We have had a box full of tyres given out to various riders who have strapped them to a number of different bikes recently. The new Michelin Wild Rock’r has been wrapped around the wheels of Steve Jones’ GT Sanction for a while now and he gave us his thoughts on them last week.
Local rider/mechanic/engineer’s first mate Andrew has been running these tyres for the last 6 weeks and we thought it would be a good idea to find out how he got on with them. Mainly riding local tracks round the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean trails he’s covered quite a few miles over mixed terrain, here’s what he thought.
Dirt: What setup have you been running?
Andrew: I’ve had a Magi-X out back and a Gum-X on the front mainly, I’ve also swapped them around but this seems to be the setup I’ve come back to.
Dirt: So what and where have you been riding?
Andrew: Local trails round here mainly, mixture of dry dirt trails with some rocky sections and roots thrown in. It’s been in the dry most of the time but I’ve done a few wet rides too.
Dirt: What did you think to them?
Andrew: Well they felt heavy when I first picked them up but once they were on felt good and I didn’t really notice the weight. I’ve run them tubeless and although they were a bit difficult to get onto narrower rims they haven’t burped any air or punctured so far.
The grip the offer is really good, big side knobs help but they aren’t the fastest rolling tyres out there. In mud they do tend to clog up but not too badly for a dry tyre. They feel and look big for 2.35 tyres but they corner well and feel like you can trust them not letting go.
Dirt: Overall thoughts?
They grip like hell on a mixture of surfaces but I wouldn’t ride them all day, impressed with the puncture resistance and cornering grip but they are definitely tyres for dry weather.
So there you have it, a locals thoughts on the new Enduro targeted tyres from Michelin. If you want to check them out then here’s the info:
Price: Gum-X £46.00, Magi-X £56.99
Sizes: 26″x2.35″, 27.5″x2.35″, 29″x2.35″
Hotlines 01313 191 444
www.bike.michelin.co.uk
Follow the link below for part two of Locals Testing:
