Everything aero is designed to help save watts and reduce your overall time, but what about your tires? Michelin is boldly marketing 4 new tires they developed that are said to increase power output across the range. The new Power Range of tires includes the Power Competition, Power Endurance, Power All-Season and exclusively for the U.S. the Power Protection +. Promising to save up to 10 watts off their previous best Pro4 Service course, Michelin Power makes some big claims.
Roll on through for the specs and tests results as to why Michelin says these powerful new tires will speed things up…..
Building off their motorcycle and automobile reputation, Michelin has done well on the cycling side of things to gain traction in a very crowded market. Now with a tighter, more focused distribution channel exclusively through QBP, USA’s largest distributor, Michelin is hoping they can better serve and sell through independent dealers to get their products in consumers’ hands, including the new Power Ranger Range line of tires. (let that theme song sink in).
The Power road tire range was developed and tested at the Group’s Technology Centre in Ladoux, France. The testing completed in April resulted in all tires being faster than their Pro4 series and are as follows:
- For the “Power Competition” lineup, they are claiming a 10 watt power gain was made over their flagship Pro4 Service Course tire. To test this, they performed a “wheel energy” comparison between the Power Competition and Pro4 Service Course tires over a distance of 40km (24.8 miles), at a fixed speed of 35kph (21.7mph), carrying a 70kg load (154lbs). The result was the Power Competition tire finished 1 minute 25 seconds sooner, equaling what would be a 10 watt power gain in total output to the ground.
- The Power Endurance tire is said to have gained up to 20% of additional puncture protection over the Pro4 Endurance tire.
- The Power All-Season gains 15% more grip and is said to allow riders to go further & faster at the same physical input.
- *No details on the Power Protection+, but we assume this will be a more commuter friendly tire to withstand the worst of roads.
No word on pricing yet, but the full range should be available in the U.S. on April 1st. No foolin.
