Wheel manufacturer DT Swiss, in partnership with Continental and Swiss Side, has unveiled a new tire, the Aero 111, designed specifically for its road wheel series.

The announcement comes after Decathlon AG2R La Mondial riders were spotted using the tire in the opening stage of this year's Tour de France.

Wheel-Tyre Systems (WTS) have been around for years, with Mavic in particular investing in this technology; the idea of WTS is to create an optimized total package so that the wheels and tires work beneficially for both aerodynamics and stability.

Since DT Switzerland is not a tire manufacturer, the development of the Aero 111 drew on the expertise of Continental and Swisside. Continental has a rich history of producing high performance tires for bicycles and cars, and Swisside was called upon for its aerodynamic know-how.

On the surface, the new tire is distinctly different from a typical road bike tire. The outer edge of the tire has 48 square notches, which are said to act as vortex generators. It is claimed that this increases the duration of airflow adhesion to the tire and rim and enhances the sailing effect creating a wattsaving effect

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In a press release issued prior to the launch of the tire, DT Switzerland said, "In our tests, the Aero 111 front tire outperformed every other tire brand tested at WTS. The results guarantee that when riders combine our wheels with the new AERO 111 tires, they will be the fastest WTS available today."

Due to the interaction between the opposing air and the bicycle, the Aero 111 tire should only be mounted on the front wheel. This is because the air around the rear wheel is very turbulent and dirty, disturbed by everything in front of it, so the vortex generator will not work effectively.

Another interesting reported benefit of vortex generators is improved crosswind stability. In Swiss-side aero tests, the Aero 111 tire exhibited a linear steering moment over the yaw angle test range. This essentially means that the force required to rotate the bar is predictable and less likely to be felt snagged in a crosswind.

The tire itself is built using the same technology as Continental's GP5000 S TR road tire, which uses the brand's Black Chile rubber compound. The Aero 111 is also available in hookless and tubeless versions.

Available in two widths, the Aero 111 is suitable for both aero and endurance applications, says DT Switzerland, with the 26mm width offering maximum watt-saving performance and the 29mm width option benefiting from a vortexing tread pattern for The 29mm width option is presented as a tire that improves comfort while benefiting from a vortex-generating tread pattern.

The 26mm width Aero 111 weighs 250g, while the 29mm width option weighs 280g. Priced at €119.95/$120.95, this tire is certainly in the premium category.