Michelin Power Road Tubeless tyre

The Michelin Power Road Tubeless Tyre is the company's first foray into tubeless for its road line-up and the results are very impressive. Grip and rolling resistance feel to be right up there with the best of the competition, and while they are a tight fit, once set up they'll see you through whatever conditions you are likely to experience.

We've already tested the non-tubeless version of the Power Road, back in February, and pretty much all of what Dave said about its performance is echoed here on the tubeless version: it really is a very good all-rounder.

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Fitting

If you've fitted plenty of different tyres over your cycling life, you'll know there are various levels of compatibility, with some fitting onto certain rims with ease while others can leave you with destroyed thumbs and a pile of broken tyre levers.

The Power Road is definitely one of the harder ones to fit. Taking it out of the box I just knew it was going to be a tight fit on pretty much any rim, as the bead just doesn't feel to have much give in it.

I tried it on three wheels from different brands and on each one it was a tight fit, resulting in the need to use a tyre lever to get the last bit over the edge of the rim. If you ever need to use these with a tube then fitment is definitely going to be an issue, and removing one at the side of the road is going to take a bit of work.

> Tubeless tyres: pros and cons

Once on, though, you can at least be confident that they aren't going to be popping off mid-ride, and initial inflation was a doddle too.

I use a Beto Surge tubeless pump with a burst tank (where you charge the tank up with air before flipping a switch to then dump it into the tyre), but it isn't as quick at discharging the air into the tyre as some out there, so it doesn't work with all combinations. Here, though, the tightness of the Power Road against the rim means it worked a treat, with both beads popping under the lip on the wheel to create a seal.

After filling it up with sealant and inflating the tyre, and giving it a spin, it lost pressure overnight, but after reinflating it a second time and going for a 35-mile ride there have been no more leakage issues and I could easily go a week without having to top the tyres up.

Riding

The Power Road uses Michelin's X-Race compound, which feels soft and tacky. Grip is really good in the dry and after getting used to the way they felt in the first couple of bends I was confident enough to really push them into the corners and roundabouts.

With the Power Roads fitted to a set of Halo Carbaura wheels, their 25mm width had a nicely rounded shape, and taking tight bends at speed I could really bank the bike over and make full use of the shoulder rubber.

Even pumped up to high pressures the compound feels soft enough to provide you with plenty of feedback from the road, helped by the suppleness of four layers of 120TPI (threads per inch) casing.

Grip in the wet is good, too, the rubber biting onto the tarmac almost as well as it does in the dry.

Rolling resistance is up there with similar tyres from the likes of Schwalbe and Vittoria. The Power Roads really fly when you get a bit of speed going, and with a weight of just 265g they don't take much coaxing under acceleration either.

Durability

When it comes to durability and wear rates it's a little early to tell – I've only been riding these tyres for about 400 miles so I can't give any definitive findings – but the dimples dotted around the tyre to show wear levels are still measuring the same as they did when the tyres were new.

I have picked up one puncture in the rear from a small thorn, but it was only about 1mm in size and the sealant fixed it straight away. I haven't had any other issues since.

Michelin says it developed the Power Road to cover 80 per cent of road riding conditions and it seems as if the company has struck a good balance of performance and durability.

Value

The Power Road has an rrp of £59.99, which is similar to a lot of quality tubeless tyres including Panaracer's Race A Evo 4 TLC and Maxxis' High Road Tubeless.

> Buyer’s Guide: All your tubeless tyre options

I'd put the rolling resistance and grip levels up there with the likes of Continental's GP5000 TL (£69.95) and Schwalbe's Pro One, (£66.99) which makes the Michelins look good value. They are lighter than both of those as well.

Conclusion

Overall, initial fitting aside, the Michelin Power Road Tubeless is an excellent performance tyre that is also durable enough to be used for racing and training. It's a very good package without breaking the bank.

Verdict

Impressive blend of performance, grip and durability, though they require a bit of effort to fit