Customer Reviews

Michelin Krylion Carbon Road Bicycle Tire

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just finished 2000 miles (rear tire) on one of these and couldn't be happier. I bought another one for replacement and could not mount it onto my wheel. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that this Krylion that I had just bought had a slightly thicker bead than my other one (bought about 1 year ago) and was made in Taiwan instead of France. I ended up putting this tire on a different bike since I could not mount it on my Campy wheel (after destroying 3 tubes and 3 tire levers). I'm sure the "new" Krylion will otherwise be as good as my last one, but I don't think I will buy these again- at least not for this bike.

Excellent Tires. I was using Pro Race 2 and Pro Race 3 tires. Pro Race 2 were very good but Pro Race 3s were awful. They flat all the time. I had only one flat in 1400 miles of riding and that was from a tiny nail that I cannot blame on the tire. I believe the tire life will be good as well. I swapped rear and front tires after 1300 miles and the rear had plenty of tread left. The front had almost no observable wear. I hope to get 3000 miles from the set.

I love this tire ! It handles better than the older carbon tires and will grip the road on tight turns.I can go 60 or 70 miles in a day and never worry about a flat.Great colors as well!!

I weigh 165 lb. and commute 33 miles/day roundtrip from San Jose to Fremont, CA, putting around 7000mi/year on my Madone. I ride with the Pro3 on the front and for the past 6 months with the Krylion on my rear. I bought this for the rear because it's touted as a long life tire and the Pro3 was flatting too easily (no problem with the Pro3 on the front though).

I have 2 problems with this tire.

First, it's extremely tight to put on put. Unless you have the strength to tear a telephone book in half forget about trying to flip this tire over the rim without tire levers (this is something I miss from when I was using Bontragers). This is annoying since I often have to replace the inner tube after dark, and it's not easy to see the tube hanging over the rim. Hence, I've punctured several inner tubes while replacing them because the tube gets caught between the rim and the lever.

Second, when the tire does flat it seems to do so explosively. I'm pumping it to 110 psi so I'm not overinflating. However, in just 6 months I'm on my third Krylion. The first tire had a slice that destroyed it. That's just bad luck, but the tear seemed to go well beyond where the slicing took place. The second tire had only a puncture which a patch on the tube should have been able to fix, but again the tear went well beyond the initial point of failure and the tire was destroyed. I'm using up the last Krylion in my stock and I won't be buying this tire again. My feeling with this tire is that the protective strips have poor tearing resistance.

My next rear tire will be the Continental Grand Prix 4-Season which has 2 protective layers of vectran. Hopefully this has enough strength to handle the rigors of city commuting.

9/10/11 UPDATE: My third Krylion (rear tire) was once again destroyed after about 700 miles in same manner as the others. It exploded and ripped beyond the intial point of failure in what should have been a routine flat. The Continental Grand Prix 4-Season has had no flats since I've switched over 2000 miles ago, and I've hit some hard debris. The Continental, being a winter tire, is stickier and doesn't roll as fast as the Krylion, but as a commuter I'm more interested in not getting flats. I think if Michelin were ever to replace the puncture breaker of the Krylion with vectran that would be my choice for a rear tire because I did like the way it rolled.

with less than 100 miles on a tire had a small rock/pebble/something created a blowout in the sidewall while riding on pavement. They may be nice, light and puncture resistant but my original tires lasted for probably 1500 miles before I got these to replace them. If you buy these carry a sidewall patch (duck tape/dollar bill) and a spare tube (or two). I will probably replace my blown out Krylion with something else......

I found the performance of these Michelin tires to be adequate. There doesn't seem to be too much in the way of rolling resistance and they grip the road well. The road seems to have eaten these tires up...I have less than 1,000 miles on it and the tires are full of holes--that may say something about the quality of roads out here in Hawaii. I'm getting a flat every time I ride. My next tire will be something a little sturdier.

I am very happy with these Michelin Krylion tires. I use the 700x23 black/red tire. I have worn out 3 tires and have never gotten a flat on them. I just changed the front tire after 3700 miles because the rubber looked like it was getting small splits. I replaced the rear tire after about 2000 miles because the tire was worn to the point that it was squared off rather than round where it meets the road. I am 150 pounds and pump them up to 115 psi.

All 3 of the tires that I have used so far said they were made in France. I bought 2 more 700x23 black/red from Amazon last week and they also say made in France.

My bike came with Specialized Mondo Pro tires. I'm not an expert, but these Krylions seem to roll just as well. Also, with the Specialized Mondo Pros every little spec on the road (like gravel, sand) seemed to stick to them which drove me crazy. These Michelin Krylion tires grip well but road debris does not stick to them.

The only downside is they are not that easy to get on the wheel. My thumbs are usually sore by the time I am done installing the tire, but hopefully the fact that it is tight means it will stay in place better.

I've been riding on these tires for about a year now and they're still holding up great. I've had only a few (<5) flats in this time, which is impressive in the goathead-infested Albuquerque. The rolling resistance is the lowest of any tires I've ridden on, but they still hold the road great.

Compared to Gatorskins:
The Krylions are as puncture resistant, if not more.
The Krylions have a smoother ride.
The Krylions give a faster ride.

I'll certainly buy these again, if they ever wear out.

This tire replaced a blowout I had from construction debris near the house. There are a lot of sharp rocks that I am not always able to avoid. So far, I have had zero issues with this as a replacement tire with daily use. I put about 6 miles a day (sometimes upwards of 9) and only have a few areas where the streets are not as clean as I'd care for.

I will have zero hesitation repurchasing these tires if they continue to perform as they have.

I ride about 2,500 miles a year in Denver and in the mountains just outside of Denver. This tire handles great and is quite durable. I usually get about 2,000 miles on the Krylion with very few flats. I've ridden several different tires, including the Michelin's Pro 3 Race and Lithion, but have found that the Krylion best suits my needs of wanting a durable tire that handles well.