Hutchinson Fusion 2 Ultra Road Tire - 2008 BCS

I used to ride the Panaracer Stradius pro... I'd get flats with those tires about once every 50 miles...

I've been riding on these tires now for 6 months, and I've hit a few rocks, rode through glass, and just generally beat up on it and they've held up really well.

The grip on the downhills is superb.

For the price you can't go wrong. I've had one flat in the rear after 1200 miles. The tires roll well and they are considerably low in weight. They grip well in wet and dry conditions. I frequently corner at 40-45 mph and these tires have never given a sign of losing grip. The only issue I've had is the front tire bulged on my last ride. It looks as if the belt is going to fail so I replaced it with a new Fusion 2 rather than risk it blowing out on me. I'm kinda bummed because the front had a lot of tread life left on it.

Haven't rode these for that long, but they role really nice. The red color is pretty sweet and grabs alot of attention if that's what you want. Price is unbeatable for this quality of tire. Have noticed a bit of early wear. Doesn't seem like they are going to be the longest lasting tire.

I've been using Michelin Pro Race 2/3 tires the last few years and been happy except for the relatively short life and high cost. This is to be expected as the Michelin tires are performance oriented. So, when I saw review on the Hutchinson tire I hoped they would be a good alternative at a more reasonable price. My goal was to save some money, get a better puncture resistance tire, better tire life, and reasonable performance. Here's what I know after 300 miles.

1. I've had two flats with Hutchinson's riding on same roads as PR3
2. Hutchinson's are not as "sticky" as Michelin PR3 but ok
3. Hutchinson's rolling resistance is acceptable
4. Price differential seems reasonable given these factors
5. Durability - to early to tell

Reading the reviews a lot of riders had experienced the sidewall of these tires blowing out. Usually when a sidewall blows out it is due to OVER INFLATION of the tire. Another thing is the tire is NOT properly seated under the rim. Make sure you check both sides of the tire. I did notice on the Hutchinson tires that the sidewall was very slippery. A good idea before you put the tire on the rim is to take a rag/paper towel and put some rubbing alcohol on it and wipe it around the bead of the tire. By doing so it will remove the film or talc insuring the tire won't slip out from under the rim. These tires handle/ride BEST if inflated to Front: 105psi Rear: 110psi. If your using for triathlons Front: 115psi Rear:115psi. The ride will be harsh but faster. I DO NOT RECOMMEND taking these tires to the MAX PSI of 120...for training or everyday use.

I put these tires on my 2008 Specialized Globe SportDisk and hung my Specialized Armadillos on the wall. Big mistake!!! The Hutchinson Fusion 2 Ultra incurred a sidewall puncture at 16 miles. The puncture appears more like a tear that shows sidewall threading and you can see a small amount of tube. "I hope I can kmake it home tonight to put my Armadillos back on."

I bought these a few months ago, I really liked them and thought I would easily do over 2000Kms on them. They are a really nice tire and grippy too. I rode them on a stretch of highway north of Brisbane (Aus) that was covered in small bits of glass and little bits of road rock. I had to ride on the shoulder of the road for about 45kms and when I finished and checked the tire, they were cut up really bad, big deep cuts but not enough to cut right through. I cant believe that after that beating I still didnt get a flat. I have kept them on and they lasted a total of 1440km before my first flat due to a large chunk of glass cutting right through. I have purchased another pair.
- Grippy
- very tough
- great price

These tires felt great for the first 10 miles, much better than my Vittoria's they were supposed to replace. I can't say much for their durability though. By mile 11 I was replacing one of the tires that had the sidewall blow out and by mile 12 the other tire suffered the same fate. Maybe I just received a defective set, but I am not willing to ruin another ride by trying them again.

Over 500 miles and still look like new. Very strong and smooth. Love these tires!!

