Michelin Wild Rock'R2 Tire - Review

May 6, 2014 at 7:10
by Jordan Carr  
The Wild Rock'R2 is a big tire for Michelin, and we're not talking about width. While their mountain bike division has been more of an afterthought over the past few years, the French brand has now put renewed focused into fresh and more aggressive rubber options for 2014. Michelin says that the Wild Rock'R2 is aimed at enduro racing, and while many of us are over hearing the "E" word, it is a specific type of racing that does put unique demands on the equipment used due to the need for versatility. From a tire standpoint, this becomes a strategic game of splitting hairs to balance weight, rolling speed, and durability, all while always looking for more traction. Word is that this new tire is the result of two years of development work and a lot of help from legendary racer and product tester Fabien Barel, and we put it to the test to find out how it performs.

Michelin Wild Rock R2 Enduro Tire


Wild Rock'R2 Details
• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro
• Sizes: 26'', 650B, 29”
• Width: 2.35''
• Casing: Advanced Reinforced with Tubeless Ready bead, 110 TPI casing
• Tread compounds: Magi’X (softer dual compound) and Gum’X (harder single compound)
• Weight: 1011 grams (650B)
• MSRP: $69.99 - $99.95 USD

Construction: The Rock'R2 is available in two compound options: the Magi-X, which is a softer, dual compound tread, and the Gum-X, a harder, single compound tread. Designed for use in dry conditions, the tread pattern is said to be laid out to offer the best combination of rider output and braking ability by way of a center tread that alternates transversal and longitudinal blocks, and its large lateral lugs are made up of either 50A or 55A rubber depending on the need. Numerous sipes throughout the tread should help increase block mobility and create high-pressure areas, and the casing features dual layer construction that feels well built and durable. A reinforced sidewall gives a peace of mind that the tire is designed to withstand some pretty substantial terrain. Overall, the construction of the Rock'R2 is burly enough that we'd feel comfortable pinning through almost any rocky trail.

Setup: We ran the Rock'R2s tubeless for all of the test period and found that they mounted up extremely easily on ENVE, Mavic Crossmax and WTB rims with a floor pump. The bead and rubber pliability did make the tires a bit tighter around the rims, thus making them more of a pain to install or remove without levers, but this is a trade that we'd make any day of the week for a secure fit and headache-free tubeless setup.

Michelin Wild Rock R2 Enduro Tire

Michelin Wild Rock R2 Enduro Tire

Out on the Trail

Climbing: The tire's weight is definitely noticeable when climbing - at right around 1000g each, these are not light by any means. As far as traction goes while climbing, though, the Rock'R2 did provide plenty of pedalling bite on almost any type of dirt, and their grip became even more noticeable on slick rock ascents, even with the harder Gum'X compound out back. Climbing with the Rock'R2s mounted up may not see you claim any KOMs, but remember that they have been designed to simply get you to the top so you can push harder on the way back down, not the other way around. We also have to say that they provide substantially more traction than a lighter duty tire when on technical climbs, and these were also the types of places where their hefty weight wasn't nearly as noticeable.

Cornering and Braking: With a design focused specifically around the timed downhill stages of enduro racing, the Rock'R2 inevitably offers some pretty serious bite. They held their own on high-speed swoopy corners, tight and blown out switchbacks, and everything in between. Predictability is the name of the game here, especially in the dry conditions that they were intended for, but we did also spend a bit of time using them in super sticky clay that quickly filled the tread and left us squirming more than usual. Okay, so that might be a bit like complaining that your mud spikes don't hook up well on the rocks, but it's worth noting that the Rock'R2s are not exactly the ideal all-around choice.

As we progressed with the test period aboard, we found ourselves getting more and more comfortable pushing our limits on the bike - way more than when on most other tires. We knew they were durable enough to take a beating, had substantial side knob bite to keep us upright, and their bomber casing resisted flats extremely well. Braking became almost an afterthought. Each and every trail we descended, we rode with plenty of control, something that can be be traced to how well the Rock'R2s slowed us down when the time came. The flip side to this is how slow they roll, which is quite a bit slower than we expected. This is our biggest gripe with the Rock'R2s, and it was noticeable whenever we found ourselves on hard packed dirt. How much that matters to you will depend on the emphasis you put into your climbing.


