs. front and 100 lbs. rear.
Just want to thank Dan for leveling my seat, as I was slipping foreward on the saddle, this made all the difference on the ride back home!
First Impressions of the Hutchinson Fusion 3 Tubeless Tires:
1. The are more supple than I expected. When I first got them they appears hard out of the box, but on the wheels they ride softer than I expected.
2. They are soft, but not mushy. This may be due to the lower tire pressure, but if you did the same thing with regular tube clinchers you would get mush. This is a good thing.
3. They spin up quickly, not super fast, but not sluggish either. They also accelerate when standing on climbs well. They are not as responsive as my old Vittoria Open Corsa's, but much faster than Gatorskins.
4. The ride is smooth, as smooth as the Vittoria's, but this is hard to say as this was also my first ride outside this year on my R3. As compare to my Specialized Sirrus and my Tommaso Team Custom, the R3 ride is incredibly SMOOOOOOOOTH! I could be riding on bricks and the R3 would feel smooth. Since I have only ridden it a half dozen times altogether with the Vittoria's I can't really give the Fusions all the credit here. However going over rough beat up roads as I did yesterday, the lower tire pressure sure felt good absorbing the bumps, and left me wanting to ride longer, all good things. With the Open Corsas, I use much higher pressure and they tend to bounce more leaving them to jar ones kidneys a bit, but not as much as Gatorskins.
5. Cornering is responsive and feels sturdy. As compared to gatorskins which I purposely slow down around corners with, the fusions are great, but compared to Open Corsas they are equal or just a shade below. Although again I have not ridden them on any tough fast corners as of yet, the fusions appear awesome, might be the lower pressure and thick side walls allow more tire to be on the road making it grip better.
Overall I am glad I made the switch, and depending upon durability, these will remain in the foreseeable future. If you have tubeless ready tire, like the Shimano Dura Ace 7850's on my bike, then go for it, you will not be disappointed.
After riding another 30 or so miles with some more hills and corners, the Fusion 3 tubeless are a must have for anyone with tubeless wheels. The have incredible grip around corners, and climb well. I great combination, DA Wheels and Fusion 3 tires...NICE!
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