Michelin boosts renewable content of e-bike racing tires

In France, tire giant Michelin has launched tires for motorcycling racing that contain several biobased materials, including natural rubber, oil from orange and lemon peels, pine tree resin, and sunflower oil. 

The tires will debut at MotoE, a European circuit event that only allows electric motorcycles and has named Michelin its sole tire supplier. 

Michelin said before the 2021 MotoE series that a third of the material for its tires would be renewable, and the figure has inched closer to 50% ahead of the 2022 event. Michelin director of technical and scientific communications Cyrille Roget tells Driving the increase can largely be attributed to the use of more natural rubber.