MICHELIN DH22 AND DH34 INSTALLATION

Long ago when downhill bikes had 100mm of travel, terrible brakes and upwards of 44 teeth on their front chain rings, flat tyres were pretty common place. I tried IRC’, Hutchinsons and had some good success with Tioga tyres. I finally got my hands on some Michelin Comp 16s and 24s, which looked to be a Wildgripper Hot S with a tougher construction. It was the early 2000s and this burly tyre felt more like a motorcycle tyre. Not only was the tyre’s construction more rigid, the rubber was much softer, almost sticky when compared to that of the rest of the market.

With the rise of the Enduro World Series (EWS), enduro style riding, more technical trails and more capable bikes there is no hiding that wheels and tyres cop a beating and more often than not wheel and tyre issue are the reason many rides end prematurely, or races for that matter.

Most modern trail or enduro riders have tried thicker casing tyres, thinner casing tyres with reinforced sidewalls and belt style protection, thinner casing tyres with inserts, different types of inserts, pressures, rubber types and found they all have their own pros and cons. Where I have ended up for aggressive trail and enduro riding is a reinforced “enduro” casing. That is usually 2 ply and sidewall protection and sometimes with an insert on the rear. At times, I even go the full monty and run a downhill tyre and just deal with the additional weight.

This brings us to Michelin’s latest offerings, the DH22 the DH34 and the DH34 Bike Park.

The DH22 and DH34 are from Michelin’s Race Line and are very much a race day specific tyre. They use the best, most supple rubber compounds and the most advanced casing we have seen on a bike. The DH34 Bike Park falls under the Performance Line with a slightly more durable rubber compound, lighter construction and much lower price point for squeezing out lap after lap in the park.

Those reading this and not put off by the initial shock of the 1500g (DH22) and 1450g (DH34) weights have probably wrestled with an insert or two in their time. I know a high quality 29er insert is 155g – 260g and adding that to my favourite enduro tyres at 1000g – 1250g, it’s easy to see the band-aid fix can be removed and a fit for purpose tyre can finally be used without snapping your favourite tyre levers and getting covered in sealant!

THE STORY BEHIND THE TYRES

We reached out to Michelin’s Vincent Ledieu for more information on Michelin’s return to the DH space. Vincent said that Michelin compares downhill racing to Formula One and to make advances in other areas of the bike segment, Michelin must focus their efforts on designing a winning DH tyre. The design process started back in 2014/2015 with some early Comp 16s and a prototype Comp 18 tyre but with some Downhill riders moving to 27.5 inch and Enduro Riders to 29 inch, they found the Comp 16 and Comp 18 were not up to the beating they were receiving from more capable bikes, brutal courses and blind racing.

Early feedback from Riders like Jerome Clementz and Nico Vouilloz were paramount in deciding on both compound and casing. When testing with inserts in their tyres (yes Michelin were playing around with them too) the inserts increased the lateral stiffness and impact resistance but did reduce the tyre’s ability to cushion an impact due to

the reduced air pocket and vertical compliance of the tyre. The foam absorbed some impact but altered the tyres kinematics and made them as Vincent explained “more progressive” and thus made tuning the bike suspension tricky. Michelin found that by removing the inserts, focusing their efforts on the casing itself riders could push harder, tune their suspension and change tyres more easily.

Michelin went with a soft mono compound that is a blend of the Monte Carlo Rally tyre, the Moto Trials tyre and Moto GP Super Soft ranges, all offering high chemical grip and are sticky to touch. The decision on a single compound was relatively easy, giving the end user a consistent high grip tyre in all conditions, ideally for warmer months. Bringing the casing and compound together, a wire bead has been used along with a rubber pinch protection which provides more stability at low pressure and ultimately protection for the rim when going big.

We had good success fitting our DH22 and DH34 tyres to our WAO Union wheels with one tyre lever and not much complaint. Tyres were popped into the sun, with a little spray of soap before fitting and they went on without issue. I am not going to say it was the easiest tyre to fit, but it’s much easier than fitting any insert.

Once inflated, I opted for 20.5psi and and 23psi initially, I would later increase the front pressure by 1psi but was pretty close in “thumb feel” on the top of the tyre matching these tyres to my usual Michelin Enduro tyres.

ON THE TRAIL

After a few too many eMTB rides I was sweating at 6.20am on the first ascent. The debris being flung up onto the down tube and my face was crazy, the tyres rolled well but were heavy and sticky. I made it to the top with much encouragement and internal dialogue and was finally ready to point the DH22 (mounted to the front with 20.5psi) and the DH34 (mounted to the rear with 23psi) down our local 400m vertical drop test trail.

By the very first corner I noticed a huge difference in control with a planted, composed feel suggesting I should push harder. The grip both front and rear is really quite ridiculous to be honest, even when compared to other DH tyres I have been swapping between recently. The conditions were drier than I had hoped but did provide a more realistic insight on how they perform in our “normal” conditions. The key I find with the Michelin’s DH and Enduro Tyres is the stud penetration into the soil/dirt and the compound. The studs or knobs are quite tall but are very well supported especially along the side knobs and the transition onto the side knobs which allows them to dig into the ground and hook up on lines where other tyre’s knobs fold, undercut and wander. On the loose and dry soil the initial testing was carried out on, the grip was outstanding. The ability to run lower than normal pressure while remaining stable under load made a huge difference to the contact patch and overall grip. Heavy braking, direction changes and holding lines had never been easier, what can often be a rowdy descent was kept in check and timed sections reflected this without pushing overly hard, I had plenty of grip left and lacked the ability to find the tyre’s limits. The 4 ply sidewalls provide huge amount of lateral stiffness and keep the tread from folding or squirming while the 2 ply under the tread give the tread some vertical compliance and allows the contact patch to conform to the terrain nicely.

When charging rockier sections, the tyres track straight due to the high lateral stiffness but remain supple to absorb impacts. I did get a few good impacts, but even the noise is dull, deadened by the pinch protection and 4 ply casing.

WHO WILL BENEFIT

If you are already running enduro casing tyres, or even DH tyres and contemplating trying inserts or are already, then you need to get a set of Michelin DH tyres. When deciding between the DH22 and DH34 the DH22 is the all rounder and Michelin’s highest grip offering, the DH34 is tad faster rolling better on harder pack terrain and also a little rounder in profile making the DH22 front and DH34 rear Vincent’s recommendation and what I have been running.

If you are looking for a faster rolling or lighter offering, Michelin’s Wild Enduro Front (1035g) and Rear specific (1195g) tyres or even the Wild AM or Force AM ranges.

With a big jump in weight between the DH range and Enduro range, could there be room for a harder hitting Enduro tyre again?