Saturday, April 9, 2011

Review: Michelin Wild Rock'R 2.25"

Michelin hasn't been on peoples mind for a long time regarding mtb tires. Michelin somewhat lost grip of the market, and other companies has been more than villing to fill the gap. So for 2010 Michelin decided to get back into the market with a fresh new line of tires, some revised classics, as well as a new approach to costumers via marketing. One of these tires is the Michelin Wild Rock'R, an All Mountrain compatible tire, that somewhat resembles a Maxxis Minion tire, one of the best tires out there - so does it mimic more than just the looks?

Ive been running this tire for some time now, in soft and loose conditions, both dry and wet, and this is actually a decent performing tire, I have a hard time putting my finger on a single bad thing for these conditions - well besides the slight-above-medium rolling resistance. The big side logs does its job in the corners, in off camber situations, and the tire hasn't let me down a single time yet, to my surprise, and Ive been trying to push this tire hard. Speaking of rolling resistance, the big and tall center logs provide great grip in loose/wet/muddy conditions, but Its not a fast tire on hardpack, so dont expect Maxxis Highroller/Specialized Chunder performance. Do, however, expect mistake swallowing performance.

UPDATE: Been also using this tire as a rear-tire for the last 3 months, and it shows a performance thats to my linking. Great control, predictable drifting, and a serious grip. The thread holds up just fine, well more than just fine, because I can hardly see its been used, michelin did a good job there. The Wild Rock'R  performs great in muddy and wet conditions as well. I really feel that this is a very good balanced tire. There is just one thing, and its the rolling resistance, its not BAD, but its definately there. Is it worth it? It is yes. The rolling resistance does wear off abit after some bedding in.

Great tire for the All Mountain biker who gets his bike into loose trail conditions,  its a tire that really sticks to the line and keeps it there. The generous size also adds to the score - this tire has a great volume. Wild Rock'R is preferable in the fall/winter/spring time due to its cut out. 

Size: 2.25" 
Tested on: Front and Rear
Claimed weight: 690 gram
Actual weight: 717 gram
Score: 6/6

(click to enlarge)
Put it into wet or moist conditions, and watch it work.
(click to enlarge)
Competent as a rear wheel tire as well.
(click to enlarge)


4 comments:

  1. Har du overvejet at lave din dæk kombi omvendt? Har bare læst mange steder at Excavatoren har for meget bid som bagdæk så det ikke slider så godt.Kører jo selv med 2 stk excavators, og må da sige der ska noget til før de slider, men når det er så er det meget kontrollerbart. Bare et lille input

    Mvh

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hej, for mig så drifter de som de skal: forudsigeligt, så jeg kan næsten ikke ønske mig mere end det : ) Hvis du vil have et dæk der slider ud lidt tidligere, men med samme gode kontrol, så prøv Maxxis Minion Rear.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey there, good article.
    I have a question though - you are running that rear rock-r in the opposite direction to which Michelin recommend, did you try both directions?
    I am confused as to why they say to run it the other way around.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi there, no I ran it the way the directional arrows pointed to (as seen on pics). Didn't even know they differed front conta rear. Makes most sense to me, the way I installed them tho'. Did you run opposite?

    ReplyDelete