Review: MBR - Michelin DH22 Racing Line Tyre

MBR has reviewed the Michelin DH22 tyre. Here is what they had to say:

The Michelin DH22 Racing Line tyres grip tenaciously in loose and wet muck, but they're slow rolling and expensive too.

Michelin has completely rebooted its gravity tyre line up this year and the latest on test is its DH22. It’s more gravity focussed, heavier and grippier than the also-new Wild Enduros, but also shares many of the same updates that Michelin hopes will make it one of the best mountain bike tyres going.

Two other DH-specific tyres have also been updated, the DH16 and the DHMud, and all three now come with folding casings so they’re easier to store and transport. The option of a black and grey sidewall hot-patch instead of the opinion-splitting lairy blue and yellow chequered one is a bonus too.

Design and specification

One of the biggest changes the DH22 sees is a new casing, it’s now considerably lighter than before. It uses an all-new construction and the shift to a folding bead should add compliance and conformity for a smoother ride. It’s also less likely to get deflected off impacts and obstacles now, especially at higher pressures.

Michelin has moved from a complicated four-ply carcass, so its Racing Line DH tyres are now dual-ply, which is more in line with popular DH rivals like Maxxis. Rather than using two plies with a thicker weave and 60 threads per inch like many other downhill tyres, Michelin’s new DH models feature a 55/120TPI combination of thicknesses.

This makes for a kind of a halfway-house between a standard dual-ply DH casing and a double, 120TPI, Double Down style casing. That said, the 55TPI ply here will be slightly thicker threaded than the coarsest ply in many other brands’ DH tyres.

Despite using just two layers, the DH22 Racing Line is actually heavier than most rivals thanks to the extra reinforcement Michelin builds in. This sees an extra double woven nylon layer envelop the entire inside of the tyre for greater resistance to puncturing. They’re moving in the right direction though, each Racing Line tyre in the range is 11% lighter now.

In terms of tread and compound, this DH22 tyre is slightly more open and leaning towards loose and mixed conditions than the lower profile and faster-rolling DH16.

Performance

It would be really easy to repeat here many of the things I’ve already written about the Wild Enduro tyres. This new DH22 clearly rides very similarly and, just like those tyres, grip levels are absolutely bang-on. I don’t reckon any rider could realistically have too many complaints about traction and resistance to slipping in any conditions.

I especially like the fact Michelin’s one-width (2.4in) DH tyre isn’t too wide, so it cuts in really well when you’re getting it onto the edge. This is unlike some more rounded and more balloon-ey tyres that blow up closer to 2.5-2.6in across, like the newer Pirelli Scorpions. These also have super-grippy rubber, but the bigger, more semi-circular crown makes them feel a bit less precise and ‘floatier’ on the ground.

The DH22 is a decent all-rounder with very consistent hold, but on dry dusty days on hard pack and rocks, you’d probably be much better off on the slightly lower-profile DH16 that will connect extra rubber on hard ground. You can vaguely feel the taller DH22 blocks conform and squash a fraction on rocks and hard packed dirt.

The flipside of this is they cut more effectively into looser surfaces, and this is where this tyre really shows its versatility by being mostly stable and secure even on rock hard ground. It’s not too squirmy either, and lets you absolutely boss it if you run into loose conditions or the weather changes.

One race morning we awoke to peanut butter and deep loamy mud everywhere, after a night of rain. This led to some incredibly difficult and slippery stages. While other riders were clearly struggling to cut through and find grip, the DH22 was hooking up like a champ compared to a regular DH tyre. My race partner was struggling on Conti Kryptotals and I must have overtaken about 10 people on one particularly hard stage with the DH22 on the front flattering my skill level.

Verdict

Michelin’s sticky DH tyres now get the folding treatment with an all-new casing and construction that sheds a few grams and retains the brand’s reputation for toughness and puncture resistance. The DH22 model is slightly more optimised for damp and/or loose conditions compared to the DH16, and the slightly open tread hooks up supremely in mud and slime. There’s so much grip here no one could really complain, but much like its predecessor, this is definitely at the slower end in terms of rolling speed compared to something like the new-school (and slightly lighter still) Continental DH tyres.