Nowadays, I don't think many riders would dispute the importance of warming a tyre before hard use. Thirty years ago you'd just be glad to see a bit of tread around the entire circumference, you didn't expect them to stick to the road as well - but hell, it was always a nice bonus when they did!
So fast forward, and what do we have? Pretty cool tech that is positively bursting from the race scene. The bike manufacturers now make bikes that are almost impeccable, delivering huge amounts of linear power, quietly, through a frame and swingarm strong enough to hold a tank together... and they are very, very hard to improve on. Where once you chose a JMC swingarm, or Harris frame, for better handling, now you just keep it standard and wonder how you ever managed on the steel cradle, flexi-frames of yesteryear.
On top of that, the rubber things that transmit everything to the road, or you, are designed with the actual bike in mind, not just a rubber ring forged in the dimensions to suit your wheels.
And these tyres let you get away with murder...
