![]() ![]() Tires also expanded every so slightly from 50mm to 52mm. Which is what I wanted, good characteristics for a gravel tire. They feel like they have less absolute grip in the center section, I slipped on a root I’ve never slipped on before. Probably going to need to go up a bit in the cold. This seemed about perfect in the 70 degree weather. I ran 30 psi in the rear and 27 psi in the front. First glance and they do appear undersized, right at 2 inches but this may be partially due to the narrow Mavic 317 rims which are only 17.4mm wide on the inside.įirst ride impressions: Tires roll faster than the Forte Tsali/Pisgah I was riding previously. Installation impressions: So far they seem ok. Lateral and radial runout is good, they weigh 600 grams each. So these seemed like they would be a little faster option. Last year I rode Forte Tsali 2.3s which were ok but seemed slow on pavement and smooth gravel. Basically I plan to run these on my gravel hardtail for the 2-3 races I’m participating in this year. Probably best suited to trail oriented hard tails and full suspension bikes, the Wild Race’R ranks as one of the better tires I’ve tried in a while.I got these tires because they were reasonably cheap ($24.99 from Wiggle), have a mildly aggressive tread that looks like it will roll well on pavement and were reasonably lightweight. Unfortunately, the tire is not an XC racing weight tire, but you might think it rolls as fast as one anyway. I have noted that the Wild Race’R has held pressure better than many tires over a period of time, low pressures are safe to use without fear of squirming or roll offs, (on a rim that fits well with good internal rim width!), and the tires have not burped at all throughout. Tubeless performance has been better than most. ![]() If your trails lean toward hard pack, tacky dirt, to some light loose over hard pack, the Wild Race’R should show you stability, comfort, and really good grip without sacrificing speed. In everything but loose grounds, mud, and deep loam, the Michelins were really top notch. ![]() However lowering the pressures by about 8-10psi from my typical riding pressures turned out to be the key to unlocking the potential hidden within the squarish casings of the Wild Race’R. In fact, these tires are very fast and comfortable on dry single track.Ĭonclusions: I liked the Wild Race’R straight away as a tire that was fast, had better grip than you would think, and was sturdy. After a few rides he reported that the tires were as I felt: grippy, confidence inspiring, and fast. I only cautioned him not to raise the pressures above 20psi. I let another rider test my theory that had no preconceived notions on the Wild Race’R tires. I would credit the WTB i23 Frequency rims here for the additional tire support, a narrower internal rim width would likely not produce results as good as this. Cornering grip was better without squirmy feeling, or fear of rolling the tire. In every way, I felt lowering the pressure on the Wild Race’R was a good thing to do. Ride Performance: With pressures in the sub-20psi range, (mostly 17-20psi), the tire performance was dramatically better. I tried going down to just below 20psi and did several rides. (Reviewed here) Also, I was informed by my contact at Michelin that using a lower pressure than I had been might prove to enhance the performance a bit, thus eliminating my quibble with the stiff casing. Notes: In the last report, I mentioned that these would be going on a full suspension bike, but I decided against this and put them on the Milwaukee Bicycle Company 29″er instead. Now let’s take a look at this squarish profiled tire for the final time. You can check out my Mid-Term report here, and the First Impressions are here, and finally, the Out Of The Box post is here. The summer is waning and along with this comes a close to my test of the Michelin Wild Race’R tires. Michelin Wild Race’R 29″er Tires: Final Review- by Guitar Ted ![]()
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