Durability: First off, we didn't experience any flats during our three month test period aboard the Rock'R2s. We pushed them, skidded them, and pedalled them all over the place. So yes, these 1000g tires are extremely durable and should get you through an enduro stage without a flat. The dual layer casing provided durability no matter what the terrain, while the soft tread compounds held up decently after more than a month of continuous hammering, even if the softer of the two eventually showed some good wear down the road. We ran them using a wide range of pressures - anywhere between 20 and 28 PSI - with no burping or excessive casing roll whatsoever.

Michelin Wild Rock R2 Enduro Tire

Issues: Again, the only place that we can deduct any serious points from their performance is when it came to climbing, and this is solely down to their weight and aggressive tread design. Both of those details are pretty obvious by simply looking at their stats, though, so there's no reason to be surprised. Michelin have leaned towards more reliability and outright traction than pure rolling speed, so keep that in mind if you're consider a set of Rock'R2s for your bike.

Pinkbike's Take:
bigquotesDesigning a tire around enduro racing can mean many things: they could be light and fast or burly and durable, with either option possibly being the ticket come race day depending on the course. Michelin chose the latter and we can't say we blame them. Ripping through rocky, unknown terrain requires a certain level of trust in your tires, doesn't it? And after spending a bit of time plowing through rocks with Fabien Barel, it's no wonder why the Rock'R2 turned out how it did. No, they aren't the best choice if the terrain is tamer or the event turns into a mud bog, but they truly do shine on any other sort of trail that points downwards. - Jordan Carr


Author Info:
JordanCarr avatar

Member since Aug 7, 2013
42 articles

63 Comments
  • 51 0
 I have a tire fetish...must buy, must buy, must buy. If I could afford to have a garage full of tires for my bikes, motos, and autos, I sure would.
  • 11 0
 You are not alone
  • 10 0
 Have you ever noticed you don't flinch at buying bike tires but when it comes to time for tires for the truck there's a lot of research and hesitation? Yeah. I have that.
  • 12 0
 I love my rubbers as well!

I cringe anytime i see people pay full pop for tires. am i the only one that thinks its just absolutely insane that bicycle tires are in the same price range as smaller passenger car tires?!
  • 5 1
 I wish my car tires were as much as bike tires... i wouldn't hesitate one bit about buying them
  • 3 1
 you should see my garage! between rzr, car, and bike im got to be knocking on the door for 100 tires lol
  • 2 0
 My brother and I found a bargain bin of moto tires at a shop one time, and we almost bought them out! In the glory hole, we found two DOT approved full dirt Kenda front moto tires for $20/piece! You can't hardly find those types of tires for less than a hundred a piece! There's nothing like putting fresh meats on a ride to make it feel like new again!
  • 10 1
 I use these tires for a month. I fully agree with the review of PB. On dry terrain they are just amazing. It really helps to go fast... when it goes down. And then i get more exercise when going up ;-)
  • 14 11
 The'd probably be better in wet without that artisan ribbing which has no other function than mud and dust collection. Trying too hard is designers plague. Theoreticaly speaking knob shape and spacing should make it good for mud shedding.
  • 6 1
 @WAKIdesigns - Usually I agree with most of your comments but I have to disagree with you on this one; the look of the 'artisan ribbing' should act and perform much like siping in auto rain and snow tires. That is, those little ribs would be able to add a small amount of grabbing and holding on for dear life effect to wet rocks and other hard wet surfaces as well as in the dry. Albeit those ribs are quite the little fella's but all of them working together on the contact patch should make a difference IMO.
  • 3 0
 Those sipes are probably the cause of what is causing the high rolling resistance they noted in their test.
  • 5 0
 @blb326: I misinterpreted Waki's comment at first too and had the same first reaction. But Waki isnt talking about the siping. He's talking about the raised bumpy stuff that covers the entire carcass of the tire, and thre outside surface of the side nobs. I would have to call it "ribbing" too, for lack of a better term to describe it. Look at the side profile shot and it gives a good perspective of it. The ribbing probably serves to help protect the carcass and contributes to its durability, but yeah, I would imagine all those ridges would help pick up and hold onto mud. Especially all the ridges on the outside surface of the side nobs and tire carcass. I could see that texture just giving mud that much more surface to cling to and allowing the tire to pack up really quickly.
I wouldn't mind giving these tires a shot though. They sound like they'd be a great summer tire for my local terrain and my ride preferences.
  • 2 0
 Micro tread. Wink
  • 1 2
 But they smell... Big Grin
  • 8 2
 +1 for a DH tire - kind of like the Schwalbe SuperGravity
However I just put a pair of SG MagicMary's on the DH sled, and have not even ridden them yet. So better wait a bit before looking at new shoes....the wife tends to notice these things unfortunately.

