MICHELIN Starcross 5 110/90-19 62M Hard Tyre Each

The StarCross 5 range is available in four different versions: hard, medium, soft and sand. In terms of usage parameters, the hard is on par with the previous range, the medium and soft now have wider terms of reference, while the sand is now more focussed on what its moniker suggests: sand.
Michelin fully expects the medium tyre to be the biggest seller in Australia, and like the other three versions it features a self-cleaning tread characterised by fine horizontal lines to help release build-up. Moreover, the soft tyre has 'mud-phobia' bars, while the sand tyre has mini scoops to purge the fine stuff quickly.

Lighter casing has reduced weight by as much as 15 percent, with the average across the StarCross 5 range about 10 per cent. The most obvious by-product of trimming the 'fat' is less unsprung weight, which has palpable benefits in terms of braking, handling and general manoeuvrability.

The lighter casing is down to a new production technology, with the three-ply nylon design jettisoned in favour of a two-ply polyester construction. Michelin claims the update has not only reduced tyre 'rebound' but lateral rigidity remains unaffected. And the StarCross 5 tyres also also require less 'warm-up' compared to their predecessors.

With the new casing, Michelin also says that riders can now run higher tyre pressures — up to 3psi more than the old Starcross range — without compromising performance.