Performance and puncture resistance don’t normally go together in the same tyre, the extra material need to improve the latter usually slowing even a purportedly “fast” tyre significantly.
However, with a claimed weight of just 210g for the 700x23c size, which shaves 10g from the weight of the Fusion 2, Hutchinson’s Fusion 3 certainly looks (and feels) the part of the performance clincher.
The bit that does the job of keep out penetrating objects is a Kevlar Pro-Tech layer between the tread and the lightweight 127tpi casing, which the Montargis-based tyre manufacturer says improves puncture resistance by around 50percent. It is assisted by the hardest of the three thermoplastic-reinforced rubber compounds in the tread, which is, naturally enough, the one in the middle. Harder than the two outer bands, the centre strip is mixed to offer improved wear, lower rolling resistance and reduced susceptibility to cuts and perforations.
The middle tread band is softer than the centre while the outer band is the softest and grippiest, the idea being to provide a progressive increase in adhesion as the tyre is leaned over. Sidewalls are finished in rubber coloured in a choice in the UK of blue, red or silver, the tyre colour schemes being listed as Black, Black/Grey/Blue, Black/Grey/Red and Black/Silver/Grey.
First impressions? We’ve done a few miles already and the tyre is impressively supple, feeling under-inflated at our datum pressures of 95psi front, 105 psi rear. Which is usually a sign of a very quick tyre.
Hutchinson Fusion 3 £36.99 per tyre, RoadTubeless version also available.
