These tires are nice. Low rolling resistance and comfortable ride. I ride knobbys in the winter and these the rest of the year around town on my old mountain bike. The reflective stripe is a plus.
Purchased these to replace the old Kenda 26-inch tires that were on my old mountain bike.
Wanted something that would give a more comfortable ride & were not as noisy.
They definitely ride smoother & are quieter than the old Kenda knobbies, BUT have more rolling resistance and are slower. Think that this is from more rubber on the road.
Fortunately this is not my primary bike, so the mountain bike w/ thees Michelins will be just fine for the 3 mile ride to my local gym...guessing that now I'll arrive thoroughly warmed up.
Replaced original tires on a specialized vita, and had a hard time finding just the right tread configuration & price. These were a good choice - the ride is more confident, and they look great as well.
Purchased these to replace the old Kenda K-831 26-inch tires that were on my old mountain bike.
Wanted something that would give a more comfortable ride & were not as noisy.
They definitely ride smoother & are quieter than the old Kenda knobbies, BUT have more rolling resistance and are slower. Think that this is a function of more rubber on the road.
Fortunately this is not my primary bike, so the mountain bike w/ the Michelin Proteks will be just fine for the 3 mile ride to my local gym...guessing that now I'll arrive thoroughly warmed up.
I put Protek 1.85 tires on my go-to bike, a 1983 Trek 850 Rough Terrain bicycle. That bicycle has been with me consistently since '83 though another 20 bicycles have come and gone since I bought it new. This bike has been used for single track, multi-use trails, bush whacking, around town and on 3,100 mile self supported tour. I've worn out a lot of tires on this bike (as well many other components!). I also have special purpose tires for the bike for bush whacking and riding on ice (Schwalbe Ice Spikers). Through all of that I've found that these Protek tires have proven to be the most versatile, comfortable, and safest tires I've used in urban, rural and rough rail trail conditions. Gone for me are the days when riding tubulars was the way to go!
I ride on both paved and dirt bike paths. These tires work great for me. Higher pressure really lowers rolling resistance. I would not use these for mountain biking of course. But for trekking over hill and dale these are perfect.
26x1.85. They look great. They have a nice soft compound. Good grip on pavement and absorbs bumps and potholes nicely. Well made and precision. Not a lot of Rolling resistance. The cons are they are terrible on loose gravel and they are Really heavy. I like them For city but not so much for suburban riding. I would get 26x1.40 for that. I bet those are great.
Most of the time the original equipment tires that come with cruiser-style bikes, or any 26 tire bike, are JUNK. Replacing the stock tires with something like these makes a massive difference when it comes to cycling efficiency. These tires can take a higher PSI compared to stock cruiser tires. I took a chance on these since I couldn't afford Schwalbe tires - I got lucky! I think these tires have been replaced with Protek Cross.
I went from mountain tires to these & I'm glad I did. I mainly ride on roads so, I don't know about grip on trails.
That being said, the 55-65 psi seems top me to be the best compromise of rolling resistance vs smooth ride.
My friend was amazed on how illuminating the reflective part of the tires were. For me, these tires are great.
Is this a 5 star tire? No. Is this a 5 star value? Absolutely! Don't misunderstand, this is a very good tire. It features low rolling resistance and some puncture resistance. I would buy these all day as an all around best buy if you're just looking for something for casual riding. Not sure about long term durability or professional use? Maybe. I was very impressed. Smooth riding on pavement, even took these on a 30 mile ride on gravely fire road. They dont grab the loose road but they roll over it well and didn't feel loose. If that road were wet, I would have been S O L, but they held up well the low rolling resistance makes the riding much better. This is a great buy.
Put these on a 1997 Gary Fisher Marlin....hardtail!....were very difficult to get on the Weinman 519 rims...needed to use a lot of tire lube to install. Once on, they rode like a dream...very stable in turns and on all but the very loose stuff....great bike pathpavement tire. They ride the best at very high pressure, near max about 80-85 psi. Excellent wet weather tire. could not ask for anything better...fantastic tire for the money.
