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The Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre looks and performs like professional racing tyre without the high-end price. With puncture resistance, grip, and a smooth rolling performance, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is 10 grams lighter than the earlier Lithion road bike tyre with an impressive increase of 25% in grip.
Features:
- Performance: A lightweight tyre with high levels of rolling efficiency, grip, suppleness, puncture resistance
- Bead: Folding
- TPI: 60 TPI
- Two-tone Silica based tread with smooth centre and chevron shoulder rubber
- Extra supple casing reinforced with puncture resistant crown ply for a comfortable ride with puncture resistance
- 10 grams lighter, with 25% more grip than previous Michelin Lithion tyre model
- Herringbone tread pattern, silica compound
- Weight: 230g
Michelin Lithion 2 Review:
The Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre comes at a hefty RRP when you consider that it only weighs 230 grams, and there’s only 2 differences between it and the Michelin Lithion 2 Pro, the TL-Easy and TL All-Season. The TL-Easy is designed for 25mm width, and features a 13-slot pattern for better hooking and contact with the road. The TL All-Season is designed for 20mm width, with a 14-slot pattern.
Tyre Width Pros/Cons
- 25mm Wide:
- For racing and riding in wet, all-weather conditions
- Better stability, traction, decreases rolling resistance
- Little less of a “smoother ride” where most puncture-proof tyres go from rider to rider
- Requires a wider rim
- Extra tape or a thorn-resistant liner may be required in the event of a puncture
- 20mm Wide:
- Versatile for racing or training
- Smoother roll than a 25mm
- Preferred width for most mass production frames
- Less “vulnerable” to punctures, even on the road
- Requires a wider rim
- Extra tape or a thorn-resistant liner may be required on mass production tyres in the event of a puncture
The Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is a great combination of all three tyre widths. The Michelin Lithion 2 does not have as many central tread slots providing the extra grip and stability, but it still has great tread formation that provides stable grip while still giving a smoother ride than 25mm tyres.
The Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre features neat touches to quality build any race bike should have. The file tread pattern adds a touch of class to what would otherwise be a rather plain rubber tyre. In comparison to the Michelin Lithion 2 Pro, the file tread is a little duller, but still does the job. On the bottom of the tyre, you’ll find that Michelin has added a tread that tackles wet roads as well as offered a unique solution to sidewall cut-throughs.
The Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is a great tyre for wet weather riding, but since it is not advertised as a “wet-weather-specific” tire, I would not use it for racing in wet weather for such a long period of time, just like I wouldn’t use any new tyre, and expect it to last the full race distance, or even just less than a mile of wet weather on a bike. A new tyre should always be broken-in; always.
Also, with a little extra care, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is one of the most puncture-resistant tyre out on the market today. I was surprised at how well its tread pattern gripped curbs, roots, rocks, and logs, but the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre also has an advantage of coming in three widths; 25mm, 20mm, and a medium direction of “no-man’s-land” that I don’t think anybody is making a tyre for, except for perhaps the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre since it is neither a 29er tyre nor a 700c tyre.
Overall, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is a great tyre for winter riding, wet-weather riding, and racing. I would suggest coming up with a plan on how much distance you would like to race in wet weather on your bike. Then you can decide on a slower tyre, like the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre, Nova, or any other tyre with thin tread for that matter.
If you do decide to come up with a plan for wet-weather racing, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre would make a good choice for most cyclists with different tyres to cater for different weather conditions and riding use. It is always good to have different riding and racing options to suit your personal riding style, and the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre, in particular, is a very well-made tyre for anybody that is willing to have at least two sets of wheels for their bike, or a pair of different tread tires to match the width of their rim.
Michelin Lithion 2 – Overall Review:
As a final verdict of the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre, I would highly recommend the tyre to anyone who is in the market for a versatile tread tyre that comes in two widths, with a “middle ground” of a very wide-looking tyre that is the equivalent of 28mm. Overall, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is a great tyre, and has been on my bike for over a year now with not a single puncture.
In the event that you do end up getting a puncture, the Michelin Lithion 2 Road Bike Tyre is very easy to fix with a simple patch and/or a plug. The only trouble would be removing the tyre from your wheel, which can be a little tricky if you don’t have a tool to remove the quick-release skewer that holds the tyre on the wheel, so be prepared to spend no more than 10 minutes removing the tyre from your wheel if that is the case, and expect a little bit of a struggle to get it back on the rim.
