Metzeler Sportec 01 vs 01 RS: which tyre should you choose?
Metzeler’s new Sportec 01 family lands with a fairly clear split in intent. The Sportec 01 is the road-focused option, aimed at riders who want genuine sports performance without giving away too much wet-weather confidence or day-to-day usability. The Sportec 01 RS sits further up the aggression scale, bringing a more trackday-ready compound and tread layout while remaining street legal.
Tested at Monteblanco in Spain and on the surrounding roads, the two tyres proved more distinct than their shared name suggests. The RS delivers the sharper, softer, more track-focussed feel, while the standard Sportec 01 is the one most riders are likely to get more use from on real roads.
Designed to be an eventual replacement for the Sportec M9 RR (and by eventual, I mean over the next couple of years, as Metzeler slowly fades the M9 out of production), the 01 brings a bunch of new designs to the market, from a new base and carcass to its shape-shifting tread pattern dubbed Dynatread that debuted on the Roadtec 02 in 2024.
What is Dynatread?
Dynatread is Metzeler’s adaptive tread concept. In simple terms, the grooves are designed to work more open at lower road speeds, helping water evacuation and warm-up, then compress under heavier loads, braking and acceleration to put more rubber on the road. The idea is to give the Sportec 01 greater everyday versatility while allowing the RS version to behave more like a near-slick when pushed hard on dry roads.
Sportec 01 or 01 RS: which tyre is right for you?
Choose the Sportec 01 if most of your riding is on the road, you ride in mixed weather, and you want a tyre that still has proper supersport feel without going too far towards a trackday-only compromise.
Choose the Sportec 01 RS if dry grip, sharp response and occasional track use matter more than wet-weather confidence or outright mileage. It is the more aggressive tyre, but also the narrower-use option.
Compared to the M9, the 01 has about half the number of tread grooves cut into the rubber, so the idea of each tread closing in on itself shouldn’t be that frightening.
It’s interesting to have a look at the void ratio (the proportion of the surface made up by grooves) of the 01. In typical riding conditions, the 01 sits at 7.7 per cent, but when the tyre is pushed harder, this ratio compresses to 4.3 per cent. In effect, the contact area grows as speeds rise, allowing the tyre to deliver more grip when it’s needed most.
For the track-specific RS variant, the starting point is already more aggressive. Its void ratio is claimed at 4.6 per cent for everyday use, tightening further to just 2.7 per cent under heavier loads. Again, more tyre on the track gives more grip and (hopefully) more smiles.
The 01 RS front uses a full-silica central compound, while the shoulder is derived from the Racetec K2 slick, which is full carbon black. The base itself is a new, ultra-soft full-silica compound that helps maintain a good contact patch as the tyre heats up from fully cold, the most dangerous time for a front-end crash.
In the rear, the central compound is the road racing-derived full silica compound; K2 in the shoulder, while the base is a carbon black soft mixture.
Compared to the Sportec 01, the RS is all about the track, with significant improvements claimed in edge grip, hard cornering and overall racetrack performance.
Stability is claimed by Metzeler to be the same as the 01, but the RS suffers a big reduction in wet grip and mileage (check out the accompanying pie charts).
Metzeler has paid close attention to the transition point where the soft shoulder compounds meet the harder centre on both front and rear tyres. They’ve gotten better at this over the years, as it’s now barely perceptible for the rider to feel when the soft compound finishes and the centre hard begins.
This gives the obvious advantage of greater stability, especially when you’re either hard on the gas out of a corner or transitioning from hard upright braking to a medium/full-level lean with the front tyre fully loaded.
Metzeler Sportec 01 RS track test
We spent the first half of the day in Spain under some threatening clouds at the Monteblanco Circuit on the 01 RS, then a few hours ripping up the hills surrounding the track on the street-focused 01.
The 01 RS is still classified as a street tyre; the first in the line of track/road racing tyres is the Racetec RR, and we didn’t use any tyre warmers despite track temps being on the chilly side.
The first thing I noticed on the 01 was how quickly this front tyre warmed up. Within three quarters of a lap of the undulating 4.3-kilometre Monteblanco venue, I had no qualms about jamming the knee on the deck and pushing the front tyre harder than I expected before leaving the pits.
The 01 RS has quite a soft feel at the front, which is very much a Metzeler/Pirelli trait I’ve grown used to, having grown up racing the company’s soft-as-butter supermoto tyres for a couple of decades.
Like many other tyre brands, Metzeler has a feel that links it to the family heritage. A fast initial turn-in is met with squishy sidewalls that let you know exactly where the grip level is in much the same way a Pirelli does. Metzelers tend to be about half to a full step harder than the equivalent Pirelli, so that’s something to bear in mind as you gradually build up the pace.
Braking stability from the front 01 RS is excellent. I rode three different machines during my four track sessions in the new KTM 1390 Super Duke RR, the BMW S 1000 RR and the mighty M 1000 RR (in that order), and the harder I hammered the brakes as I rode ever faster bikes, the more feel from the front I got, and the more I was prepared to push.
