NEW MICHELIN CITY Pro – The puncture-resistant tyre
Designed for intensive urban use and to be subjected to the most demanding of impacts and stresses, the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre offers three significant advances in comparison with its predecessor and rivals, namely unprecedented robustness to substantially reduce punctures, enhanced safety and longer life. It is intended for small motorcycles of up to 150cc and big-wheeled scooters.
Whether it is used by a city-dweller commuting to and from work, a motorcycle taxi rider or a delivery rider dealing with big-city traffic jams, the MICHELIN CITY Pro is perfectly adapted to the needs of its users. Its overall package is the product of a convergence of innovations and optimisation work:
- MICHELIN’s technologies yield a more robust tyre that is 20 per cent more puncture-resistant than rival products.
- Its specifically developed compound ensures a 10 percent longer lifespan than that of its competitors.
- Finally, its new tread pattern delivers enhanced grip on dry, wet and slippery surfaces.
The salient features of the new MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre can be summed up as greater strength and safety over a longer distance, an achievement which embodies the MICHELIN Total Performance plan to push out the envelope in all the areas that affect tyre performance simultaneously and uncomprisingly.
The MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre is the second new addition to Michelin’s motorcycle range in 2014 after the MICHELIN Pilot Road 4, and is available in 21 sizes for wheels of between 14 and 18 inches and speed ratings ranging from ‘P’ (up to 150kph) to ‘S’ (up to 180kph).
MISSION
Users’ demands
When a means of transport serves also as a work tool, it naturally needs to be strong and reliable whatever the circumstances, and tyres obviously play an essential role when it comes to maximising mobility. Michelin made this parameter a key priority throughout the development of the new MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre.
Its designers paid careful attention to ensuring they understood the needs of its users who daily ride to and from work on difficult roads and need a blend of strength and durability, with the accent still very much on safety.
This was no mean challenge when you reflect that this tyre must be capable of meeting user needs in all kinds of weather. Taking into account this variety of challenges, Michelin had to deploy all its expertise to create the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre, a solution featuring a raft of cutting-edge technologies.
Users
The MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre was designed to meet the needs of frequent riders (up to six or seven days per week and covering between 150 and 200 kilometres per day) who may be travelling alone, with a passenger or with a load and in demanding traffic situations (traffic jams, frequent stopping-and-starting, wet and slippery roads or uneven surfaces) and who expect safety, long tyre life and no time lost due to punctures.
The launch of this new tyre, which meets the needs of customers in Southeast Asia, is ideally suited to the working environments of its different markets. Indeed, it provides an effective solution to the sort of damage that can be caused by sharp objects such as nails and glass debris, as well as by deteriorating asphalt, potholes, and unexpected changes in grip, including drain covers, painted road markings and gravel.
The MICHELIN City Pro tyre is THE tyre solution for greater safety, enhanced robustness and consistently dependable performance for motorcyclists.
EXPLAINED
The technologies employed to ensure greater puncture-resistance whilst at the same time offering safety and long tyre life
Unprecedented robustness
MICHELIN Overlap Technology (MOT) incorporates built-in protection in the form of three reinforced plies underneath the tread which is itself characterised by the thickness of the rubber used. This technology yields unprecedented results, since the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre improves puncture-resistance by 20 percent compared to its best-performing rival*. This result was confirmed by an in-house test conducted by Michelin during a 444,000km-long run in real-world conditions with 48 motorcycles: only one puncture for every 100,000km covered**.
Machine used for the standard perforation energy test. This test provides proof that it is necessary to expend 20 percent more energy to puncture a MICHELIN City Pro tyre than is required to puncture its best-performing competitor
* Braking Energy tests carried out by TÜV Rheinland Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. between March 3 and March 9, 2014, comparing the MICHELIN City Pro (80/90-17 50S) with the IRC Eagle Grip NR73 (80/90-17 44S) and DUNLOP TT900 and D104J (80/90-17 44P). Individual results may vary depending upon motorcycle type and operating conditions.
** In-house tests carried out by Michelin in normal conditions of use in Bangkok between November 14, 2013, and March 26, 2014, with 48 motorcycles. Individual results may vary depending upon the motorcycle and operating conditions.
Improved air-tightness thanks to the tyre’s internal rubber which protects the inner tube and helps to minimise the risk of loss of air pressure as a result of abrasion.