As for Endurpo, it really is just good old basic mountain-biking of yore; the kind we grew up on - pedal to the top, and whoever is fastest to the bottom wins. All they have done is gussied it up with fancy timing en stuff.
  • 3 0
 Waiting to take my M - M's for a spin too... the vertstar is damn gummy...can't wait
  • 4 5
 I just rode my Rock Razors which have same side tread design as Magic Marys - I might not be the best person to comment on it as I don't ride DH but for my pace, this is the first tyre to beat feel and predictability of Minion DHF - it just rails sht!
  • 2 0
 You guys are going to love the Magic Mary! I've been using one with supergravity casing in vertstar since october and it rocks! Wet, dry, rocky you name it it works well. Very all around tire!
  • 2 0
 Got the Magic (vstar) up front, and its ridiculously good. Had the Muddy's too, and still do on the big bike (vstar as well), but since i ride the little bike more, its the better test platform. The Muddy's strangely enough, roll a bit faster. Muddy's also break away abit more noticably than the Magic Mary's until the side knobs bite. The Magic's however, are just on another level when it comes to grip and predictability in transition to the side knobs.

Very keen to try out the Rock'R2 though,but every time I jump on the bike and rail that rooty corner or dusty blown out bit of trail, all desire to spend more $$$ vanishes...
  • 9 1
 Tire-iffic
  • 6 0
 Thank you. I was missing all the turbo puns. I'm not tired of then at all!
  • 18 0
 Tread carefully, there's a lot of pressure to come up with a good tyre pun.
  • 3 3
 At least with tyres it's not like with brakes yesterday, when saying STOP sounds like pun as well.
  • 9 0
 I can't believe the puns you guys lugged out - you are just compounding the problem and I can't enduro it anymore! I'm climbing the walls - mind you, not the front walls or the back walls, just the sidewalls. If I fall I'll end up in traction. I just need to get a grip on myself. Or perhaps just drift off to sleep.
  • 4 0
 I'm feeling ready to retire
  • 2 0
 1. In my experience the Michelin Advanced Reinforced series are seriously good tyres.
2. I can't believe the 27.5" version is 'around 1,000g'. My 26" versions weigh 1,060g-1,090g. The softer compound ones are heaviest.
3. These are small carcass tyres. They won't protect your rims from rocks as well as bigger volume tyres such as Schwalbes or the gigantic WTB Vigilante or Mavic Charge BUT they have relatively good damping so good on rear over fast hard rough ground where the bigger volume tyres often simply bounce too much. Take regard of the effect on gearing too of the lower diameter - similar to a 2.35 High Roller 1.
4. The Wild Grip'R is same carcass and less heavy tread - a bit more versatile and less draggy.
5. The Advanced Reinforced version are tough and withstand plenty of abuse.
Thanks, Michelin for daring to do something a bit different.
  • 2 0
 2. My 26' WildGrip'R 2 etc..(the name might be a bit long...) does the same, 970g as per specification, but on my kitchen scale weighs the same as the 27.5". But nothing to complain about, its heavy as it is, but didnt really notice it, accelaration is still good and this weekend on a ride with ~2000 metres of climbing it didnt feel like it affected that much too. Just more enjoyable on the way down. Plus all that material should make it sturdy, sure feels that way if you hold it in your hands, so Imgladly trade some weight for that.
3. That was exaclty what i seemed to notice when I mounted it, in comparison to a 2.4 NN form Schwalbe it seems narrower, but also more square, where as a NN is quite wide and round. After meassuring it was a bit wider than specified, so nothing to complain about (29mm ID rim) ( I think Michelin says 2.35 is 58mm where as Schwalbe makes 2.35 60mm...).
I've got the previous WildRock'R 2.4 Reinforced but thas is ma-hoo-sive tire: wide and round, someting like 64 or 65mm at the widest points of the shoulder nobbies. Seems they have taken up another route with these.
Agreed, the new WildGrip'r may be my new favorite tire for more demanding terrain and Alpine riding. For XC maybe give the Race'R a go.
Good value too, got mine from Gemrnay for under 35 euros.
  • 3 0
 Remember those Wildgriper DH and Wildgriper Mud? Amazing Tires for that time. After that those amazing comp 16, 24, 32 and mud tires with soft compound and amazing casing. Love Michelin tires
  • 1 0
 I have these tires on my bike and I agree with pinkbike. Not the fastest rolling tire in world but fuck me do they hook up when your going down. Those side knobs has saved me on a couple of times. I found myself adding an extra couple of psi of air just to compensate with the rolling resistance, it helps but definitely not as good as my mavic tires I had before. In hindsight I shouldve bought a GRIP R or a RACE R for the rear.
  • 4 1
 Holy crap those cornering lugs look ridiculous.... I'm glad they're pyramid shaped, but damn those look squirmy on hard-pack! Do they track?
  • 4 2
 ehm... why do they look ridiculous? relatively big, not that far from Minion, MMary, DBaron or Butcher aye?
  • 1 0
 Great report. However how anyone could put this much time and effort into doing a proper tire test and never put a set of calipers on the carcass to determine/confirm the tires marked dimensions and sizing is remarkable.
  • 1 0
 rooky comment coming up-but what are those little stringy pieces of rubber sticking out which i used to love to pick off as a kid?
  • 2 0
 I think you are talking about the sprue nubs. Tires are molded and the nubs appear where there are vents in the mold.
  • 1 0
 Ahh thank I always wondered if they had a purpose clearly not now I know
  • 1 0
 No worries. You can still pull them off (and arguably should remove them) but fingernail clippers work great.
  • 1 0
 noo takes the fun out of it...
  • 3 0
 Those knobs look like Wu-tang Clan.
  • 1 0
 old wildrock'er michelin were terrible. this one maybe in cooperation with Fabien sure is much better and finally michelin decided to involve more money on mtb tires!
  • 5 3
 How many people actually race "Enduro". Can't they design tires, for, oh, mountain biking?
  • 14 2
 When I hear "Enduro" I translate it to...."Mountain Biking".....seems to work.
  • 13 1
 to hell with enduro, I want a pair of these for my downhill bike.
  • 5 3
 yeah looks pretty good as a dry dh tire Smile
  • 1 5
flag Daddybear (May 6, 2014 at 21:55) (Below Threshold)
 and duro
  • 1 2
 I appreciate that Michelin wants to get back into ATB, but it's pretty weak that their online catalog is full of digital renders of tires, not photos of real product. That's pretty weak, Michelin. Who's going to buy based just on some fanciful pixels? "Ooh! The Wild Rock'r - it looks just like a Minion DHR - I'll buy that!" said no one, ever.

