Blackbird All Season
Blackbird All Season: A Tyre For All Seasons?
Blackbird All Season, a tyre designed to deliver speed, safety and reliability in all conditions. Hutchinson says it completes the Blackbird ‘ecosystem’ by offering an all-year performance option. We have a pair of them in to test and will see how they perform through the winter and beyond.
Cyclists are constantly balancing speed, grip, and durability depending on the season. In winter, we use heavier tyres with reinforced protection, because no one wants to be fixing a puncture in freezing rain. Come summer, riders usually switch to lighter, faster tyres that sacrifice some toughness for rolling efficiency.
Blackbird All Season: for all roads and weathers
What Hutchinson is claiming with the Blackbird All Season is that you no longer need to make that trade-off. By combining a bi-compound tread for efficiency and grip, a thicker tread for longevity and lightweight sidewall protection, they’re offering a tyre that can handle cold, wet winter roads and still deliver speed and comfort on rough summer terrain. In other words, it’s positioned as a true year-round performance tyre; something that’s notoriously hard to achieve.
To achieve this versatility, Hutchinson has introduced several innovations. The tread uses a bi-compound design, with Mach Tread 3.0 in the centre for efficiency and a new Safetread compound on the sides to maintain grip even in freezing or wet conditions. The tread itself is 24% thicker, now measuring 2.1mm. Hutchinson says this extends the tyre’s lifespan to around a claimed 6000km. And also provides extra protection against the debris washed onto winter roads.
The Blackbird All Season also brings back Gridskin technology, a snakeskin-like knitted sidewall fabric previously reserved for limited editions. This material offers sidewall protection comparable to Hutchinson’s Hardskin, but at a fraction of the weight. Combining the thicker tread and a Polyamide protection strip should produce a ‘performance’ tyre without the tradeoff of puncture risk.
The Blackbird family
Despite its durability, Hutchinson says the tyre remains fast and comfortable, making it ideal for winter Gran Fondos, cobbled races, or rides on rough roads. The 28mm version weighs a claimed 340g, balancing strength with speed. Handmade in France, it is available in Black or Tan Wall finishes, with both Hookless-compatible Tubeless and Tube Type versions offered in 28, 30, and 32mm sizes. Prices start at €49.99/£43.99 for Tube Type and €69.99/£63.99 for Tubeless.
With this addition, Hutchinson’s Blackbird ecosystem now covers every riding scenario. The Blackbird Race (preview here) is built for uncompromising speed and handling. Meanwhile the Blackbird balances performance with everyday usability and a 4000+ km lifespan. And now the Blackbird All Season ensures riders can tackle wet, cold, and unpredictable conditions without sacrificing pace.
