Michelin Dynamic - review

I forgot to mention one item. The tires seem to be much noisier than the
Kenda's were. It's not really a problem,
but you can definitely hear them. I'd rather have the noise than the
friction, thought!

Darth Vader said:

Well, the Dynamic tires came in today. First, a bit about what I've
used before.

Quoted message said:

The Dynamic has almost no tread, with only a slight pattern in it.
I'm not sure why it's there, perhaps for decoration or to be used as
a tire wear pattern? The Dynamic's largest size is 700x32. They
fit easily on my rim. The Kenda were nearly impossible to remove,
with the rigid steel bead. The Dynamic also has a rigid bead, but
the tires were easy to install by hand. They fit fine on my rim,
although I did have some trouble getting my hand pump to get them
pumped up enough. The inflation on these tires is much more than on
the Kenda. I don't have them in front of me, so I don't know the
exact specs.

http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/dynamic.htm

There are still many bicyclists who are afraid of smooth tread, so I
believe this tread pattern is to give the best performance while
soothing riders who feel unsafe without some grooves in the tread,
regardless how small or useless. This is unfortunate because this
looks like an otherwise excellent tire.

Quoted message said:

After recalculating my speedometer for 700x32 tires, I took the bike
for a spin. I thought that narrower tires with higher pressure
would give a rougher ride. This isn't the case at all. While I
still feel the bumps, it feels like I have shock absorbers compared
to the Kendas. The ride is much smoother, and even in gravel &
sand, the bike is easier to pedal. My coasting speed seems to have
improved, and uphill climbs are not nearly as hard. My average
uphill speed has increased about 1 km/hr I think.

To asses how well a tire absorbs road roughness requires a better test
than going for a ride. As has been shown, a freshly washed car runs
better and feels smoother according to many tests that have been made
over many years. The same goes for new tires, especially if there are
any expectations of better performance.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 16:07:58 -0500, Garth Vader wrote:

and.

Quoted message said:

I thought that narrower tires with higher pressure would give a
rougher ride. This isn't the case at all.

Often higher quality tires have more supple casings and thus are more
comfortable.

BTW, as you mentioned about ease of mounting, I've found the same to be
true--never needed a tool to install my wider Michelins.

Glad to hear they worked out for you.

😄

"Garth Vader" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

[...]

Quoted message said:

The Dynamic has almost no tread, with only a slight pattern in it.
I'm not sure why it's there, perhaps for decoration or to be used as
a tire wear pattern?

Marketing.

Quoted message said:

The Dynamic's largest size is 700x32. They fit
easily on my rim. The Kenda were nearly impossible to remove, with
the rigid steel bead. The Dynamic also has a rigid bead, but the
tires were easy to install by hand. They fit fine on my rim, although
I did have some trouble getting my hand pump to get them pumped up
enough. The inflation on these tires is much more than on the Kenda.
I don't have them in front of me, so I don't know the exact specs.

What is the recommended pressure? It's not on Michelin's web site.

[...]

Quoted message said:

There is a very looong, steep hill near me, and I have been able to
get the bike up to 40 km/hr with the Kendas (coming downhill, of
course!). With the Dynamic, I reached 59.1 km/hr. I can't believe
the difference. I guess with the narrower tire and lack of tread,
there is less rolling resistance.

I doubt a simple change of tyre can explain such a radical speed difference.
Are you absolutely sure about those numbers?

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Quoted message said:

Often higher quality tires have more supple casings and thus are more
comfortable.

Yes, I suppose that's it. The sidewalls on the Dynamic (when not on the
rim) seemed very thin. They almost gave you the impression that they
wouldn't be strong enough to hold air.

Quoted message said:

BTW, as you mentioned about ease of mounting, I've found the same to be
true--never needed a tool to install my wider Michelins.

BTW, the tubes I have in right now are 700-35 to 700-40. The seem to work
ok, but with the tires being 700-32, am I risking anything? Will the tubes
wrinkle and blow out, or will the larger tube exert too much pressure on the
tire? I didn't have a 700-32 tube, but I wanted to try out the tires, so I
just tried the larger tube.

Quoted message said:

What is the recommended pressure? It's not on Michelin's web site.

I just checked the tires. The Dynamic is 58-87 psi, and the Kenda is 50-75.
Not as much
difference in pressure as I thought! How do you tell the pressure with a
Presta valve? I haven't
seen a presta-valve gauge, any my hand pump doesn't have a pressure gauge.
I was thinking of
getting a 99-cent Presta to Schraeder adapter and then using my car's tire
pressure gauge. I'm
sure they do make a presta-gauge, though.

Quoted message said:

I doubt a simple change of tyre can explain such a radical speed

difference.

Quoted message said:

Are you absolutely sure about those numbers?

Positive! I'll try the hill out again and see how the numbers look. But,
that's what happened!

Garth Vader said:

BTW, the tubes I have in right now are 700-35 to 700-40. The seem to work
ok, but with the tires being 700-32, am I risking anything?

