May 10, 2004
From Winter Slumber
Winter is definitely over. I spent part of Sunday morning trying out out a new set of mountain bike tires. My favorite all around tire is definitely my Michelin Wildgripper Comp S tires, but it never hurts to experiment with different treads. My Michelin tires have always been good to me. They're made from a special silica rubber compound, with a kevlar bead and a 120 thread count casing, and a very sharp tread pattern. I love them so much, I can't bear to wear them out.
Hopefully, these new tires will serve me as well as the Michelins have, but in different conditions, of course. I had been looking for a pair of mountain slicks for a while now and just didn't see anything I liked, until I saw these tires at my local bike shop for an incredible price. They were extremely light, had a kevlar bead, and a 120 thread count casing. So how are these different, you may ask...
Well, most importantly, the tread patteren is completely different. It has a smooth center tread for low roll-resistance and semi-sharp edge knobs for hard cornering. This tire is intended for nice hard pack dirt, soft dirt, and long stretches of road, and I have one park in mind right now that has exactly that mixture. The Michelins have more aggressive knobs for all around traction, so I can now save my Wildgrippers for more extreme conditions. I also have a pair of city slicks, which as the name suggests, is for the city street and road surfaces, at almost half the weight and size. Happy trails!
Posted by Jimmy at May 10, 2004 01:51 AM