Longer tyre life
The new compound especially developed for the MICHELIN City Pro tyre marks an improvement over that of the former MICHELIN M35. Tyre life is 10 percent longer compared with the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre’s best-performing rival*. Once again, this was confirmed by the results of an in-house test carried out by Michelin in Bangkok between November 14, 2013, and March 26, 2014. Over the 440,000km covered by 48 motorcycles, the average durability of the front tyre was 30,000km, and that of the rear tyre 20,000km.
*Comparison tests carried out by Dekra in June, 2013 with the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre vs. IRC Maxing NR58, Dunlop D104 and MICHELIN M35. Rear tyres: 70/90-17 (MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre / Dunlop D104) and 2.50-17 (IRC Maxing NR58 / MICHELIN M35 tyre).
Enhanced safety
The MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre features an optimised contact patch for even more efficient performance. Its innovative tread pattern ensures even better grip compared to its predecessor, the MICHELIN M35 tyre.
Thanks to its central groove, barley ear pattern and a sea-to-land that which varies according to the motorcycle’s angle of lean (from 30 percent for the central part of the tread to up to 35 percent on the shoulders), the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre is capable of expelling water more effectively than before. Its tread pattern thereby provides improved grip on dry, wet and slippery roads.
During in-house tests carried out by Michelin, this translated, on a wet surface, to a higher angle of lean* and a 1.3-second faster lap time** for the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre in comparison with its best-performing competitor
*In-house test carried out in March 2014, comparing the MICHELIN City Pro to the IRC MAXING NR58, DUNLOP TT100 and DUNLOP D104. Sizes: 70/90-17 and 80/90-17 (MICHELIN City Pro and DUNLOP D104), and 2.25-17 and 2.50-17 (IRC MAXING NR58 and DUNLOP TT100).
The results may vary according to the motorbike and running conditions.
**In-house test carried out in March 2013, comparing the MICHELIN City Pro tyre to the IRC MAXING NR58, DUNLOP D104 and MICHELIN M35. Sizes: 60/90-17 and 70/90-17 (MICHELIN City Pro), 60/100-17 and 70/90-17 (Dunlop D104) and 2.25-17 & 2.50-17 (IRC MAXING NR58 / MICHELIN M35).
The results may vary according to the motorbike and running conditions.
MICHELIN CITY Pro: A comprehensive range
From its first year on sale, the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre will be available in 21 sizes for wheels of between 14 and 18 inches, and with speed ratings ranging from ‘P’ (up to 150kph) to ‘S’ (up to 180kph).
This carefully-targeted range is intended for small-engined two-wheeled vehicles of up to 150cc. It is suitable for a wide spectrum of models, from the Honda Vision 110 to the Yamaha Spark Nano, Piaggio Liberty 50cc, Sym Symphony 125, Honda SH 125i, Yamaha Xenter 125, Honda CG 150 Fan 1 Titan and Honda Wave/Dream.
This catalogue of sizes means that, in the very first year, the MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre will be able to cover 75 per cent of motorbikes on the road in its target countries.
Michelin Total Performance
The new MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre is characterised by enhanced robustness in addition to improved safety in all conditions… and for longer.
More than simply increasing its all-round performance, the objective was to make gains in different areas of performance that are commonly believed to be irreconcilable, namely resistance to punctures, grip on dry, wet or slippery surfaces and durability.
In order to blend all of these qualities in the same tyre, it was necessary to call upon pioneering technologies, extensive testing capacity and advanced production techniques.
The MICHELIN CITY Pro tyre is the concrete embodiment of the MICHELIN Total Performance strategy, which consistently and collectively improves all performance aspects of the tyres, however distinct each one’s function may be.
This challenge was made possible by Michelin’s in-depth knowledge and expertise allied to an investment of more than €640 million for Research & Development purposes.
By way of illustration, purely for tyres intended for two-wheeled vehicles, Michelin’s developers produce 450 prototypes and dedicate 12,000 hours to calculation work every year.
DEFINING
MICHELIN CITY Pro in 10 key figures
1 MICHELIN City Pro, the most puncture-resistant tyre in its class
1 The number of punctures per 100,000km*
3 The number of protective crown plies
10 Additional durability (expressed as a percentage) compared with rival tyres
20 Additional resistance to punctures (expressed as a percentage) compared with rival tyres
21 The number of sizes available
48 The number of motorcycle taxis used during the test in Bangkok
20,000 The average number of kilometres covered by the rear tyre
30,000 The average number of kilometres covered by the front tyre
440,000 The number of kilometres covered by participants in the course of the test conducted by Michelin in Bangkok