Officially you should replace with proper sized tubes...

but in my world I'd see if the tube when outside the tire and barely
inflated is actually larger in diameter than the tire. If not, don't worry
about it. The larger tube, if it fits, won't stretch as much during
inflation and will remain thicker, thwarting flats.

😄

Mr Pook said:

Don't know if Schwalbe are available back in the States

Yes they are, and you can order tires in the obscure sizes that your bike
shop won't carry directly from the Schwalbe American website.

They make tires for old roadsters and 590mm rubber as well--gets my thumbs
up.

😄

Mr Pook said:

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Darth Vader said:

Well, the Dynamic tires came in today. First, a bit about what I've
used before.

Quoted message said:

The Dynamic has almost no tread, with only a slight pattern in it.
I'm not sure why it's there, perhaps for decoration or to be used as
a tire wear pattern? The Dynamic's largest size is 700x32. They
fit easily on my rim. The Kenda were nearly impossible to remove,
with the rigid steel bead. The Dynamic also has a rigid bead, but
the tires were easy to install by hand. They fit fine on my rim,
although I did have some trouble getting my hand pump to get them
pumped up enough. The inflation on these tires is much more than on
the Kenda. I don't have them in front of me, so I don't know the
exact specs.

http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/dynamic.htm

There are still many bicyclists who are afraid of smooth tread, so I
believe this tread pattern is to give the best performance while
soothing riders who feel unsafe without some grooves in the tread,
regardless how small or useless. This is unfortunate because this
looks like an otherwise excellent tire.

Quoted message said:

After recalculating my speedometer for 700x32 tires, I took the bike
for a spin. I thought that narrower tires with higher pressure
would give a rougher ride. This isn't the case at all. While I
still feel the bumps, it feels like I have shock absorbers compared
to the Kendas. The ride is much smoother, and even in gravel &
sand, the bike is easier to pedal. My coasting speed seems to have
improved, and uphill climbs are not nearly as hard. My average
uphill speed has increased about 1 km/hr I think.

To asses how well a tire absorbs road roughness requires a better test
than going for a ride. As has been shown, a freshly washed car runs
better and feels smoother according to many tests that have been made
over many years. The same goes for new tires, especially if there are
any expectations of better performance.

Jobst Brandt

Cycled London-Milan a couple of weeks ago with a friend from uni.
Before we even got to Brussels I'd written off one tyre, and by
Strasbourg the other was done for. Had to cycle 60 miles with neglible
pressure due to the torn casing. The tyres in question were the only
25mm black, steel-bead tyre from a 'reputable' brand available near
where I live (S.E. London):
Bontrager Select
http://www.bontrager.com/roadtires/detail.asp?id=63&pt=9
I'm pretty sure these were made by Kenda (the word 'Nylon' appears
identically to another old (10 years!) Kenda mountain bike tyre I've
lying around. The cuts revealed the casing to be made with a v.low
TPI.

Why do manufacturer's even bother quoting TPI as they all seem to
measure it in a different way (cf. Michelin and Conti)?

Despite Continental's bad rep, I rode a set of their cheapest road
tyre, the Sport 1000 (
http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/general/news/reflective_en.html
) -- I think now discontinued -- over 2500 miles of Colorado's
mountain unmade roads without incident.

In Freiburg I was taken aback when my request for a 25mm black/wire
tyre was greeted with a jah, and bought these:
http://www.schwalbe.com/index.pl?bereich=produkte&einsatzbereich=2&produktgruppe=2&produkt=89

Black smooth (except a small zig-zag on the shoulder) tread, high TPI
casing, skinwall, wire bead and only 16 euros! They've a kevlar belt
under the tread apparantly, but that doesn't bother me - I doubt one
could feel the difference in RR.

If you're not bothered about the wire bead business (which unless you
live in serious mountains I doubt you are), it would appear Michelin
offer an excellent choice:
http://cycleus.webmichelin.com/tires/carbon.htm

Don't know if Schwalbe are available back in the States, but certainly
a Schwalbe dealer in the UK should be able to order some for those
who're interested.

Thomas Hood

In fact the Scwalbe technical pages are full of surprisingly good
information re. RR vs. width, rubber compounds etc. Not a lot to argue
with -- they even half-conceed that treaded road tyres are a waste of time:
http://www.schwalbe.com/index.pl?punkt=260

Thomas Hood

Garth Vader said:

How do you tell the pressure with a
Presta valve? I haven't
seen a presta-valve gauge, any my hand pump doesn't have a pressure gauge.

They do make them. Ask at a bike shop. Zefal and Topeak make ones that
measure both. Schaeder and Presta. There is another type out there,
made of brass, etc., that is specific to one type or the other.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/sub_cat.cfm?subcategory_id=5412

Quoted message said:

I was thinking of
getting a 99-cent Presta to Schraeder adapter and then using my car's tire
pressure gauge.

Might not work- the adapter could be too tall to allow the pressure
gauge's pin to depress the valve's pin. Won't hurt to try, and it's
always good to have the adapters. Say what you will, I'm willing to
walk a block to use a gas station's air hose instead of using any hand
pump I have along on a ride.

Quoted message said:

I'm sure they do make a presta-gauge, though.

Yep, they do.