I've put a couple hundred miles on these in the last two months. For urbandowntown commuting these tires have been excellent through sun, rain, and some fast and winding descents. Puncture resistance seems to be working well over cracked pavement and the occasional bit of broken glass. The reflective sidewalls are no joke, they glow strong even in dim light. I got mine in 40mm, and while not the lightest tires, the larger contact patch makes up for it in confidence level. Off-road on MTB single-track they've been good, but deep layers of wet leaves and light mud they'll wash a bit in hard corners under speed (mind IMBA trail rules for mud!). Then again I don't think these were ever really meant to be MTB tires. I just mention it to show they'll hold up well enough for dry mid-western mountain biking.
Fwiw I'm a N1 rider meaning I condensed my bike stable down to a single bike for everything (commute, MTB, 12 centuries, etc.) I ride a rigid, single-speed, Surly Ogre wdrop bars. My review above is based on my time riding these Michelin Protek Cross Max 700c tires on that bike.
Rode these across Germany's Elbe River Trail last July. Proved to be the perfect compromise tire for all road conditions encountered paved, gravel, dirt, cobblestone, concrete blocks. Good roll on smooth roads. The side corners gripped rough - as well as wet - roads extremely well. They show very little wear, after some tough abuse (roads rough enough to pop three spokes, but the tires kept on rolling). Would buy again!
I purchased these tires in late July and have been using them on my daily commuter bike. They have excellent grip. I also enjoy the white reflective strip on them. They make me slightly more visible as it gets a little more darker each day.
I purchased these tires for my Trek DS 8.3 and I love them. Very smooth rolling but not at all harsh even at max pressure. No flats after about 500 miles either. I get great traction on the gravel trails and to top it off they look cool with the sidewall lettering and reflective strip that lights up when flashed at night.
These tires are ok if you can stand the added weight. They are HEAVY, compared to my Schwalbe and Clement tires. A very noticeable weight difference when just picking up my bike.
The 5mm thick section does seem durable though - so there are pros and cons.
For me, I just can't deal with how heavy they are.
