Has anyone got any experience with the Michelin Wild Rock’R tyres?

I was advised by my LBS that they’re really good – needed a tyre for muddy/rocky terrain and the Michelin Wild Race’R tyres on my new Anthem X were clearly designed for dry weather racing (at a guess).

I was a bit concerned after reading a fairly bad review on Bike Radar…didn’t put my mind at rest!

I’m pretty new to the MTB scene, so any advice would be gratefully received…

🙂

It looks exactly the same tread pattern as the old All Terrain XT or somesuch – On one were knocking them out for a tenner a while back. Those are good in mud, not so good on rocks – something larger would have been better.

GB

Thanks gee! I’m thinking of heading over to Cwmcarn tomorrow so perhaps I’ll get an idea then! I guess I’m worried that they’ll be really, really bad!

If you want a good tyre for rocky areas – go bigger – 2.25? Look at on-one as they have some cheap Schwalbe tyres at the moment – just make sure you buy the snakeskin sidewall ones as they’re loads more durable.

GB

I had some Wild Rock’r Advanced 2.2″ when they first came out. I had used Mountain X’Trems before which i loved

Compared to the old ones they were tiny (the old ones were huge for 2.2″ though) They also seemed harder compound so didn’t give great grip on roots or wet rock, they didn’t feel too confidence inspiring. They didn’t seem to roll that well, although better than Advantages i had before

It was a shame as the old ones were so good but not made any more

I sold them

They’re ok.
Fairly well spaced tread so they dig into loose stuff well, and don’t clog too easily with mud. Grip on rock just aswell as any normal rubber compound tyre. The open/deep tread does mean they’re a bit squirmy on hardpack and not the quickest rolling, but they’re pretty predictable and give a bit warning when you’re reaching the limits of their grip.
I’d put them as a good tyre for natural trails that are on the muddy side.

Ive used the standard and the advanced version. Nice tough sidewalls and the 2.25 comes up as a decent size (I ran 2.25 front 2.1 rear). Advanced ones were certainly better due to the softer compound and hook up well as good allrounder. The non advanced one is a bit harder compound and was a bit squirmy at first on harder surfaces, however this seemed to improve loads after a few rides and they were fine, can only assume it was the releasing agent on the tyre that was causing it to be a little slippy on hard wet stuff to begin. Certainly seems to correlate with the BR review as they probably only rode it once 😆

Check out the Hutchinson cougars too (ive been using the 2.25 tubeless ones) and they are sweet.

Thanks guys! Really useful information. I’ll try to stick with them for a bit and see how I get on, like v10 says, maybe they just need time to bed in. If I’m not comfortable after a few rides I’ll take your advice on the other tyre options.

Tyres seem like the big minefield in MTB! Things were much simpler being a roadie, no suspension to worry about and pretty simple tyre choices…