Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Top Side View.

Michelin is a familiar brand to many of us old school mountain bikers as they were a serious contender a decade ago with their familiar WildGripper tires in green color. But it seems the big conglomerate has not been as focused with biking, as they haven't kept up with the latest demand for grippy, big volume tires.

Well someone woke up the Michelin giant, as they have put in a serious effort to regain their share in the core segment of mountain biking. Michelin deployed their engineering team, led by Rudy Megavand and he worked with racer Fabien Barel to develop this aggressive All Mountain tire.



Left: Green Michelin tires. Right: Michelin man biking in 1891 while smoking.

Fabien Barel and Rudy Megevand

Mtbr met Fabien Barel in the Enduro World Series and since many US folks are unfamiliar with him, we'll describe him as a mix between the personality and flair of Cedric Gracia, the focus and determination of a Mark Weir and the attention to detail of a Nico Vouilloiz. There's a lot of brilliant riders out there but if they can't communicate and break down technical properties of a component, they're not much help to the engineers. After all, Fabien has an engineering degree and we have no doubt he will use his education well after he is done racing. On the other side of the equation, Rudy Megevand, the product manager is an engineer and brilliant rider. The way Rudy and Fabien communicated as they rode and developed tires together, is the key to the development of this tire.



The key goals for this tire were:
  • Grip, grip, grip
  • Sidewall protection and durability
  • Availability in all wheel sizes.
  • Tubeless compatibility in low pressures and high side loads
  • Win the Enduro World Series

Riding Impressions

We've had about 6 weeks with the Rock'R2 tire now, so we feel confident with our impressions on this tire. First, we got to ride this tire for three days in the home town of Fabien, the Alps in the South of France. The terrain was rocky, sandy, grippy, rooty, and rocky again. We've never experienced such rocky and technical terrain, as we started to understand why some of the best descenders in the world come from this area.


Wet and rocky singletrack in the Peillon forest.


The night of our arrival, it rained about two inches in the mountains near the town of Peillon. I thought for sure the rides would get cancelled but the trails drained well. Of course, not well enough as conditions were still dangerous in these trails, especially for us out-of-towners. Given most other tires, these rides with twenty journalists would have been miserable and peppered with injured riders. But I'm happy to report that twenty riders stayed upright and smiled. Well, for the most part anyway.

Wet rocks and leaves were manageable with these tires. One could tell the conditions were slippery with a three inch layer of wet leaves covering sharp rocks, but we all managed to descend and have fun along the way. In fact, we said the classic 'Let's do that again!' as we hit the shuttle van at the bottom.

We then hit some rock slabs, some sharp rocks and a bunch of loose ones. The Euro racers sped downhill as some of us tested the control and braking traction of these tires. The Rock'R2 tackled this terrain well.

It's only as we hit a two mile asphalt climb that the hootin' and hollerin' got muted. These are big, soft tires and they don't roll that fast on uphill pavement.

After those three days, we got to take the tires home and ride them in the trails of the SF Bay Area and the Santa Cruz Mountains. We rode them in both 27.5 and 29er size. Cornering traction was present in spades and it was pretty darn hard to unsettle these tires. At any lean angle, these Michelins were sure-footed.

Not Just Soft Rubber

When we asked Rudy if the rubber was soft, Rudy said, the Magi-X is the softest on the market at 50 durometer. But he also said that riders obsess too much about softness of the rubber. He said the other key is how much energy the rubber can absorb or how slow it rebounds. He says it's the ability of the rubber to absorb energy that gives it traction. When you hit a rock or hit a rough corner, Rudy explained that a tire that can absorb energy of the impact will have more traction.

When we mounted the Rock'R2 Magi-X tubeless back home, we bounced it around to distribute the sealant around the tire. Lo and Behold, this tire had the least amount of bounce out of any tire we've ever tried.

Tubeless and Mounting

Get your technique and beefy tire irons ready. This tire is a bear to mount, as it is optimized to hold tubeless air and not to mount easily. The bead is beefy and it is tight on most wheels. Given that the tubeless seal is dependent on a tight fit between the inner diameter of the bead and not the side of the bead, a tight seal with the rim floor is essential for maintaining a tubeless seal under high side loads and low pressures.

Mounted on our Spank wheels, we checked the tire pressure after two weeks and feels like it's hardly lost any pressure. A month later, it just needed a few strokes with the floor pump to get back to our riding pressure of 22 psi.

