Road Bike Tire Test: Michelin Dynamic Sport

The Michelin Dynamic Sport is Michelin's cheapest road bike tire. It's only available as a wire bead version in 23, 25, and 28 mm sizes. Unfortunately, not a lot of information can be found about this tire. Michelin describes the Dynamic Sport as a strong and long-wearing tire and that it's available in lots of different colors. The sparse info I've found is that this tire has a 30 TPI casing, which isn't that exciting.

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The Michelin Dynamic Sport is a direct competitor to other low-cost tires like the Continental Ultra Sport (review), Vittoria Zaffiro (review) and Schwalbe Lugano (review). Because I've already tested those tires, it will be possible to compare them side by side. The Ultra Sport is my current favorite in the low-cost category. Most cheap tires skimp on protection, Michelin does claim the Dynamic Sport to be a 'strong' tire. Let's test and find out if this tire really is strong!

As this is a wire bead tire, it has a higher weight than most folding tires right from the start, the steel wire is heavier than the kevlar wire used in folding tires. Michelin claims 305 grams, my sample comes in at 304 grams. The Dynamic Sport is a small tire for its rated size. Measured width of the carcass comes in at 25 mm, height comes in at 23 mm. This is the smallest 25C rated tire I've measured up to now, most come in at 26 - 27 mm wide on a 17C rim.

The new tire thickness measurements both come in at very average values. Total tire thickness at the center of the tire is 3.2 mm, the sidewalls have a thickness of 0.7 mm.

Maximum allowed air pressure as indicated on the sidewall is 102 psi. I did inflate the Dynamic Sport to 120 psi to be able to keep the results consistent across the site. Luckily, the tire didn't explode :)

Rolling resistance at the over-inflated air pressure of 120 psi is 17.3 watts. At an air pressure of 100 psi, rolling resistance rises to 18.1 watts. At the even lower air pressure of 80 psi, rolling resistance is 19.5 watts.

Rolling resistance is a good bit higher when compared to the Continental Ultra Sport. The Ultra Sport is still the best performing low-cost tire by far. When compared to the Vittoria Zaffiro, rolling resistance is very similar. The Zaffiro has a lower rolling resistance at 120 psi and 100 psi. At 80 psi the Dynamic Sport is able to outperform the Zaffiro by 0.6 watts.

Even though Michelin describes the Dynamic Sport as a sturdy tire, performance in the tread puncture resistance test is awful. With a score of 8 points, it's the lowest scoring road bike tire to date. In the sidewall test, it scores 4 points, which is a low to average value. The Ultra Sport and Zaffiro both score 10 / 4 in those tests.

I really like the Pro 4 tires from Michelin, but I totally can't recommend the Dynamic Sport. Although rolling resistance is decent, it gets outperformed by the Continental Ultra Sport. The Conti fits the same low-cost category but has a much lower rolling resistance. I'm also very disappointed by the performance of the Dynamic Sport in the puncture tests, it scores the lowest score to date and gets outperformed by the Ultra Sport in this test as well.

If you're really looking for low-cost tires, grab the Continental Ultra Sport II's (review). Those are best-in-class tires. As I've said before, I think it's worth it to spend slightly more on tires and go for a pair of Vittoria Rubino Pro (review) or Continental Grand Prix (review). Both those tires have a lower rolling resistance, better puncture resistance, lower weight, and can be had for slightly more than the really cheap tires.