Michelin’s New Enduro and DH Tires
Diameters Offered: 27.5’’ and 2.9’’
Stated Widths:
- Wild Enduro MS: 2.4’’
- Wild Enduro MH: 2.5’’
- Wild Enduro Rear: 2.4’’
- DH 16: 2.4’’
- DH 22: 2.4’’
Blister’s Measured Widths (on 30 mm internal-width rim):
- Wild Enduro MS: 2.40’’ (casing) / 2.50’’ (tread)
- Wild Enduro MH: 2.51’’ (casing) / 2.60’’ (tread)
- Wild Enduro Rear: 2.34’’ (casing) / 2.37’’ (tread)
Blister’s Measured Weights (29’’ diameter):
- Wild Enduro MS: 1,248 g
- Wild Enduro MH: 1,320 g
- Wild Enduro Rear: 1,244 g
MSRP: $100
Intro
Michelin has been making bike tires since the late 1800s, and their Comp 16 and Comp 32 were some of the most popular DH tires in the early 2000s. Michelin’s share of the mountain bike market has fallen off somewhat in recent years, but they’ve overhauled their Enduro and DH tire offerings in an effort to change that, and the results look quite promising.
Michelin Wild Enduro Tire Lineup
The new Wild Enduro lineup is comprised of three tires: the Wild Enduro MH, Wild Enduro MS, and Wild Enduro Rear. All three are available in a single casing and rubber compound combo, in both 27.5’’ and 29’’ diameters.
Michelin’s new Enduro casing uses a two-ply construction with dual 55 TPI layers, folding beads with butyl inserts for pinch-flat protection, and a “bead to bead shield” layer with another reinforcing layer under the tread. All three tires share the same general construction (but in different sizes; more on that in a minute) and share Michelin’s reformulated Magi-X rubber compound as well.
Michelin says the new rubber formulation offers better grip than the earlier iterations, especially in lower temperatures, while being a touch faster rolling and harder wearing.
Michelin has also added the option for a more subtle gray hot patch; their classic blue and yellow one is still available, too.
Wild Enduro MH
First up in the Wild Enduro lineup is the MH (i.e., Mixed Hard) meant for, well, variable conditions that skew to the drier, firmer end of the spectrum. The Wild Enduro MH is offered in a 2.5’’ width only and it’s a notably big, high-volume casing.
The Wild Enduro MH tread pattern uses two-wide rows of center knobs, with three different sets of spacing between the knobs. The overall shape of the center knobs is consistent across all three rows, but the knobs get slightly narrower as the spacing between them grows wider. All feature a very shallow longitudinal sipe down the middle and a subtle ramp on the leading edge to help reduce rolling resistance. The side knobs are similarly shaped but are taller, and are slightly staggered in their placement to match the spacing of the different rows of center knobs.
Wild Enduro MS
The Wild Enduro MS — “Mixed Soft” — comes in a 2.4’’ width and its casing is not only narrower than that of the Wild Enduo MH, but the MS is appreciably lower volume as well.
Unsurprisingly, given the Wild Enduro MS’ intended use, its knobs are taller and more widely spaced than those of the Wild Enduro MH. The MS tread also features a 3-2-2 knob arrangement, with the “A” row (which corresponds to the most widely spaced row of center knobs on the MH) getting a third knob in between the other two. Both that center knob and the pair on the most tightly-spaced set of center knobs (row “C”) get a small lateral sipe; the others get a longitudinal one, similar to the MH. The Wild Enduro MS side knobs are slightly more widely spaced and more squared-off / less angled than those of the Wild Enduro MH, but they’re fairly similar in design overall.
Wild Enduro Rear
Finally, the Wild Enduro Rear rounds out the Wild Enduro lineup. It’s not quite a true semi-slick, but features fairly small, low, tightly-spaced center knobs paired with much beefier side ones, meant to minimize rolling resistance while still offering good cornering grip from the side knobs. The Wild Enduro Rear is offered in a 2.4’’ width, only. Its side knobs are slightly lower and much tighter spaced than those on the Wild Enduro MH, but the Rear’s knobs use a similar overall shape and are also staggered in sets of three.
Michelin DH Tire Lineup
Michelin’s DH tires have received the same new Magi-X rubber compound featured in the Wild Enduro tires, along with a new casing construction — including a folding bead, in place of the wire one on the prior iteration of the Michelin DH.
The new DH casing looks very similar to the Wild Enduro one, just with a 120 TPI casing ply replacing one of the two 55 TPI ones in the Enduro tires; Michelin’s stated weights for the DH tires are only about 50 grams heavier than the Enduro ones. That’s a notable change from Michelin’s very heavy prior-generation DH tires, which used wire beads and especially burly (but not very pliable) casings; the prior-gen DH tires also came in several hundred grams heavier than Michelin’s stated weights for the new versions.
Both of Michelin’s new DH tires are offered in 27.5’’ and 29’’ diameters, a 2.4’’ width, and with either Michelin’s new gray hot patches or the longstanding blue and yellow ones.
DH 16
Michelin describes the DH 16 as a modernized version of the Comp 16 from almost 20 years ago. The DH 16 is meant to be the faster-rolling of their DH tire offerings, for use in mixed conditions.
The DH 16 uses three different styles of center knobs, all of which feature substantial ramping on the leading edge, but quite different overall widths. The narrowest knobs (row “A”) are mostly rectangular, with a slightly inward-angled trailing edge to create a cup for braking bite; rows “B” and “C” both feature U-shaped knobs with a cupped leading edge, with row B essentially being a narrower version of row C.
DH 22
The DH 22’s tread pattern looks extremely similar to that of the Wild Enduro MS, just with an extra chamfer on the leading edge of the center knobs, presumably to improve (i.e., reduce) rolling resistance. (It’s also very similar to that of the prior-generation DH22.) The DH 22 is offered in the same 2.4’’ width as well. Like the Wild Enduro MS, the DH 22 is intended for variable conditions at the softer end of the spectrum.
Bottom Line (For Now)
Michelin’s updated Enduro and DH tires look like promising options and appear to address some of the shortcomings of the prior iterations (the Enduro tires weren’t particularly aggressive / grippy, and the DH ones were extremely heavy and had a pretty stiff, wooden-feeling casing).
We’ve got the Wild Enduro range in for review and should be getting the DH offerings in hand soon, so stay tuned for Full Reviews down the line.
Flash Review: Our Initial On-Trail Impressions
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Flash Review — Michelin Wild Enduro MH & Wild Enduro MS
Michelin’s new Wild Enduro tires look a lot more aggressive than the prior-generation versions that they replaced, but how do they perform on the trail? We’ve started spending time on the Wild Enduro MH and Wild Enduro MS, and are ready to weigh in with some early thoughts.
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Interesting, isnt 2×55 typically considered more burly than swapping one of them out for a 120tpi layer.