Link: bike.michelinman.com/tire-selector#s=4
  • 3 1
 Good looking tire but Minion F for the win.
  • 1 0
 I'll happily buy Michelin for my moto, but they just don't try hard enough in MTB. Maxxis and Schwalbe are hard to beat.
  • 1 0
 If these are just a more aggressive version of my Wild Grip'R 2's then they must kick ass on some serious terrain.
  • 1 0
 The WildGrip'R 2 Advanced Reinforced (26x2.35) is very good! Tested it over the weekend, performs great on almost every type terrain.Very well built, so it should be durable and take a lot of abuse (I'm thinking of two of these for the upcoming Transvesubienne or maybe one of these new WildRock'R 2's upfront). Thanks to the construction it mounts and seats very well, you do need a bit of upper body strength, but you need that for mountainbiking anyway. Wink After that it inflates easily without any hassle with a floorpump for tubeless setup, I even think you could use a hand pump, its almost airtight on its own.
Traction is great and I especially like the predictive and controllable cornering and handling. It maybe a direct competitor to the Schwalbe NN, but I like the Michelin way better.
  • 3 1
 Minion minion minion minion minion! All around.
  • 4 2
 Minion 2.5 single ply EXO 3C at 855g
  • 1 2
 Specialized is killing it right now in the tire department. The Butcher Control is an incredible front tire, light (enough) and super grippy. And they seem to be a little less expensive than the competition.
  • 1 0
 Its also extremely flimsy. Get the Sx version and never look back.
  • 1 0
 Years of research and design ? Ive got a nokian gazza in the shed that looks exactly the same tread pattern.
  • 2 0
 2 of it please !
  • 2 0
 god i'm horny
  • 6 7
 A full kilo per tire? I'm going to have to pass... So many other options that perform, are just as strong and at least 100g lighter.
  • 1 1
 Were they used exclusively as a front tire? How do they perform as a rear tire?
  • 2 0
 They were used as both front and rear.
  • 2 1
 wow a new tyre...oh fuck its for enduro
  • 2 4
 Would this be a good choice to run on my roadie for the TdF?
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