The Apollo Tramplr XR is a relatively new offering in the dual-sport tyre market, designed to provide a balance of on-road and off-road performance for adventure touring and commuting. The Tramplr XR is a sensible choice for the mixed road conditions encountered daily by most riders. They are in a similar league to the Apollo Alpha H1, but feature a harder center compound, increasing tyre life, with the H1’s softer compound on the sides for enhanced cornering grip. The big block pattern allows them to perform well on gravel and dirt, while still performing very consistently on roads.
Positive Feedback
- Reliable Dry Grip: The Tramplr XR is surprisingly good at cornering. The rubber is grippy enough that you can use the full tyre right to the edges without slipping.
- High-speed Stability: The H-rated, steel radial construction reduces deformation at high speeds, maintaining optimal road contact.
- Sensible Design: The Tramplr XR has extended shoulders for increased traction, and a W-shaped tread pattern for channelling water to prevent hydroplaning.
- Value for Money: Considering its performance characteristics, the Apollo Tramplr XR offers a good amount of value over cheaper tyres in the market, while still being a considerable amount cheaper than the better quality dual purpose tyres out there.
Negative Feedback
- Ride Quality: The block pattern adds a small amount of noise and roughness to the ride quality. The roughness also takes away some road feel, so you have less feedback from the tyres. This is normal for a block pattern tyre, but is something to consider if you enjoy sporty riding and want to prioritize road feel. I have had no issues touring on this tyre, but if you’re sensitive to such things, take note.
- Tyre Life: Despite having a harder compound in the center to increase tyre life, they can still reach the Tyre Wear Indicator as little as 8000km when used aggressively. Of course they’ll last a great deal longer if used for relaxed touring. But sporty riders should not expect long life, and given the amount of road grip and fun they provide, their focus clearly isn’t on being a long life tyre.
My Experience
I started using the Tramplr XR after having done 50,000km on Apollo Alpha H1s. As an aggressive rider both on the road and off, I loved the idea of having better grip on the bad patches, but was very worried about sacrificing road and cornering grip. So I was pleasantly surprised when I took the Tramplr XRs out for their first long ride, ~300km with plenty of ghat sections. Initially, I wasn’t sure about the rubber, but I very quickly found the edge of the tyre.
It was one of the best rides I’ve been on and left me extremely impressed. Not only did they corner very well, but they dug in on gravel and gave me much greater confidence and control than I was used to. I even tried braking while riding over loose gravel that was sitting on top of concrete and the Tramplr XRs were able to dig in and brake quite effectively without losing composure.
Subsequent trail rides have been plenty of fun as well. They have a lot more grip than your standard road tyres, especially when you encounter thick dust or very loose gravel. And while there are plenty of better off-road tyres out there, the blend of cornering consistency and off-road composure makes them a lot of fun.
Conclusion
The Apollo Tramplr XR is one of the best reasonably priced tyres in the market for all-around performance. If you tend to face a lot of gravel and bad road conditions on a regular basis, or do occasional off-roading, they’re a fantastic choice.
They are not the best road tyre, as road-focused tyres will generally have stickier rubber, a more aggressive cornering profile, and more road feel and feedback. However the Tramplr XRs are a lot of fun to ride on the roads, and you can corner aggressively on them too.
They’re also not the best off-road tyre, as a truly off-road focused tyre will have smaller blocks, or knobs, to gain greater off-road traction and control. And yet the Tramplr XRs still handle themselves well across all different terrains, whether it’s sand, dirt, gravel, or slush.
So if you need a tyre that can do everything well, the Tramplr XR really hits the sweet spot.
