MichelinProtek 26 Inch Tire(Return to Product Page)

I am using this as the rear tire on a long wheelbase recumbent. It replaces a 1.5 inch high pressure tire that just was a bit choppy ride. Adding this larger 1.95 tire allows me to go lower pressure, good cushy ride now. Tire was modestly challenging to mount, a tight fit on the rim, once mounted centered and runs true.

The longer saga was with the front tire 406, went from 1.5 inch up to 1.75 inch, a Schwalbe Green Marathon, reflective as well. Never can be too safe.

The Michelin name stands for quality and their bike tires are no different. I tried a set of Protek seven years ago after using Country Rocks on a another bicycle. Both tires are excellent. The Protek is a great urban tire. It is semi-smooth tire with angled tread patterns that help with traction on loose surfaces or wet surface. The Protek offers great puncture protection. I very rarely get flat tires with these reliable, fast, handsome-looking tires. Great for a retro-MTB to urban commuter build.

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!

These Michelin Protek performed awesome on my recumbent. Good grip, great water dissipation, yet smooth on rough pavement. For this reason I got the 20" size for my front wheel to replace a bold-type Scorcher tire.

I bought these in 2020 from BTD. I have three bikes, and the one that these were on gets very light use, like less than 500 miles. I basically just use that bike to ride on paved trails with my kids. Because they are "townie" type tires, 1.4", I only inflate them to 60psi (sidewall lists 74psi max). Nevertheless, today when I got to the bike trail with my kids (after a half hour drive and all the effort of packing up all of the car with everything), we started biking on the trail and heard a "zip zip zip" sound. What's that? My tire is bulging out the side? After marking it and removing it, it was apparent that the thread holding in the bead to the tire had failed. I've been bike riding and bike touring for twenty years and had never even heard of a bike tire failing this way. So no bike ride today, sorry kids, just a car ride to the trail head and back. Thanks Michelin. Never one of your tires for me the rest of my days.

After using Serfis Survivors and Schwalbe Marathons, I bought 4 of the 26x1.8' to try them out. They are my new favorite touring tire for 1990s mountain bikes used for heavy weight bikepacking. They are just the right width to get past an open vbrake but still give me plenty of cushion run at 50psi with 60 lbs of food,gear and water. Easy to get on and off( unlike the Schwalbe Marathons). Flat resistance is very good. The thin tread is another factor I like. In the city streets where my family and I do our commuting, treads just pick up debris. Tread on bikes like these doesn't really increase traction. It does give dog poop a great place to hide until you've brought it into your apartment. $20 bucks a tire fits a budget for the four bikes I have to outfit for longer tours. All considered, I love these tires.

Love these tires, been using my mountain bike alot on paved roads with nobbies... Wanting to see what a difference a smother tire would make and wow what a difference, no noise and smooth as silk... Rides decent in dirt although I dont make it a point and have only put a handful of miles on them so far... Ordered a set for my wife I like them that much, sleek design and look great on my bike..

I had purchased Michelin tires for my previous bicycle and was very satisfied. When I needed to replace the tires on my present bike I again chose Michelin. It is a quality tire with a long life. I especially appreciate the reflective sidewalls for added safety during early morning or late night rides.

Installed on an old MTB collecting dust in the garage due to high rolling resistance (and tire noise!) of its stock Kenda knobbies. These Proteks are much easier to pedal and nearly silent. Ordered the 26 x 1.85 tires and they were a a bit taller and wider (by maybe 0.3 inch) than the 26 x 1.95 tires I replaced, but still fit without issue. Got what I needed at a very reasonable price. Now, I'm doing casual, on-road rides several times a week.

On sale, this is an excellent value..After 10 or more years my old commuter tires needed to be replaced. I bought these because they are bigger, are slick with grooves (kind of like knobs) for traction and have a highly reflective stripe on the sidewall-I ride in the dark often.

Replaced 1.95 Kenda Knobbies with the 1.85 Protek on my Giant MTB. What a difference in comfort , speed , & little rolling resistance. Very quiet in comparison . I'm 79 & I am done with off road trekking. I ride 15-20 KMS per day mostly on hard top , light gravel paths. These tires are good quality at a great price.

I don't sound like a siren driving down the road anymore. These tires are not as fast as my Trek Domane 700 x 32mm tires but just as smooth !! Love them.

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.

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 have installed a pair of this on my Proflex 856 for training purposes on the road a few years ago. They are great at a pressure of 50 psi and let me enjoy my ride for hours without feeling any bump on the road, with a perfect grip safely.

I put these tires on an old Diamondback bike I have. Original tires were knobby and fairly aggressive. I wanted something smoother riding for on the roads. These tires are perfect. Smooth, quiet and hardly any rolling resistance. I would definitely buy again.

These tires smooth out the ride for my sons converted mountain bike, so he has a ride for college. They worked out perfectly for him.

The Protek has good roll while having great grip. Feels like a larger tire as far as feeling protected goes.

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.