Michelin Wild Grip’R 29″er Tires: Out Of The Box- by Guitar Ted
Michelin Wild Grip'R 2.25"
Recently I introduced the test/review of these Michelin Wild Grip’R 2.25″ tires, (seen here), and now it is time to take a closer look at these and give you the lowdown on what these tires are meant for.
Design Intentions: First, let’s see what Michelin’s design intentions are for the Wild Grip’R. (From the Michelin website)
The MICHELIN Wild Grip’R 2 is the new multipurpose tire that delivers superior performance on both dry and muddy terrain. On the tire crown, tread blocks have been optimally arranged to provide the best balance between grip, rider output and self-cleaning capability without sacrificing performance in one area for another. On the shoulder, the height and angle of the tread blocks have been enhanced to ensure consistent, efficient cornering.
As stated, we are looking for a grippy, mud clearing, and good cornering tire. The casing of the tire is listed at 2.25″ wide, so a good, if somewhat narrow-ish size for all around trail usage. The casing is listed as tubeless ready, and has 60TPI construction. So, I’ll be checking out the tubeless compatibility closely.
Measurements: The 2.25″ version of these 29″er tires comes in at 740gms each on our scale. That’s not too bad considering the feel of the casing is that of a tire made with some thicker sidewalls than say, an XC tire might have. Besides this, there are the lugs of the tread to consider, which are generously sized and spread across the casing in an even, consistent manner. The side lugs are especially well buttressed, which is where a lot of the weight is hiding in these tires.
I mounted these tubeless to the Shimano Deore XT 29″er wheels, (on test here), and at 25psi, the tires had the following measurements….
-57.77mm casing width. -55.88mm tread width That’s 2.27 inches and 2.20 inches respectively. It’s nice to see out of the gate that these tires do indeed match up with claimed widths without having to inflate them to pressures we’d never ride them at to stretch them out. Also, it is quite apparent that the tires could even be measured wider on a rim with a wider inner rim width than what the Deore XT wheels have. (19mm inner width)
The tires take on a squarish profile looking down on them which is reminiscent of the previously tested Wild Race’R tires we looked at here. I am hoping these Wild Grip’R tires will be at least as good as those tires are. As seen, they are mounted up and ready to ride. I have done some cold weather, snow/ice rides so far, but I will wait until things get cleared up more and I can get a better idea of how these tires are doing before reporting back again. Stay tuned…..
Note Michelin sent over the Wild Grip’R tires for test and review at no charge to Twenty Nine Inches. We are not being paid, nor bribed for this review,and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.
Did you test these tires on different rims? Nowadays it seems that tires don’t have to comply to a standard anymore as some tires are impossible to mount on Stans Crest or American Classic rims. If you didn’t test this, please include this is the follow-up test.
@Dennis: One thing a lot of folks are running up against is that the tire market is moving in two not-very-mutually-compatible directions: UST and Stan’s standards.
Stan’s has always been about converting non-tubeless tires to tubeless. UST has been about a specific dimension requirement that mates to a rim of a specific dimension requirement.
The two standards are often not cross compatible. For instance- GEAX tires, (a UST bead design), is next to impossible to mount on a Stan’s rim. Conversely, non-tubeless tires don’t set up well, burp, and sometimes fail catastrophically on UST rims.
The Michelin tires are UST spec, so you can guess already that Stan’s will be a very tight, if not impossible fit. Especially anything “EX” as that is Stan’s slightly larger diameter bead seat design.
So, you can go with a system approach, (safest), use Stan’s rims and non-tubeless tires to convert, (often successful), or mix and match standards, (with resulting poor to middling results).
I will try these on different rims I have on hand to tell you what I can, but I don’t have every rim at my disposal to test.
Therefore, it is still incumbent upon the end user to choose wisely. 
I am very excited about your upcoming reviews on the tire. I am looking to get the Grip’r 2.25 and Race’r 2.25 for my central California riding HT 29er. I contemplated going with two Race’r, but sometimes I run into the loose rubble and see myself not having the skills to control a tire that has low knobs.
I’m looking forward to a some feed back on that Limited Edition On-One Inbred single speed. I am looking to snatch one up while they are still available to replace my old 26″ single speed. It’s looks like a great deal on a reliable frame.
looking forward to this review. And hopefully you guys can get your hands on the new Ikon 2.35!! Love me some fast high volume tires!
Was excited to see these TL tires as a replacement for the more expensive tires I have used over the years. I am not new to tire installation, yet I had such difficulty with installing (and uninstalling) these tires on Stans Arch EX rims that I have decided to move on. I understand they may install easier on other rims but this was my experience. too bad as I was more than pleased with the performance of the tire once mounted.