The Michelin Wild Enduro Racing Line Rear is a non-compromise race tyre. It focuses on maximum grip and reliability with a super-sticky rubber compound and a tough multi-layer casing. The grip is ample and predictable across a range of terrains but does struggle in sticky mud where the small closely spaced blocks start to clog. It's a heavy tyre, the rolling resistance is significant and the soft compound wears quickly but the performance on offer is hard to beat making it an ideal candidate for the best mountain bike tyre crown.
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Michelin Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line tyre - Technical details
The Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line is Michelin’s faster-rolling rear tyre for enduro racing. The chunkier DH34 sits above it and the non-racing line version sits below it which uses a harder compound.
This tyre is built with racing in mind, maximum grip and reliability are top of the requirements list. Michelin has used the super sticky Magic-X rubber found on their DH tyres along with the DH shield casing. The four-ply DH shield casing has puncture defence layers, reinforced pinch protection at the bead and wrap-around protection layers to fend off slices to the sidewalls.
This creates a tyre that grips well and is super resistant to pinches and punctures but does come at the cost of weight. A claimed weight of 1,350g is significant and very much in the DH tyre territory.
The Racing lines are easily identifiable with the yellow and blue markings. They’re only available in 29 x 2.40in size so if you’re running a mullet set-up you’ll need to look at the non-racing line versions.
Michelin Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line tyre - Installation
For testing, I mounted the tyre to a DT Swiss XM481 rim which has a 30mm internal width. Fitting was a simple process, no harder or easier than any other tyre I’ve tried – get the bead over the rim by hand and use the tyre lever for the last bit. I did find getting them to seat a little trickier even with my handy Airshot but once the tyre bead was sat onto the rim they aired up and sat correctly without any issues.
After some fettling, I settled at 24psi front and 26psi rear for riding rocky and high-speed bike park trails.
Michelin Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line - Performance
The construction and finishing on the tyre is excellent. It feels like a quality product, well made and, once fitted, it ran straight and true.
Let's start with the rubber. It's an uber-sticky compound which has a squishy and mouldable feel to it. This translates into excellent grip on rock and roots which is super confidence-inspiring. It also provides a dampened feel which calms down trail chatter a little without the tyres feeling squirmy.
The tyre profile is a little squarer than I am used to, and much squarer than a Maxxis counterpart for example. This does make the transition from the top of the tyre onto the side knobs more pronounced, however, the traction is pleasantly predictable and it takes a lot to get this tyre sliding. It does require a bit of bravery to really lean the tyre over but it’ll reward you with plenty of cornering traction.
It hooks up well in loam, and soft dirt and is loose over hard-pack terrain – a great all-round tyre. In the wet, the braking traction is impressive considering the size of the centre knobs. In sticky mud, these do start to clog and braking becomes a problem, however, I’d say this is no more pronounced than other options that aren’t all-out mud tyres.
The casings are thick, maybe not quite DH-casing thick but I wouldn’t say far off. The support the thick casing offers is excellent, particularly in big berms. I actually lowered my usual tyre pressure slightly as the tyre didn’t deform over the trail as much as I’d liked. The weight of these tyres is certainly a negative point, it depends on what you’re used to running but my usual double-down/enduro casings are around 250g lighter so getting up to speed takes longer and requires more effort. Having said that, once you’re rolling I didn’t notice the extra weight.
That super-grippy rubber does have some downsides as well. Longevity isn’t great, the braking and corner edges don’t last long, particularly on the rear wheel, which gets a lot of hammering. The photo below shows the wear after 16,000m of descending over a wide mix of terrain (mostly dry). The edges are starting to go but are still defined. After 27,000m of descending over the same mix of terrain, the edges are very rounded although the grip is still impressive.
The rear tyre tread is a minified version of the front tyre, the smaller centre blocks on the rear tyre are designed to help roll better. Unfortunately, the drag is very noticeable. The rolling resistance on flatter sections of hard pack trail does make a difference and pedalling on fire roads or Tarmac is a bit of a slog.
Michelin Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line tyres - Verdict
Coming in at £70, these tyres are right on the money compared to similar tyres in the market. Another race-specific tyre worth considering is the Pirelli Scorpion Enduro M, which comes in at £82 and provides reliable traction. It is chunkier than the Wild Enduro Rear but also suffers from poor longevity. The WTB Judge is another rear-specific option. It's quite a bit cheaper at £58 and is focused on an all-out grip.
The Michelin Wild Enduro Rear Racing Line is a no-compromise race tyre. Its super grippy compound, reliably thick casing and predictable traction make it an excellent choice to go fast on as long as you’re pointing down a hill. The weight, rolling resistance and longevity of the tyre come at the cost of all the grip. As a rear tyre that will have your back no matter the terrain or conditions, this is a very confidence-inspiring choice that almost feels like cheating.
