Michelin Power Gravel tyre

The Power Gravel is Michelin's answer to the ever-expanding gravel/adventure market, and it has a lot going for it. Durability is good, as is the grip, it offers plenty of puncture protection, and the price is very competitive too.

The Power Gravel follows a similar theme to many other gravel tyres on the market, as in it is covered in small knobbles for grip on loose surfaces without sacrificing overall speed. It's a format that works, especially when the tracks are dry and dusty.

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Thankfully for me, the majority of my local gravel routes are properly laid tracks for moving military traffic around. They don't change much even in the winter, apart from the odd puddle here and there, so I could get away with using the Michelins all year round.

If you ride on bridleways or tracks in your local woods in winter, you'll find that the tread isn't deep enough for grip on wet mud. For these kind of excursions you'll need something with much deeper knobbly bits.

For this time of year, though, when the trails have dried out, the Power Gravel is a quality tyre – and not just for the off-road sections but also for the tarmac when stringing those sections together.

Like most, I need to ride on the road for a few miles to get to the gravel, and I found the Michelins to offer decent rolling resistance for a wide and treaded tyre. It's no race rubber but it never felt overly draggy when on the flat or climbing.

Grip is okay as well, although those knobs on the shoulder won't see you wanting to get your knee down through a tight bend, with less rubber on the road for grip than you would have with a slick road tyre.

Off-road action

Once away from the road, the tread really starts to work. The knobs are deep enough that they just grab hold of the stones enough that you don't slip around too much, and should you need to get out of the saddle to climb they don't break traction easily.

Their medium tread size also means they absolutely fly, giving them the feel of an off-road race tyre rather than one that is aimed more at outright grip, which makes them huge fun.

The only thing I would say is that they aren't quite as supple as similar tyres such as the Continental Terra Speed or Schwalbe G-One Bite. It's not a massive issue, but you get just a little bit more feedback from those two, telling you what is going on beneath the tyre and how it is reacting.

Taking bends at high speed sees the shoulder tread do its thing by bringing extra traction to stop you sliding out. It's most noticeable in the woods on some dry singletrack; changing direction quickly felt really confident as I was darting through the trees and avoiding the roots and rocks.

Running them tubeless means you can have the pressures quite low and this really helps the tread bite in soft ground, although even at 40psi they were surprisingly grippy on dry mud trails.

Compound choice

For the construction Michelin has chosen its X-Miles compound which, it says, is 'a rubber compound providing abrasion resistance associated to a thicker layer on the crown which increases durability'. They have certainly stood up to my many rides and miles on the gravel trails, which include all sizes of aggregates.

Next comes the main carcass, which is created from three 120tpi layers, and beneath that a Protek puncture protection layer that runs from bead to bead rather than just under the central tread like you get on a road tyre.

For this 40mm size, that build equates to 467g which compares well against those two other tyres I've just mentioned (the 38mm Schwalbe I tested was 455g; the 40mm Conti 428g). It is also available in 33mm and 35mm widths.

As I mentioned earlier, the Power Gravels are tubeless ready, and I had no issues with getting them all set up on some Sector gravel wheels. Thanks to the flex in the sidewalls I could stretch the majority of the tyre over the wheel rim to get it seated just using my thumbs, with only the last section needing to be eased on with a tyre lever.

Using just a floor pump, the bead of the tyre located quickly with the edge of the rim, and after getting the pressure up to about 50psi the tyre was seated all the way round.

Leaving the tyres to settle overnight before putting the sealant in saw them lose about 20psi, which isn't bad so the sidewalls aren't too porous, and since adding the sealant I've only had to top them up with air about once a week.

Value

Compared with the Schwalbe and Continental tyres already mentioned, which I reckon are the closest direct competition to the Michelin – plus I've put extensive miles in on all three – the Power Gravel is really good value.

As I said, it isn't quite as supple as the other two, which takes just a little bit away from the ride, especially at speed. That's probably something that bothers me more than it will many of you, as I really like to be able to feel every little thing going on through the bike all of the time.

The thing is, the Michelins are only £44.99 – that's £14 a tyre cheaper than the Schwalbe, and £15 less than the Continental.

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With that kind of saving I'd happily sacrifice a bit of feedback. In every other respect they all feel as fast and offer equally great traction in similar conditions, though I'd also say that the Michelins are more robust than the Schwalbes.

Conclusion

So there you have it: in my eyes the Michelin Power Gravel offers similar levels of performance and durability to some of the best tyres out there, but at a very competitive price.

Verdict

Fast, grippy high-performance gravel tyres that work best on dry or firm tracks and trails