Mountain Biking - Questions about Michelins

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BikeTyke
06-04-03, 10:13 AM
I just recently bought the Michelin Wildgripper 24.1 soft DH tires. I initially put them in the front and loved the grip on it so I moved them to the rear and got Schwable Blackshark 2.5 for the front. When I mounted the Michelins on the back, I looked for direction markings and the tire showed only one arrow for and did not specifly front or rear. So I mounted them in the direction of the arrow in the rear and took them for a ride. Wow were they ever slow. I felt like I was pulling an anchor behind me. The trail I tried them on, I usually stay in my middle chain ring for the whole trail, but this time I was dropping down into my granny a few times. I went back to the shop where I bought my tire and looked at the label again. I found 2 different tread patters for the same tire line. The other tread pattern looks like a rear tire desighn because it has scoops in the direction of the roll for grip. But the tags on the tires did not specify front or rear. Can anybody tell me if this is a front specific tire? Here is a link to a picturee of the tire.

http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/comp24soft.htm


moabrider47
06-04-03, 01:37 PM
Doesn't look like it is definitly meant for either direction. It may be one of the tires that you simply reverse/even keep it the same to move it from the front or rear. What width were the tires that you used before? Could it be that you are just getting used to some wider tires with more rolling resistance? For what purpose are you using these tires? They may feel a little slow if you are using them for XC type riding. Could the trail conditions have been wetter/muddier than your first ride?

-Moab