Whether this has anything to do with the Dynatread doing its semi-slick impression, I have no idea. I can’t tell, and I doubt anyone at the launch aside from the development riders could tell if the Dynatread was doing its thing, but a good indication of performance was that with over 40 riders from all reaches of the globe, ranging from basic intermediate to pro-level speed, no one had a front-end crash at a circuit that demands heavy braking to extract a decent lap time.
An important thing to note here is that the tyre performance never wavered, regardless of which bike I rode or which electronic suspension setting I chose. Modern sportbikes are chameleons, changing their chassis’ persona at the touch of a button and thus putting different strains on the tyre tread and deeper into the carcass. The 01 RS front handled everything I could throw at it, but I still wasn’t game to brake as late as I would with a Racetec slick—mainly due to self-preservation than anything else.
Switching to the rear tyre, that lovely, squishy feel sporty Metzelers give shone through beautifully. Focusing on the M 1000 RR with all its ferocious German horsepower, the initial touch of the throttle allowed the rear to squat and smear itself into the tarmac, and it was surprising how hard I could get on the gas before the traction control (set to level -1) would kick in.
It’s important on the BMW to really stand it up on the meat of the rear tyre before giving it the berries, but overall drive grip was hard to fault until about six laps in, at which point there was a definite drop in drive grip, but one that was at least manageable and didn’t drop any further.
Edge grip was likewise confidence-inspiring, but it too began to drop a bit earlier than I’d hoped. However, this (at least I feel) was down to my heavy-handed approach, and if I smoothed out my initial touch of the throttle while leaned over, I found I could get another couple of laps before conditions were far past optimum.
I had to remind myself a couple of times that this is still a street tyre, one that doesn’t have the continual grip of a slick. However, the feel afforded by both the front and rear as carcass heat rose and overall grip fell made it easy to find a quick, repeatable pace and stay there for the session.
Metzeler Sportec 01 road test
Transferring to the road-focused 01, I had only one machine at my disposal: a KTM 990 Duke, and it was interesting to note how much harder the front tyre was than on the 01 RS.
Part of this was down to a slightly stiffer carcass on the 01, but also to the reduced weight of the 990 and the less stress put on the tyre itself, which made for a different feeling, one not quite as connected as the RS.
That’s not to say the 01 is not an excellent tyre, as it absolutely is. The ride we were on was essentially a 130-kilometre piece of tarmac spaghetti, smooth as could be and never letting me spend more than half a second in the upright position before I was slamming the Duke on its side for the next corner.
This is the kind of road many dream of, and it highlighted the front Metzeler’s incredibly quick agility and turn speed. Just like the RS, the road-focused 01 has plenty of feel it throws at the rider, but that slightly harder character takes a bit to get used to.
Once you’re leaned over and the Duke is loaded, you can really push the front tyre hard and expect it to stick. Quick transitions over crappy potholes were easily dealt with, and those bastard tarmac snakes that governments across the globe use to patch up cracks in the road instead of doing a real job and resurfacing it didn’t induce too many front-end wiggles that could get really out of hand if you weren’t paying attention.
Like the RS on track, the front 01 gives great braking stability and fast turn-in, while the rear has more than enough edge and drive grip for almost any type of street riding this side of the Isle of Man.
Metzeler Sportec 01 vs 01 RS verdict
It’s all well and good having the latest cut-slick sports tyres, but they don’t hold up as well if you are riding on the road 95 per cent of the time. This is where many riders do themselves a disservice, at least in my opinion.
Although we didn’t hit any wet roads on our test, I’d be plenty happy to take a set of 01s out for a spin, but if I were riding in an area that has lots of rain, I’d still probably stick with a set of M9s.
Mileage is still up for debate, and any time a tyre company quotes you some numbers, you may as well not listen. Tyre life is completely up to you—you could make a set of Racetec RRs last 10,000 miles if you’re careful enough, and the same is true for a set of 01s.
The 01 and 01 RS are new tyres, anyway, so no claim of increased mileage was made by Metzeler at the launch, but if you’re after pure longevity over sport performance, there are other tyres in Metzeler’s range that would suit you better.
Metzeler Sportec 01 Tyre Sizes
- Sportec 01 Fronts:
- 110/70 ZR 17 M/C (54W) TL ($259.95)
- 120/70 ZR 17 M/C (58W) TL ($279.95)
- Sportec 01 Rears:
- 150/60 ZR 17 M/C 66W TL ($339.95)
- 160/60 ZR 17 M/C (69W) TL ($359.95)
- 180/55 ZR 17 M/C (73W) TL ($369.95)
- 190/50 ZR 17 M/C (73W) TL ($399.95)
- 190/55 ZR 17 M/C (75W) TL ($399.95)
- 200/55 ZR 17 M/C (78W) TL ($419.95)
Metzeler Sportec 01 RS Tyre Sizes
- Sportec 01 RS Fronts:
- 120/70 ZR 17 M/C (58W) TL ($299.95)
- Sportec 01 RS Rears:
- 180/55 ZR 17 M/C (73W) TL ($379.95)
- 190/55 ZR 17 M/C (75W) TL ($409.95)
- 200/55 ZR 17 M/C (78W) TL ($429.95)
- 200/60 ZR 17 M/C (80W) TL ($439.95)
