Bontrager R3 Hard Case Lite tyre

The Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite Road tyre offers plenty of grip, a supple ride and decent puncture protection. Rolling resistance is impressive too, and it's not a bad price either.

Bontrager says that the R3 is one tyre that can do it all: 'Fast enough for race day, yet durable enough for every day.' That isn't too far off of the mark.

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You can tell a lot about a tyre just by taking it out of the box, especially by the way that the rubber feels. The R3 has a soft and tacky compound which it calls TR Speed and it offers loads of grip out on the road.

Taking corners and roundabouts flat out, I certainly felt confident that the Bontragers weren't going to wash out when really cranked over onto their edge. The compound really feels like it grabs hold of the asphalt in the dry and it also works in the wet too, although obviously not to the same degree.

Some soft rubber compounds can wear very quickly compared to a tyre that is aimed more at durability and reliability than performance, a winter tyre for instance. This was difficult to gauge over the test period, having only covered around 500 miles on them, but if they show up any issues, I'll be back to update the review.

They feel fast too. Rolling resistance seems to be minimal and the 120 TPI (threads per inch) carcass and flexible sidewalls make for a comfortable ride even when pumped up hard.

For the thousands of miles I ride each year I rarely suffer with punctures (hopefully the Puncture Fairy is on furlough at the moment and not listening), and that that didn't change with the R3s. They use a nylon breaker strip under the tread, which Bontrager calls Hard-Case Lite, to ward off intrusions and while I can see a few small cuts and nicks on the surface from small stones and flints, nothing has penetrated past the strip so far.

Fitment was easy on the couple of wheels I tried. When I saw the TR logo on the box I hadn't realised that referred to the compound name rather than 'tubeless ready', so I confess I had a few fruitless attempts at trying to get them to pop onto the rims. Once I realised my error, and with a tube installed, they popped straight on and won't be an issue to get them off if needs be at the side of the road.

> How to fit clincher tyres

Bontrager does offer a tubeless version, the TLR, for £49.99.

As well as the 25mm on test, the tyres also come in 23mm and 28mm sizes. Bontrager says that it tweaks the tread design across the different sizes to reflect the type of riding they are likely to be used for.

I think the rrp of £34.99 is very good for a tyre of this quality; it's light, too, at just 207g on our scales.

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The Michelin Power Road tyre that David was impressed with cost £42.99 for instance, and offer many of the traits that the R3 shows.

I'd even go as far as to say that these Bontragers are as good as one of my favourites, the Schwalbe One Evolution. That'll set you back a cool £52.99 at full retail.

Overall, Bontrager has done a very good job in creating a tyre that delivers loads of performance and grip while keeping the price down.

Verdict

Top quality when it comes to grip and rolling resistance while not costing the earth