Michelin tyre advice

[ibbz]

Only Me!

Anyway, Tyre's, I remember the Michelin Wildgrippers of the late 90ies - superb looking and feeling rubber.

These days, after many years out, returning I notice that Michelin aren't as popular anymore - but are they still renowned?

I have a set of Panaracer Dart and Smoke 2.1 tyres on my bike, which are probably a bit heavy duty for me.

I (will) ride mostly canal paths, around Walthamstow and Tottenham marshes and trails through Epping Forest, and hardly ever in inclement weather, and if i ever do decide to I can always keep the tyres I have in case.

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a Michelin tyre for mixed surface - mostly dry, the odd wet, no heavy mud or anything.

Wildgripper any good still?

How about Wildrockr or runnr? Any which type?

My current tyres are quite heavy, so some weight saving would go down very well!

Why Michelin? I suppose I trust them! Michelin Exalto Sport on my old Clio 182 were absolutely brilliant, and I guess the same technology goes into their Cycle compounds..

 

[T'boo Ted]

I remember when the origianl ":bat wings" DH tyre came out, wanted them pretty bad. Got a set of wildgripper lite s that had been taken off a bike back in 99, front was crap, but I loved the rear, stock piled them, had a heap of steel beed, kevlar beed in both black and green. Things i noticed, they were light, they gripped in anything, they wore out real fast (tiny knobs) and they seemed to perish pretty easily (the sidewall would crack and the know peel off). Last one I had was on a bike last year.
I got some new ones, can't remember what they were called now, pretty light and useful for most stuff except anything that resembled wet, disaster awaited. swapped them out for smoke front and rear, no more problems apart form the weight.

 

[JeRkY]

I find the XC AT (i think) tires fast rolling and good on mixed ground at higher pressuress. Available for a bargain £10 ea for folders from on one as well. They are not so good once worn in on gloppy conditions but that doesn't sound as though it's too much trouble for your intended use.

 

[jimo746]

Like JeRKY I have a set of the Michelin XC-AT (All Terrain) tyres, bought mainly because they were on offer at around £10 each from Chainreaction Bikes.
Personally I found the slightly rounded profile a little unpredictable on off-camber stuff or loose corners, but for the money they have been good all-round tyres and seen plenty of use in all conditions.
Michelin make a vast array of MTB tyres, and whilst the XC-AT is pretty good I'm sure there are others just as good for the same or not much more money.
What sort of budget have you got? You can spend anything from £10 to £60 or more per tyre these days.

 

[ibbz]

cheers guys. As I said I want to replace the dart and smokes with a lighter weight tyre. Budget depends, no more than 30 quid each. The tyres a have weigh in over 650g each, my aim is to trim a Pound if I can. That's for both.

 

[jimo746]

For up to £30 a tyre you could get some real decent Michelin Rubber.
Just had a look and the XC-AT apparently weighs 600g-ish.
Considering your dry weather riding I'd look at the Mountain Dry 2 @ approx 560g each.

There are other brands you could look at though, some comparable tyres may be lighter than the Michelin ones is weight saving is a concern.

 

[Alex Creasey]

I'll have to keep an eye out for you if your around Epping or up n down the Lea?

If you want to stick to Michelin could try the Dry2's... Not sure of the weight but I was using a set of the older grey compounds and they were really nice on hardpacked trails and canal paths... Wouldn't get to lairy offroad on them though.


Edited for...

The modern ones:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Sear ... chelin+dry

 

[Blackstar]

These days, after many years out, returning I notice that Michelin aren't as popular anymore - but are they still renowned?

Not like they used to. Maxxis and Schwable are big on the scene now.

I (will) ride mostly canal paths, around Walthamstow and Tottenham marshes and trails through Epping Forest, and hardly ever in inclement weather, and if i ever do decide to I can always keep the tyres I have in case.

I was wondering whether anyone can recommend a Michelin tyre for mixed surface - mostly dry, the odd wet, no heavy mud or anything.

?

I'm running wild race'r advanced for mixed terrain.

But having said that it might be best to explore all the options.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com has a wide range of tyres and offer good value.

Good luck.

 

[Andy R]

If you want to stick to Michelin could try the Dry2's... Not sure of the weight but I was using a set of the older grey compounds and they were really nice on hardpacked trails and canal paths... Wouldn't get to lairy offroad on them though.


Edited for...

The modern ones:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Sear ... chelin+dry

I've been using a pair of the Dry 2's in Greece for the last two years and they have a lot to recommend them - reasonably light, fast rolling on hardpack surfaces (so good for those long fiireroad climbs), high volume and probably the easiest tyres to initially inflate tubeless of any that I've fitted (including TLR and UST). Good sidewall integrity too, with no leakage.
Put it this way, I fitted and inflated a pair without adding sealant and they held pressure fine overnight - I only added sealant for thorn puncture protection. When I last changed one (because it was getting pretty worn out) there were literally dozens of thorns through the carcase but they'd all self-sealed.

Sketchy as anything cornering where the surface is that talcum powder-like dust, lethal on wet polished limestone steps if you're anything but square on and not much good anywhere after rain (as you would expect).
I run at about 21psi front and 24 rear (ghetto tubeless on Mavic 717's.

*Edit* Those 2.35 reinforced ones from CRC are the bargain of the year IMHO - I'll have to stock up.....

 

[Unclejack]

hi sorry for late response. I have a pair of folding grey michelins- XCR AT up front and XCR Xtrem on the back.. bought cos they were real cheap but they also turned out to be pretty light for their size. both a good honest old school 2" size front 550g and rear 560. not been that far on then yet but they seem perfectly average. if that helps?