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Metzeler Karoo 3 Reviews

Read and compare owner reviews & ratings of Metzeler Karoo 3. Product specs, photos & video, pricing, and more!

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  • Price Range $111.95 ~ $300.95 Shop Now
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Manybikes

   1 of 1 member found this review helpful 1 / 1 member

These are the longest lasting very aggressive tires I have found for my R1200GSA. Prior to these tires, the TKC 80 was my favorite tire... but come on 1500 miles per rear tire was a bit tiresome... (no pun intended) When given the news of this new tire, I had to try them! In the photos you can see what 4,500 miles looks like. Rode the SheetIron 300 AND the Cycle World Adventure Rally on this set of tires in addition to my daily commute. NO other "knobbie" I have ridden on this bike as performed as well for AS Long! Great tires! Here is my Video Review:

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Eric Hall

  

I LOVE these tires!  I had heard they were coming out and were supposed to "give the TKC-80 a run for its money."  I saw the new modified knob in these "v-shaped" arrangement and thought, hmmm, I'm sure it's good on pavement but not so sure off road.  I had a lot of concerns but this tire is described as a 30/70 (on/off road) and it definitely performs quite well off road.
 
I got a set for the COBDR back in July of 2013 and waited until I got to Colorado to put the rear on.  No sense in putting 1,100 miles of highway on a brand new rear tire!
 
There's really two off road related aspects I really noticed about these tires.  One is that I had incredible traction in the wet, loose shale in Colorado that gave so many others trouble.  Another is that in the desert sand here in the Mojave, they perform very well.  The rear tire was my biggest concern in the deep sand, but it did great.  I was also concerned because I run a 21" front and I've had a moment or two on the TKC-80 where it wanted to wash out on me if I wasn't careful.  I thought this new Karoo 3 front would be worse but my experience was just the opposite.

 

Another concern I had is that I've heard the Karoo 2 is REALLY soft, expensive and wears out fast.  That may be true but the Karoo 3 (rear) actually lasted me 800-1000 miles longer than at TKC-80 (YMMV).  I typically get around 3200 miles from a TKC-80 and got about 3600 off the Karoo 3 (rear; '11 GSA).
 
I don't get that excited about a lot of tires but this one I fell for.  I posted a picture on the Facetubes and Metzeler chose it as a "winner" and sent me a new set!  I think the "Metzeler" sticker on my right pannier didn't hurt either. :) That wasn't my last set either.  I've run maybe four sets of these tires in the last 18 months, so you know if has earned a decent share of rubber.

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