Yes. Everyone had 650b stuff at Sea Otter, and Michelin was no different. Originally shown as prototypes at Interbike, Michelin had their production Wild Gripp’r Enduro 27.5 on hand as the company is fully supporting the new wheel size with a line of tires. Even though the middle wheel size might have stolen the show, Michelin had a few other goodies on display at their booth including an interesting take on the mud spike which is still in prototype form.
See Michelin’s prototype mud tire and actual 27.5 weights, after the jump.
In addition to the Wild Gripp’r Enduro in 27.5 x 2.25 and 2.35 sizes with size specific tread designs, Michelin will also be offering the Wild Racer in 27.5 x 2.25 for harder pack conditions. The Enduro will be built with Michelin’s advanced reinforced Gumx sticky rubber for excellent grip and puncture resistance. All of the tires will be tubeless ready, and will be offered in 26 and 29 inch versions as well.
Most mud tires have tall spikes not only to dig into the loose ground, but to actually squirm around under riding. This squirming action is what helps the tire to shed mud, but the extra rubber adds a lot of weight and rolling resistance. Michelin’s prototype Wild Mud tire instead uses specially design blocks that twist when pressure is applied to them, which functions similar to the spikes in shedding mud. Because of the design the blocks can be shallower, offering better rolling resistance at a lighter weight still with plenty of wet grip.
From left to right, Wild Gripp’r Enduro 27.5 x 2.25, 2.35, Wild Racer 27.5 x 2.25. All three tires are tubeless ready, with the two enduro tires featuring the Advanced Reinforced GumX 55A rubber. Weight wise, all of the tires are above claimed weight, with 720g, 800g, and 700g claimed respectively.
