Eurogrip are no strangers to dual-purpose tyres and the Trailhounds are their best yet.
Story: Joshua Varghese
Photography: Kalidas M
Following an on-road experience with the Duratrail and Terrabite range of tyres almost a year ago, we had been looking forward to Eurogrip’s premium range of dual-purpose tyres. They are finally here. The product range is called Trailhound and it is available in two variants: SCR and STR. The former is for retro-modern roadsters and scramblers while the latter caters to medium and large ADVs.
Eurogrip rate the SCRs as an 80 per cent road and 20 per cent off-road tyre while the STRs are 90:10 in the same ratio. However, this time they only had the SCRs available for us to test and we sampled them on a few motorcycles, including the second-gen KTM 390 Adventure, the Suzuki V-Strom SX, and the Royal Enfield Scram 411.
They are available in both cross-ply and zero-degree radial construction and Eurogrip claim that grip has been optimized for both road and dirt. To put it to the test, we were taken to a dirt park near Mysuru which was odd given the predominantly road-based nature of the tyre. The only on-road experience we got was along the country roads in the vicinity of the dirt park and those only offered medium pace experiences at best.
Despite the block pattern of the tread, there is ample grip and stability with barely noticeable levels of flex when one is using the full width of the tyres. Furthermore, given the absolutely dry weather in the region, we got no chance to do any wet-weather testing.
In the loose surface of the dirt park, the tyres were able to achieve reasonable levels of grip and stability but given their predominantly road-biased nature, we cannot expect more from them. Following our experience, we are certain that the Trailhounds are worthy alternatives to OEM tyres for the aforementioned motorcycles.
The price of the SCR starts at Rs 4,100 for the 100/90-19 front tyre and goes up to Rs 8,500 for the 150/70 R17 rear tyre. They also cater to 18-inch wheels, both front and rear. While we think highly of their abilities, following a comprehensive experience of similar tyres from one of their competitors, we feel that the Trailhound SCRs need to improve further to become our segment benchmark, although the difference is marginal. Interestingly, the Trailhound’s current pricing also makes them more expensive than their closest rival for similar sizes.
Due to logistical limitations, we had no STR tyres to experience this time around. Eurogrip made up for it by setting us loose on a Hero Xpulse equipped with their Climber off-road knobby tyres. That allowed us to make the most of the track at the dirt park. Through the sand, loose gravel, and hard-packed sections of the course, the tyres performed admirably well and we had great fun astride the Xpulse. Although their abilities in the mud and slush need to be verified, we are fairly confident that they are as good as the Maxxis tyres offered in the Xpulse’s rally kit.
Also Read: TVS Eurogrip Beamer, Duratrail and Terrabite Review
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