Michelin Power Endurance

With the tarmac in Britain comparable to a cheese grater, a hardwearing tyre makes sense. The Michelin Power Endurance tyres are grippy, hardwearing and surprisingly fast. However, seriously strong thumbs are required or you might just pinch all the tubes in your shed.

The Power series has, according to Michelin, taken off where the Pro series left off. There are three tyres in the range, each claiming to outperform its predecessor. This, the Endurance, sits in the middle of the spectrum, with the Competition for faster rides and the All Season for the winter miles (and presumably spring, summer and autumn). Endurance would indicate that Michelin has built these to last, and they're living up to the name.

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At the heart of the Endurance tyre is the X-Miles Compound. This hardwearing rubber has been designed to give '20% more resistance' over the Pro4 Endurance. Michelin has also included more rubber along the centre line of the tyre; maybe an obvious feature, but more material takes longer to wear away. The bold claim from Michelin, however, is '200,000 puncture-free kilometres for 200 tested riders'. A very attractive claim for those who value hassle-free miles above all else. I can say that during my test rides, I've encountered no punctures while riding on some pretty shocking roads. In fact, while washing my bike, I checked the tyres for cuts. Not one! I really struggled to even find a blemish.

'More grip for greater speed around the bends' – that's what Michelin says about its new Grip Design. It's a simple concept that Michelin appears to have got spot on: as much as I pushed in corners to make these step out of line, they remained ever-planted and tracked smoothly. Even under heavy braking they refused to slide.

Michelin also claims these tyres are 'disc-brake ready'. To cope with the extra power a disc can generate, the company says it has gained '20% traction' and '52% side grip' over its main rival. I can't vouch for the figures, but the tyres were noticeably hard to budge even when I was trying my best to make them slide.

Michelin has also added its Aramid Protek +. This is a 'super high-density reinforcement' that runs under the central channel of the rubber and stops just short of the sidewalls. Michelin has aimed to save a little weight by reducing sidewall protection over the All Weather tyre. This 25mm set came in at 260g which, while not getting weight weenies excited, is not a significant penalty. The tyres feature a slick surface with slight channelling for water on the shoulders, and it feels like a relatively fast tyre. It certainly wasn't holding me back on faster training rides.

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My only issue came when mounting the tyres. The fit is very tight, resulting in my first ever pinched tube. While the tyres are brilliant and punctures have been rare for Michelin's testers, I wouldn't be confident about replacing a tube at the side of the road should a flat occur. That said, these tyres make the potential punctures so rare, I'd take one difficult change over many easy ones!

Verdict

Very good tyres that will last and last – if you want one set for the whole year, consider these