I get through a lot of bikes in this job. They come and go every few weeks, sometimes in a flurry, sometimes a trickle. Each time one arrives I assess the spec, and there are always a few products that lift my spirits. One is a Selle Italia SLR Superflow saddle, so I know my rear end is going to be comfortable, and the other is a set of Michelin Power Cup tyres. They sit firmly at the top of the ‘best budget’ section of my guide to the best road bike tyres, but in reality they could well challenge for the best overall title.
Michelin may not have the same pro-level usage as the likes of Continental and Vittoria, but nobody is going to deny that the company has a reputation for making tyres… and judging restaurants, which I always find strange. Despite not featuring at WorldTour level I think the Power Cup could easily mix it with the best of the bunch if only it was available in wider sizes. More on that later, but for those of you lacking in patience the short story is that I love these tyres, and if I wasn’t in a position where I am constantly swapping tyres for testing these are where I’d be spending my own money.
Design and aesthetics
I’m putting myself out there and saying I think we’re in a place now where tanwall tyres have stopped being cool thanks to their ubiquity. They used to be a status thing, showing off that your tyres were cotton cased, and while I like them on tyres that do actually have cotton casings (the Vittoria Corsa Pro, Challenge Getaway et al.) I think if your tyres are vulcanised then they should be black. If you disagree then worry not, because these tyres also come in a tanwall option, a light tan, but not nearly so yellow as a Challenge or a Vittora. Anyway, my review set were black, just the way I like ‘em.
Aesthetically they’re a very minimalist option, with just a small, full-colour Michelin logo (or monochrome on the tanwall), and a grey-on-black ‘Power Cup’ wordmark. The tyre tread itself is similarly minimalist, devoid entirely of any sipes (the technical term for any striations or indents), and simply presenting a totally slick rubber tread. Don’t be alarmed, I can assure you that this doesn’t make them less grippy. Sipes don’t actually offer any more mechanical grip, they simply allow the rubber to move more, which heats it up a little more easily, and makes it more grippy.
One thing that is a little bit of a drawback is the range of widths available. While these come in 23c and 25c (rather outdated widths by modern standards, unless you’re a French WorldTour team), the widest they come in is a 28c. Comparatively, you can get a Continental GP5000 S TR in both a 30c and a 32c, and the same can be said of the Vittoria Corsa Pro. If you’re running rim brakes and 28c is about your limit then this isn’t really any bother, but for those of you with disc brakes looking to reap the rewards of wider tyres in terms of comfort and grip, you’re a little out of luck here.
Setup
Setting the Michelin Power Cups up tubeless was relatively pain free. They didn’t prove overly difficult to get onto the rim, nor did they present much of a challenge to seat, either with or without sealant in. I’ve run them with and without tubes too, both in this review set and on test bikes, and one thing I would say that I noticed is that should you ever get a puncture they did have a habit of unseating from the rims I was using. It’s a little detail, but I think in an effort to create a rounded profile the sidewalls want to curl inwards more than other tyres I’ve tried.
Should the worst befall you, I’d advise carrying one of the best CO2 inflators instead of/as well as a mini pump as a just-in-case measure, as these will far more easily reach the pressures needed to reseat them on the fly.
Performance
Let’s take things by the numbers first. Cycling is a numbers game a lot of the time, and it would be remiss of me not to mention some comparative tests that have been done on these tyres and their competitors by Bicycle Rolling Resistance. Publicly available data that I used to create my guide to road bike tyres states that the Power Cups have an identical rolling resistance to the Continental GP5000 S TR (at 8.5 watts), a slightly better puncture resistance (45 plays 35) and better static wet grip (74 versus 70). They are marginally heavier, but it is minimal - only an 18-gram difference per tyre, or just shy of 40g for a set.
Why would you pay more than double for the Continental option? Honestly, at this point, I don’t really know. I haven’t found anything in testing them that points to a noticeable, tangible difference, at least in terms of performance. If you want wider, which I actually do a lot of the time, then obviously the choice is a little easier but if you’re a die-hard 28c fan then the reasons to pay more are relatively small.
In the real world, away from the numbers, the Power Cups are smooth, fast, and grippy. I would say that they can feel a little wooden with inner tubes in, but setup tubeless (or with latex tubes) this dissipates. As they are a more wallet-friendly option they are perhaps more likely to be used with tubes, but I do implore you to give them a try in a more supple setup; I don’t think you’ll regret it.
They certainly don’t have that cloud-like feel of the Vittoria Corsa Pro, but if you like a more direct feel in terms of road contact then they’ll be right up your street.
One thing that may perhaps cause you some thought is that, particularly on wider internal rim widths, the tread doesn’t seem to wrap so far around the sidewalls as especially the GP5000. In practice I never found myself troubled by this and I don’t think in general riding situations I was in any danger of troubling the sidewalls. If you’re regularly cornering really aggressively (crit racing, I’m primarily thinking of here) then perhaps you’d want to consider a more well-wrapped tread option, but for most of us, I’m pretty confident in saying they’re just fine.
I’ve had three different sets of these on the go so far this year, some setup tubeless, some with tubes. I only had one puncture, and this was down me pinching a latex tube rather than any foreign object making its way through the tread. It’s certainly not a scientific test, but my home town of Bristol is festooned with broken glass. In my unrepeatable real-world experience, these proved no more or less puncture prone, especially when setup tubeless, than any other decent tyre I’ve used.
Value
Here’s the biggie. I don’t think I can think of a tyre that offers in terms of value what the Power Cups do. In fact I’d go so far as to say there are few products out there in general that match it. On sale, you could easily pick these up for around £30, which is a third of the price of a full-price Corsa Pro or GP5000, and you’re getting comparable performance and just a hint of a weight penalty.
After aerodynamics, rolling resistance is the biggest factor in terms of outright speed, and in terms of gains for each pound/dollar spent you’re really onto a winner here.
Verdict
Unless you want larger volume road tyres then I think there are very few reasons not to opt for the Michelin Power Cup tyres. If you’re a rim brake rider then I think they’re an incredible option, only perhaps falling short for those cornering super aggressively. They’re relatively cheap as decent road bike tyres go, and can easily mix it with pro-tier rubber of equivalent widths. For the financially savvy rider they are a no-brainer, though remember to carry a CO2 inflator with you just in case.
