Michelin moves away from lugged treads with RoadBib tractor tire

The latest addition to the Michelin agricultural tyre range is the RoadBib. The new tyre was specifically developed for contractors using 200+HP tractors; Michelin claims the RoadBib is the “first solution on the market” for this tractor category, and therefore the tyre “defines a brand-new segment of the market.” The RoadBib was presented for the first time at the European Drivers’ Championship 2017 and will be available as of the first quarter of 2018 in the front wheel size 600/70R30 and rear

The latest addition to the Michelin agricultural tyre range is the RoadBib. The new tyre was specifically developed for contractors using 200+HP tractors; Michelin claims the RoadBib is the “first solution on the market” for this tractor category, and therefore the tyre “defines a brand-new segment of the market.” The RoadBib was presented for the first time at the European Drivers’ Championship 2017 and will be available as of the first quarter of 2018 in the front wheel size 600/70R30 and rear wheel size 710/70R42.

Announcing the new tyre, Michelin shares that it co-designed the RoadBib together with agricultural contractors and worked to create a tyre that meets the needs of contractors who engage in intensive road use and demand high performance, longevity and traction.

“The high-powered tractor fleets of farm and construction contractors spend more than 50 per cent of their time on the road – equivalent to 80 per cent of their distance travelled, and are very often coupled to heavy trailers,” comments Michelin. “This was the challenge for Michelin’s R&D engineers; to propose a solution that would work on mainly hard and aggressive soil roads, giving high traction and longevity whilst also working well in the fields on soft soil.”

Michelin calls the tyre’s tread design “new” and “revolutionary,” and the RoadBib is the first Michelin agricultural tyre not to feature a traditional lugged pattern. Instead, it loosely resembles a beefed up 4×4 tyre: The RoadBib tread is made up of 52 blocks that maximise traction, combined with a central spine. This configuration is said to bring 40 per cent rubber in contact with the road surface – some 60 per cent more than a traditional lugged agricultural tyre (according to internal Michelin testing against a MachXBib tyre), extend operating life by around 25 per cent (based on the aforementioned internal tests) as well as a high level of comfort.

“The new Michelin RoadBib is packed full of innovations, and is set to change the way contractors specify tyres in the future,” comments Martyn Pointer, commercial director of Agriculture at Michelin, with responsibility for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics. “Whereas a traditional agricultural tyre might have an average life of 4,000 hours, a Michelin RoadBib will deliver 5,000 hours in service. That’s a significant increase in tyre life, coupled with the benefits of increased comfort, reduced costs and high traction in the field.”