Road Bike Tire Test: Michelin Krylion 2 Endurance

The Michelin Krylion 2 Endurance is a new mid-range tire which is positioned under the Michelin Power range and above the Michelin Lithion 2. The Krylion 2 comes with a 3x110 TPI casing, dual compound rubber optimized for long life while still providing good wet cornering grip, and an HD puncture protection belt that runs from bead to bead which means the sidewalls have protection as well.

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After receiving the Krylion 2 Endurance and inspecting the packaging and tire a bit better, it got to me that this tire looks an awful lot like the older Michelin Pro 4 Endurance (read review). The Pro 4 Endurance also has the exact same specs: 3x110 TPI, dual compound, bead to bead protection, and the specified weight is the same as well. It could very well be the Krylion 2 Endurance is a rebranded Pro 4 Endurance as the top of the line Michelin Pro 4 range has been replaced by the Michelin Power range.

The Pro 4 Endurance is one of my favorite tires as it's one of the few road bike tires that comes with reinforced sidewalls while still providing a decent rolling resistance. Let's run some tests and see if the Krylion 2 comes close to the Pro 4 Endurance.

The specified weight of the 700x25C version of the Krylion 2 is 245 grams; my sample is a bit heavier and comes in at 261 grams. The measured width, at an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars is 27 mm. The measured height is 25 mm. Both measurements come in pretty close to the Pro 4 Endurance which came in at 28 mm wide and a height of 25 mm.

The total thickness of the tire at the center of the tread is 3.0 mm. The sidewalls have a thickness of 0.85 mm. Both these measurements are good as most all-round tires have a tread thickness of 2.5 - 3.0 mm and a sidewall thickness of 0.5 - 0.6 mm.

Maximum allowed air pressure as indicated on the sidewall is 109 psi. I did take measurements at 120 psi to keep all results consistent across the site.

Rolling resistance is quite good for a mid-range tire with reinforced sidewalls. At the high air pressure of 120 psi / 8.3 bars, rolling resistance comes in at 15.4 watts which is 1.2 watts more than the Pro 4 Endurance (read review). At lower air pressures, the gap between the Pro 4 Endurance and Krylion 2 Endurance grows to 1.9 watts at 60 psi / 4.1 bars (see charts below).

In the puncture resistance tests, the Krylion 2 Endurance scores 1 points less in both the tread and sidewall tests. A score of 14 points in the tread puncture test is still better than the majority of the (all-round) road bike tires that come in at 12-13 points. In the sidewall puncture test, the Krylion 2 scores 7 points which is a good score as most tires without reinforced sidewalls come in closer to 5 points in this test.

It's pretty clear to me that the Michelin Krylion 2 Endurance is a rebadged Michelin Pro 4 Endurance (read review) as the specifications of both these tires are exactly the same. Rolling resistance and puncture resistance of the Krylion 2 is a bit worse when compared to the Pro 4, but this could very well be a combination of margins of the tests and manufacturing tolerances. The Pro 4 Endurance was a great tire so I'm sure there will be lots of people that are happy they can switch to the Krylion 2 when stock of the Pro 4 Endurance runs out.

When we compare the Krylion 2 to other mid-range tires, it's a great choice if you're looking for a strong tire for a reasonable price.