Tyres

Michelin Pro4 Endurance

Michelin crack combination of puncture defence, longevity, grip and speed

What do you want from a training tyre? For starters it has to be tough, in order to not only put up a stern defence against punctures but also have the longevity to survive thousands of miles of hard graft.

It should also be grippy, to give you confidence going into corners in all weathers. And it should be fast too, because, well, everyone wants to ride quickly, don’t they?

That’s a tricky combination to achieve but Michelin have cracked it with the Pro4 Endurance and it’s established itself as one of our favourite training tyres as a result. It’s a fit and forget tyre should provide many miles of fuss-free service.

The Pro4 Endurance has a dual compound construction, with Michelin using a tougher rubber compound on the centre of the tyre to improve durability and a softer one on the shoulder for better grip. It also has a bead-to-bead puncture protection layer and Michelin offer it in three sizes: 23, 25 and 28mm.

Puncture protection, durability, grip and speed? That’s a tricky combination to achieve in a training tyre but Michelin have cracked it with the Pro4 Endurance

Of course, it’s not as quick as a race tyre, and Michelin will no doubt point you in the direction of the rest of their range for that. But outright speed isn’t the point, because the Pro4 strikes that balance between durability, grip and speed that’s required from an everyday training or sportive tyre.

It ticks all three boxes without sacrificing too much in any of them and sits alongside the likes of Continental’s Grand Prix 4-Season and Vredestein’s Fortezza Senso Xtreme Weather as one of the best training tyres out there. They’re not cheap at £42 each, but seeing as tyres are the only part of your bike which actually touch the road, they’re well worth the investment.

Price: £41.99
Website: Michelin Bike

The Pro4 Endurance just about sneaks into the RCUK 100 as it’s all set of be replaced by the Power Endurance from April 2016. The Endurance will be one of the three tyres in the new Power range alongside the ‘faster’ Power Competition and ‘grippier’ Power All Season.

Michelin are promising improvements in rolling resistance, grip and durability across the board. Whether the Power Endurance is as good as the Pro4 Endurance has proved to be remains to be seen.