A tire is provided with a tread having microsipes along lateral edges such as the leading edge, trailing edge, or both of various tread features. The microsipes are oriented substantially along the longitudinal direction. In contravention of conventional teachings, the addition of these microsipes has been found to improve rolling resistance, dry braking, or both. The microsipes can be located along edges that are chamfered as well.

Tire with radial carcass reinforcement having a tread of thickness E, this tread having a tread surface and at least one cut opening onto the tread surface to form edge corners. The cut extends into the tread over a total depth H. The cut is in the form of a sipe having a width D. There is also formed, in the vicinity, i.e. at a minimum distance from the said edge corner that is at most equal to five times the width D of the cut, of at least one edge corner of this cut and on the tread surface, at least one cavity having a depth h that is small in comparison with the depth of the cut, i.e. that is at most equal to 30% of the depth H. The at least one cavity reduces the compression rigidity of the tread in the vicinity of the the at least one edge corner.

A pneumatic tire is provided with, in the tread surface, land portions that include a rib or a plurality of blocks. The land portions are provided with a plurality of narrow shallow grooves and a plurality of recessed portions in a contact patch. The opening area ratio Se of the recessed portions in the end portion regions in the tire lateral direction of one continuous contact patch and the opening area ratio Sc of the recessed portions in the central portion region in the tire lateral direction have the relationship Sc<Se, where the central portion region is defined as the region in the central portion in the tire lateral direction occupying 50% of the continuous contact patch of the land portions, and the end portion regions are defined as the regions in the left and right end portions in the tire lateral direction occupying 25%.

Provided is a pneumatic tire for a motorcycle that is capable of early exhibiting performance of a new tire and that enables it to be visually confirmed that the new tire is worn to a degree that the tire can fully exhibit the performance. The pneumatic tire for a motorcycle includes a tread portion 1 formed into a ring shape, in which the tread portion 1 is provided with shallow grooves 2 having a width of 0.1 to 2.0 mm and a depth of 0.1 to 2.0 mm and extending in a tire circumferential direction.

A tire includes a tread portion including a first land portion defined between circumferentially extending first and second edges. The first land portion is provided with first and second lateral grooves respectively extending from the first and second edges and terminating within the first land portion and a circumferentially extending first longitudinal narrow groove in communication with the first and second lateral grooves. Each of the first and second lateral grooves includes a wide-width portion and a narrow-width portion. The wide-width portion of each of the first lateral grooves extends from the first edge and the wide-width portion of each of the second lateral grooves extends from the second edge. The first longitudinal narrow groove passes through the narrow-width portion of each of the first and second lateral grooves without passing through the wide-width portion of each of the first and second lateral grooves.

A tire comprises a tread portion 2. The tread portion 2 comprises a plurality of blocks each comprising a first longitudinal edge 18 and a second longitudinal edge 19 extending in a tire circumferential direction, and a ground contacting surface defined therebetween. The blocks include a first block 20 having a first narrow groove 21 provided in the ground contacting surface thereof. The first narrow groove 21 extends from a first end 21a on the first longitudinal edge 18 toward a center 24 in a tire axial direction of the first block 20 and curves within the ground contacting surface and reaches a second end 21b on the first longitudinal edge 18 so as to extend in a laterally oriented V-shape.

Tire with radial carcass reinforcement having a tread of thickness E, this tread having a tread surface to come into contact with a roadway and comprising at least one cut opening onto the tread surface to form edge corners, this cut extending into the tread over a total depth H at most equal to the thickness E of the tread, this cut being, between the tread surface and a depth H1 at most equal to the total depth H, in the form of a sipe having a width D suitable for being able to close up at least in part under normal running conditions of the tire. There is also formed, in the vicinity, i.e. at a minimum distance from the said edge corner that is at most equal to five times the width D of the cut, of at least one edge corner of this cut and on the tread surface, at least one cavity having a depth h that is small in comparison with the depth of the cut, i.e. that is at most equal to 30% of the depth H, this at least one cavity reducing the compression rigidity of the tread in the vicinity of the said at least one edge corner.

A run-flat tire that includes a tread portion, sidewall portions, and bead portions. The sidewall portions being provided with a side-reinforcing rubber having a crescent-shaped cross section. At least one circumferential groove extending in a tire circumferential direction and plural rows of circumferential sipes continued in the tire circumferential direction are provided in a tread surface of at least one tread half-width region of a pair of tread half-width regions bordered by a tire equatorial plane. At least one shoulder portion circumferential sipe is provided in a shoulder land portion, and at least one inner circumferential sipe is provided in an inner land portion. A sipe width of the shoulder portion circumferential sipe is larger than that of the inner circumferential sipe, and a sipe depth of the shoulder portion circumferential sipe is smaller than that of the inner circumferential sipe.

The tire tread according to the present disclosure includes a plurality of ground contact elements which are defined by a plurality of grooves formed on a ground contact surface in contact with a road surface when the tire is rolling, and having an upper surface forming a portion of the ground contact surface; and a plurality of small recesses which open at the upper surface, are indented inwardly in the tire radial direction, and are not in communication with each other, the depth h of the small recesses being between 0.15 mm and 1.5 mm when the tread is brand new.

A motorcycle tire comprises a tread portion provided on each side of the tire equator with primary oblique grooves extending from a tread center region to the vicinity of the tread edge, and secondary oblique grooves each having an axially outer end positioned axially inside the axially outer ends of the primary oblique grooves. The secondary oblique grooves comprises a pair of gradually widening parts respectively extending from two extreme ends of the secondary oblique groove in its longitudinal direction toward an intermediate position between the two extreme ends, while gradually increasing the groove width measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction, and a pair of gradually narrowing parts which are disposed between the gradually widening parts, and of which groove widths gradually decrease from the gradually widening parts toward the intermediate position.