Michelin Tyre Test
With so many tyres on the market these day’s it’s a bit of a minefield of which to buy. Either you ask your mates or you just buy some and suck it and see if they suite your riding style and terrain. It seems that Maxxis have been the dominant force for the last few years, but with the likes of Continental and Schwalbe raising there game it’s good to see that Michelin are coming back with a few alternatives to mix it up.
Michelin Wild Grip'r after a few runs around Innerleithen's varied trails
We got 2 sets of these tyres to test from Daniel Garland, the Grip’r and the Rock’r, both for completely different terrains. First up I stuck the Grip’r tyres on, these are 2.25 wide and are the standard not the advanced compound. First up you’ll notice quite a spaced out nob pattern which worked really well on the soft loamy ground and cleared really quickly when the ground firmed up. You do have to watch out though when all that rubber that’s showing hits a wet root you might well hit the deck quicker than you can say what happened there?? As I said these are the standard compound and there is a tubeless advanced tyre available with a bit more stickyness.
The rear Grip'r after a few good runs around the hill, still plenty life left but I'd expect that as it's a fairly hard compound
My thoughts after using these were a bit mixed but on the whole pretty pleased with the performance, the roll speed is incredibly fast when the pressure is fairly high but that makes them a bit squirrely when you hit the hard pack i.e. Make or Break at Innerleithen – well I’ve never came down there faster and with some fore mentioned sliding on the corners it was scary but in a good way! Get tyre pressure right and they hold up well and I was pretty pleased with the grip and would recommend them for loose loamy conditions.
Prices – standard 2.25 from £17.45 each if your buying a pair and £27.45 each for the advanced a pair
Buy them here
- The Rock’r rear after a few rides around the hills
I really liked the look of this tyre and really wasn’t too disappointed as it coped well in the softer muddy trails and when you hit the corners it just bites hard and fires you out the other side. Soon as you hit a cleaner section the tyre cleaned well shedding the mud. These being the cheaper ones in the line up the compound is pretty hard, so don’t expect them to like the wet roots and can be a bit of a handful on the hard pack rocky trails like the grip’r, but don’t let that put you of as I found them to be quite predictable.
The front Rock'r after a few rides - shows how hard the rubber is as the hairy bits are all still there
Prices – standard 2.25 from £17.45 each if your buying a pair and £27.45 each for the advanced a pair
Buy them here