BEST SUMMER TYRE
Price: £46.99 (Softer Magi’X compound is £56.99) each
From: Hotlines, hotlines-uk.com
Designed with input from legendary French downhiller turned enduro racer, Fabien Barel, the Michelin Wild Rock’R2 is a solidly built tyre for riding hard in dry, rocky conditions. Two versions are available – a softer Magi’X compound, and the ones we have here, with a harder Gum’X compound that weigh in at just over 1kg. With reinforced and sturdy sidewalls, the tyres are a tight fit, but once on they easily went up first time on a variety of rims (DT Swiss EX471, Spank OOZY 345 and Mavic Quest XA Pro Carbon) using just a tubeless pump and we didn’t suffer any air loss or burp the sidewalls at all during the test.
The flat-topped centre knobs give a narrow contact patch with the ground, which goes some way to reducing rolling resistance. But there is no denying the fact that they’re a pretty slow tyre. Then again, the Michelins are unashamedly all about riding the descents as hard as possible, and the extra drag isn’t an issue at all once up to speed and having fun, and is a small price to pay for better grip and the reassurance of a more durable tyre. The tyres offer great climbing traction on most surfaces, and the only place we ran out of traction was on smooth rock steps where we found them quite slippery under power. However, this was an incredibly steep and technical climb that was really testing the limits of both the tyres and the other riders around us too.