Michelin Wild Mud Tire– Review
Michelin mountain bike tires aren't as common of a sight as they once were, although the French company still supports a few top riders like Jerome Clementz and Nicolas Vouilloz. I remember the days of the widely adopted and unbeatable Comp 16 tires, which at the time blew everything else out of the water regarding pure downhill grip, casing support and puncture resistance; the same tire today, around 15 years after its launch would still hold its own on the hillside. These days, downhill tires from the French brand are non-existent for modern wheel sizes, but a range of cross-country and heavyweight enduro tires fill the line.
Michelin Wild Mud Advanced
• Soft Magi-X compound
• Michelin TS aramid bead
• Cuttable blocks
• Reinforced casing
• Tubelss Ready
• Weight: 27.5" - 1000g (actual)
• Size: 27.5" or 29" x 2.25"
• Price: $94.99 USD / €62.90
• bike.michelin.com
• Soft Magi-X compound
• Michelin TS aramid bead
• Cuttable blocks
• Reinforced casing
• Tubelss Ready
• Weight: 27.5" - 1000g (actual)
• Size: 27.5" or 29" x 2.25"
• Price: $94.99 USD / €62.90
• bike.michelin.com
The Michelin Wild Mud Advanced Reinforced isn't interested in dieting, and at over a kilo per tire it won't be speeding you up to your stage start, but its tough casing and ultra tacky Magi-X compound promises to pay dividends on the downs. The Wild Muds also pay little interest in keeping your bank balance healthy being priced at the top of the market at $94.99 USD / €62.90 MSRP.
Uncut, the Wild Mud offers 8mm of bite...
Cut them down, and you are left with 5mm of penetration.
Construction, Casing, Compound and Cutting
The Wild Mud is available for 27.5" and 29" tires in a 2.25" casing. Mounted on a 27.5mm internal width DT-Swiss FR1950 wheelset, the tires inflate to just over two inches, slightly less than the 2.25" stamped on the sidewall. The Reinforced tag means an extra ply of material has been added over the entire casing, increasing the weight but more importantly adding snakebite and cut resistance.
The "Twisted" knob design is said to twist and straighten under braking and traction; as the tires unload, the blocks revert to their original position, helping to clear sticky mud. The narrowing stepped design of the knobs also helps to dig through the gloop in search of traction.
I'm not sure how, but Michelin have managed to patent cutting down tire knobs. Well, not quite, but they have patented their stepped block design. Instead of cutting each block by eye, or using Schwalbe's pre-set depth cutters, the knobs on the Wild Mud are stepped and offset to provide a natural guide for your snips. Leaving the tread at full 8mm length suits very deep and soft conditions; snip them down to 5mm and you have a more suitable all-rounder with less rolling resistance in between the fun parts of the trail. The steps are the same height on the side and center knobs, so the profile stays the same after cutting
Michelin's Magi-X compound is their latest formulation of rubber. The super soft, slow rebound and sticky rubber is designed to be used on the front, with the slightly harder Gum-X on the rear. The Gum-X compound is rated as 55a on the Michelin website, but they are secretive about the exact numbers of the Magi-X. I opted for a pair of Magi-X as I knew most of the time spent on these tires would be lift assisted, or grinding up to muddy and technical alpine downhills.
This tire managed around 20 runs on the back of a downhill bike on Morzine's infamous Pleney. That's about 80 minutes of real downhill riding, now it's ready to be cut down for its second lease of life.
On the Trail
Taking in the look and feel of the Wild Mud, it's clear to see that these aren't for XC whippets or people looking to spin around a trail center. These are designed for racing enduro, riding extreme terrain and hitting hard edges blind and fast,with regard only for the finish line clock. The Wild Mud is close to being a full throttle downhill tire, minus a couple hundred grams. In terms of damping levels and protection, the casing provides superb tracking over the ground, bump absorption, and puncture resistance.
Leaving the knobs at full length isn't necessary for all but the worst of conditions, and in their cut form are a great all-rounder if your local trails are typically damp and loose rather than dusty hardpack. Marketed as an enduro tire, the Wild Mud would also be a perfect option for lighter downhill riders in conditions when sharp, puncturing edges are softened by the mud.
While the Magi-X compound is incredibly grippy, the rear tire showed signs of wear after three days of downhill runs in Europe's finest mud. The best way to get your money's worth out of the tires is to ride them uncut at first, and then cutting the tire to get you fresh, sharp edges and a tire suitable for a different use.
Against its opponents, the Wild Mud loses out in terms of rolling resistance against everything out there. It's priced above nearly everything else too; that said I can't find a retailer online following recommendation and prices just over half the MSRP are popular.
The Wild Mud wins regarding pure grip and puncture resistance, and its damping characteristics also put it top of the class when it comes to taking on wet roots and rock. It's also a winner for its combination of the narrow, heavy duty casing, and soft rubber. I've found that narrow tires cut through the mud better than wider tires, and this fills the void between wider heavy duty tires like Schwalbe's Magic Mary and Maxxis' Shorty, and narrow lighter weight tires like Specialized's Storm and Bontrager's XR Mud.
Pinkbike's Take
 | If you are willing to pay the price, and don't mind the increased rolling resistance and weight, then the Wild Mud is close to unbeatable in soft conditions in terms of grip, damping, and puncture resistance. If I had to choose one tire for year round alpine mountain biking, this would be close to the top if the list. - Paul Aston |
Visit the high-res gallery for more images from this review.
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Sbsolute pile of wank.
Straight back onto maxxis/schwalb for me.
BUT!
The Wild Rock'R2 is by far the best allround tyre I have ever tried, as long as it's not muddy, it will outperform almost any tyre out there. Compared to my good old HR2's, they roll just as fast, but grip harder than a DHF on dry rocks and hard pack, the only tyre I've tried that keeps up with it on rocks is the Der Kaiser projekt, but that rolls a bit slower and wears faster. I will probably not get the Wild Mud as we have pretty dry conditions here most of the summer, and will just keep using Baron Projekts for fall riding.
In its intended use the tire was great.
Tires are a personal preferenser so if someone says "close to the top" someon else will have it as their favourite.
www.decathlon.es/neumatico-btt-wildmud-advanced-26x200-tubeless-ready--id_8336144.html
As for the tyre, I recall my friend's old Mich Mud 3. It was awesome in the slop (as were Maxxis Wet Screams) but unless the conditions really call for it, I'd go for a more all-rounder like a Shorty. But then my days of changing tyres for different conditions are well behind me so I just slide around on HRIIs all year round.
Ridiculous amount of drag from the rear tyre between tracks/trails but equally ridiculous amounts of grip on everything.
Currently running a mountain king on the back and one of these on the front which seems a good balance for current (slightly) sloppy conditions.
Good honest review thanks for confirming my thoughts.
This review seems to disagree with you about the grip part. They do look like they would be good in mud.
Now, where's my sponsor.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgJWYgKb3wY
And just think that on this video it's dry condition so i let you imagine when it's muddy
Imagine the durability and compound mixes with a 29"x2.4"/2.5" Michelin wild race'r
Here goes - where are the 26" versions Mich?
From the article : "ride them uncut at first, and then cutting the tire to get you fresh, sharp edges and a tire suitable for a different use."
That's the feature you were wondering about.
Back when I still rode some MX, I considered a tire with rounded block edges worn out, as the grip was often halved just from being a little rounded.
No offense intended but i'm amazed at how out of touch some people can be.
Penultimate paragraph.