MICHELIN Pro-5

New MICHELIN Pro 5 tyre, faster, lighter, tougher.

New for 2025, the MICHELIN Pro 5 promises to improve on its predecessor, the Pro 4. Michelin say that it’s been designed “to meet the needs of the most experienced riders, whether they are fans of long outings or road racing”.

With the line between training and racing tyres becoming ever more blurred, what is the Pro 5? For me a training tyre’s most important feature is reliability. I need it be ready every time I want to ride, no matter the conditions. That means being tough enough to shrug off gritty winter roads; I don’t want to fix punctures roadside in the rain. It also needs grip, winter riding means wet and slippery conditions and I like to stay rubber side down! Last of all, it needs to be long lasting. A training tyre will get used a lot and I don’t want to have to replace it after just one season.

What about a race tyre though? Top of the list is speed. If you’re racing then you don’t want your tyres holding you back. After speed comes grip. Cornering on tyres that you can’t rely on is no fun and could mean a crash. Lastly comes puncture resistance. No point having the fastest tyres if you can’t get to the finish!

The MICHELIN Pro 5 has been designed to sit at the nexus between training and racing; no small task. So how have they gone about this? According to MICHELIN it’s Gum-X compound seems to be doing most of the work.

Rolling resistance

MICHELIN says the Pro 5 has a claimed 35% improvement in rolling resistance compared to the Pro 4. This comes from a combination of compound, tread design and tubeless set-up. Tests were run at the Wheel Energy test laboratory using the same tyre sizes and pressures.

Improved grip

While the new compound is faster, MICHELIN says it also offers improved grip. This is partly down to Gum-X and partly due to wider tyres. The Pro 5 starts at 28mm, then goes 30, 32 and 35mm; that’s a big tyre patch! With lower pressures, thanks to wider tyres, more rubber is in contact with the ground. Add in a new tread pattern and MICHELIN says it has an “excellent wet braking level“. Again Wheel Energy did the testing, this time against MICHELIN’s Power Cup tyre.

Longer lasting

So the MICHELIN Pro-5 is faster, has more grip, what about durability? Before the Pro-5 was released it was tested by “amateur cyclists who ride locally, ultra-distance enthusiasts, and professional racers.” These testers subjected the tyres to over 100,000Km of real world riding. They found that the Pro-5 not only lasted longer, but kept it’s air-pressure over that time. Reading through the press-release this may be down to the tyre’s Bead-to-Bead Shield technology. This adds puncture resistance, as well as preventing air-loss; important when running a tubeless set-up.

The MICHELIN Pro 5 is available in two colours, Black or Classic tan-wall. Looking at the tyre’s product page you’ll see it says “HOOKED, HOOKLESS”. Presumably this means it will be compatible with either system, but we’ll ask the question when we get a set in to review. Sizes are 28, 30, 32 and 35mm in both colours. No official prices yet, but we should get details once they start to hit the shops.

Looking for more MICHELIN tyre reviews? Try Ruth’s Power Cup TLR.