Building off their line of Fusion road tires, for Hutchinson it was time for the next generation. Eventually to be named the Fusion5, the new line of tires all build off of their new HDF>5 compound. The result of 2 years of development that spanned 105 different prototype compounds, 128,000km of lab testing and 34,000km of real world testing, Hutchinson feels they have now arrived at ideal blend of all of a tire’s important factors.
Eventually to be available in tube, tubeless, and tubular, Fusion5 covers the range on the road…
Officially, the HDF>5 compound is divided into 4 main tiers – 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, and Racing LTD. HDF>5.1 will be offered in the Fusion5 Galactik and uses the thinnest layer of rubber at 0.8mm with a Lightskin protected 127 tpi casing. As you would imagine, this make for a very light tire starting at 180g and will be sold in 23 or 25mm widths in tube or tubeless.
The HDF>5.2 bumps up the compound thickness to 1.2mm but adds additional puncture protection with a kevlar reinforced 127 tpi casing. Starting at 190g, tubeless tires will be offered in 23/25mm while tube tires will be available in 23/25/28mm.
With the thickest compound at 1.6mm, the All Season would likely make a great winter training tire thanks to the kevlar puncture protection and dedicated tread for wet/winter conditions but still with a 127 tpi casing. Starting at 210g, the All Season is offered in the same sizes as the Performance above.
As for the last HDF>5 version, the Racing LTD if available, will only be in tubular form. It’s interesting to note that while the tube/tubeless tires benefitted more from the new rubber compound in terms of rolling performance, the tubular sees bigger gains in both grip and durability comparatively.
