If you're using rims with inner width of 23 or 25, and a tire optimized for 21 or even 19 inner rim width, when you lean the bike when cornering you will be using a combination of sidewall and tread rather than just the tread. Sidewalls don't have adequate grip or puncture protection and shouldn't make contact with the surface of the road when cornering.
I've ridden these tires for 1000's of miles and have gotten very few flats, even when using TPU tubes rather than tubeless. I love how light weight they are it seems impossible to have this much flat protection with this little material.
You can't go wrong with these! Unless your supported by a professional race team these are tires you want for reliability, durability, and speed for 99% of your road riding.
Be careful with clearance you should add at least 1mm to Enve's stated tire size. Right now, the 29 on my Enve SES 6.7 with 23 inner rim width is 31.4mm @55 PSI tubeless. Enve says on the box the 29 will be a 30 on a 23 rim, but I get 31.4...
I've never found these hard to mount and I've done it both tubeless and with tubes on all kinds of wheelsets. I bought an Airshot a while back and that's been worth its weight in gold for mounting tires.
In the past I sometimes bought aftermarket cassettes, and when I'd bring the bike in to get help smoothing out some janky shifting, the first thing that I would hear from the mechanic is do you have a Shimano cassette you can install? The advantage of shedding a few grams for a uniblock cassette don't seem so great when you can't get a clean, reliable gear change.
When I was racing, I would spring for the DA cassette for my race wheels, and if money were no object, I'd probably spring for that, but nowadays. Ultegra is the go-to.
I usually try to ride on Continentals for my road bike. I like the look of the blacks and had to replace my usual Gatorskins due to the tire was worn down flat on the riding surface. I was going to change it after my ride anyway and had a rear spontaneous sidewall blow out for the first time with Gatorskins. I have had tire chunks disappear on top of a Conti before noticed after a ride too. I purchased these to go with my replacement after the blowout. I feel they are smooth and hold in the corners with speed. I also like how they look an it's about confidence in the product. So far so good!
I've used a lot of tires in my day and can never quite find the Goldilocks tire. If they're fast and grippy, like a conti gp5k, they're not durable. If they're durable, they're heavy and ride like a wooden wagons wheel. These Michelin jawns are the best tires I've ridden in years. They're light, grippy, and durable. Plus, if you get them on sale, they don't break the bank like the contis will.
Installation was easy and tubeless setup was straightforward. They seem to be true to size but I have not actually measured them.
On race day, I'll use a different tire. But for training, fondos, and group rides, these are perfect. I've got around 500 miles on them so far and they still look new. I hope they last, because otherwise I will look like a fool.