Over 500 miles, no flats. The front still has remnants of the molding rubber on it, so I'm expecting these to last ~2000 miles or more.
Good grip and solid feel. At least on par with Vittoria Rubino.
Nice tires. Great tires at the Bonktown price.

Dana reviews the Fusion 2 in the last section of this video.

http://videos.roadbikereview.com/?bcpid=1529573320&bclid=1815816745&bctid=1818365002

Bought a pair for my road bike and I have gone 3,000 miles on them with no flats . . . that sounds ridiculous, but these are ridiculously good tires! I highly recommend them. They also look great with any color.

I only just put them on, but already feel more comfortable down hill and into corners than my Vittoria's. I think their rolling resistance is quite low as well, I cant measure it but they feel faster. A real steal at this price too.

I originally went for these because they were on killer special online. I had been running Vredenstein Fortezzas all year and was extremely pleased by their puncture resistance and ability to hold high PSIs. However their relatively low lifespan and very square wear pattern were starting to turn me off, along with the high price tag.

The first racing bike I ever had came with Hutchinsons and I remember never really having any problems with them. It was a lower grade bike, so I'm sure the model of tire was as well. I reasoned that if they worked well, then Hutchinson's top end of tires would work pretty well too. I waited until now to review to get at least a few miles in (about 500 at this point) and see how they did.

The first thing that most people seem to value is puncture resistance, and these do not disappoint. The roads around here are pretty average and the only blemish so far is a small, very shallow cut on one of them. I'm pretty happy with this because, on one or two occasions, I've noticed glass in the road too late to do anything about it and pretty much ran right over it.
As far as wear goes, the front tire basically looks like it did the day I put it on. The rear tire is starting to show some minimal signs (again, after about 500 miles) and the wear pattern is good. I'm sure I'll get a good 2500 miles out of them, maybe.
This is my first tire since using Vredesteins at about 140-145 PSI. I run these at just under 120, usually and they feel great. Before Vredesteins, I used Michelin Pro 2 Race at the 120 PSI range and I think these Hutchinson's feel better than they did. I'll let the scientists etc. figure out whether lower pressures are faster or slower than higher ones, but I can say that I don't seem any faster or slower on my usual routes than when I was running higher PSI tires.
Since it's so late in they year, I haven't raced on them, so I haven't subjected them to extreme handling/cornering situations yet. Having said that, I have felt very comfortable and confident in the tight situations that I have encountered. I have no way of quantifying it, obviously, but the grip feels good.
I would definitely recommend them to anyone as long as you can find a good deal on them. I got away with only paying about $25 per tire, so they are worth it. Having said that, I don't think any tire is worth the $65 price tag that some of them boast, including these at full price.
The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars is because I have not raced on them and I have not used them to their life's end to see how well they truly hold up.

These tires are great. I got a set for my new neuvation wheels and have loved everything about them. First of all the grey/silver looks fantastic. Not boring like black, but not super edgy like solid red or blue. So far they have worked out really well. They corner very well on dry roads and even on rainy rides they have held up better than any previous tire I have owned. Overall a great tire for anyone, but especially a good training/racing tire. I don't have the budget to buy separate sets for training and racing so these do a terriffic job overlapping!

These treads roll nicely in rainy wet or desert dry. They grip well and have hardly worn.

I was a pretty faithful Specialized tire guy but got tired of replacing them because they’d wear out to quick over the course of the year. I bought a pair of these Hutchinson’s after researching them pretty thoroughly. I’ve had them on for about 1000 miles and they rock. They roll smooth on flats, climbs and most importantly descents. I’ve hit a lot of rocks and they’ve stood up to the conditions and beating. And they look good on my bike.

I rode 3500 hundred miles this season, and the biggest thing that i learned from this season is Hutchinson Fusion 2 tires SUCK! I thought the high TPI rating and the sexy look would result in a great tire that i could ride for miles. Well, i had side wall bursts, and countless punctures, of course i kept buying them thinking it was a fluke but this tire is a waste of natural resources and your cash!