Strengths

  • Wow, the traction
  • There's two compounds available, grippy dual compound and very grippy 50 durometer compound.
  • The transition from middle to side knobs is predictable and consistent.
  • The tire profile is rounded and side knobs are huge.
  • Braking is awesome.
  • Tubeless seal is one of the best in our experience.
  • Sidewall is extremely strong yet pliable.

Weaknesses

  • They are heavy, specially on 29er size.
  • The Magi-X soft compound (softest available) is a slow roller.
  • The Michelin tire naming convention is confusing! Try saying: MICHELIN Wild Rock'R2 Advanced Reinforced w/ Magi-X or Gum-X compounds.


Norco Test bike with Michelin Wild Rock'R2.

Specifications

  • Sizes: 26'', 27.5", 29"
  • Width: 2.35''
  • Casing: Advanced Reinforced with Tubeless Ready bead
  • Tread compounds: Magi'X - 50 durometer rubber compound and Gum'X - slightly harder dual compound
  • Weight: 998 grams for 27.5. 1175 grams for 29er.

Continue to page 2 for pricing, availability and full photo gallery »

Pricing and Availability



Most of the tire models are expected to hit store shelves on Jan 2014.

This is not Michelin's first bike tire

Michelin's history dates back more than 120 years to 1889 when brothers André and Edouard Michelin laid the foundations for what would become a formidable human and industrial adventure, with the focus on innovation to facilitate modern means of transport, promote freedom and stimulate economic growth.

The first bicycle tyre dates back to 1891. The Michelin brothers were visionaries who caught the majority of their contemporaries off-foot.

The strength of their idea lay in the fact that it enabled a punctured inner-tube to be replaced in just 15 minutes, using mechanical means without the need to call on a specialist… It was a removable tyre which anybody could repair…

The Michelin brothers applied for three patents for their removable, repairable tyre in the summer of 1891, including one that was registered less than a month before the start of the celebrated Paris- Brest-Paris road race which was an unprecedented 1,200km in length.



Winning 1891 Bike with Michelin Tires.

Even more worried than the bicycle manufacturers, André and Edouard Michelin inspect French racer Charles Terront's bike to verify one last time the rims for which they have adapted their invention, the Michelin "removable" tyre. The two brothers are the only people who believe in the tyre, which is about to make it official debut.

Exactly 71 hours and 18 minutes after the start, Charles Terront crossed the finish line to win the inaugural Paris-Brest-Paris race by a margin of almost nine hours over his closest rival. "The winner tells us that he owes his success to his tyres," it was reported in the papers the day after Terront's Victory.

In 1892, another event allowed Michelin to showcase the efficiency of its removable tyre: the "Course aux Clous". On a course that ran from Paris to Clermont-Ferrand, Edouard Michelin had nails placed on the road to ensure the success of his riders who were competing on removable tyres that could be changed in three minutes. For the first time, competitors were able to benefit from a technical support service during the competition.

From the Manufacturer

The new Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Advanced Reinforced is designed for use on dry, extreme terrain. It delivers exceptional performance in terms of grip when turning as well as rider output and braking ability. To obtain this combination of qualities so crucial for high-level mountain bike riders, Michelin chose to work with true expert, who are performers in a sense. These race riders - Fabien Barel and Pierre Edouard Ferry - have achieved outstanding results - notably Fabien Barel's win in the first event in the Enduro World Series (see more details below) - and are capable of pushing the tires to the limit.



Left: Fabien Barel down rock wall. Right: Wet and loose switchback.

Both riders took part in the Michelin tire development process. The trial and analysis program for the Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Advanced Reinforced was comprised of private tests, training sessions and actual races. By working with two sportsmen offering complementary profiles (since they ride differently), Michelin was able to define the technical parameters of the new tire comprehensively and consistently, thereby ensuring outstanding performance for all users.



Fabien Barel on Sand Dunes.

Developing the Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Advanced Reinforced took two and a half years. The technical features of this new premium tire, which is being introduced today in fast-growing markets, especially in the United States and Europe, include a new tread, two rubber compounds and a special architecture. The Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Advanced Reinforced is the new Michelin Enduro tire for use on dry, extreme terrain. From a technical viewpoint, the new tire offers the best combination of rider output and braking ability thanks to a tread that alternates transversal and longitudinal blocks. It comprises large lateral lugs that that deliver unrivaled grip when leaning as well as numerous sipes that increase block mobility, create high pressure areas and also improve grip.


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