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Head-to-head Updated

Michelin City Grip 2 vs Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews (comfort 40/60). Based on 0 + 3 road tests and 8 + 28 owner reviews. How we score

Different seasons: City Grip 2 and Pilot Alpin 4 are each scored against tires of their own season.

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Michelin City Grip 2
Tire AMichelin

City Grip 2

Summer

± 8Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 84 · 8 reviews

Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
Tire BMichelin

Pilot Alpin 4

Winter

± 7

Tests 71 · 3 tests Owners 89 · 28 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 10 in 2017 Sport Auto Winter Tyre Test (snow handling)

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 80

    Dry

    City Grip 2 +3
    77
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 76 (est.)67
    Reviews found online8792

    City Grip 2: 60% × 75.7 (est.) + 40% × 86.8 = 80

    Pilot Alpin 4: 60% × 67.2 + 40% × 91.5 = 77

    No road tests of dry for City Grip 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.41).

  2. 84

    Wet

    Level
    84
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests≈ 81 (est.)78
    Reviews found online8993

    City Grip 2: 60% × 80.7 (est.) + 40% × 89.1 = 84

    Pilot Alpin 4: 60% × 78.2 + 40% × 93.2 = 84

    No road tests of wet for City Grip 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.55).

  3. –

    Snow

    No comparison
    76
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 3 tests–72
    Reviews found online–83

    Pilot Alpin 4: 60% × 72.3 + 40% × 82.8 = 76

  4. 75

    Comfort

    Pilot Alpin 4 +7
    82
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 71 (est.)≈ 72 (est.)
    Reviews found online7988

    City Grip 2: 40% × 70.7 (est.) + 60% × 78.6 = 75

    Pilot Alpin 4: 40% × 72.5 (est.) + 60% × 87.6 = 82

    No road tests of comfort for City Grip 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

    No road tests of comfort for Pilot Alpin 4. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.20).

  5. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    61
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests–57
    Reviews found online–≈ 66 (est.)

    Pilot Alpin 4: 60% × 56.7 + 40% × 66.5 (est.) = 61

    No owner ratings of noise for Pilot Alpin 4. The owner half is the owners’ average (66): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  6. 74

    Treadwear

    Pilot Alpin 4 +6
    80
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score)≈ 71 (est.)≈ 75 (est.)
    Reviews found online7889

    City Grip 2: 60% × 70.7 (est.) + 40% × 77.9 = 74

    Pilot Alpin 4: 60% × 74.7 (est.) + 40% × 89 = 80

    No road tests of treadwear for City Grip 2. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

    No road tests of treadwear for Pilot Alpin 4. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.36).

  7. 86

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Alpin 4 +5
    91
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Reviews found online8691
  8. –

    Efficiency

    No comparison
    66
    Why this score
    SourceCity Grip 2Pilot Alpin 4
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 2 tests–66
Scores at a glance
CategoryMichelin City Grip 2Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
Relative Score 80 82
Dry 80 77
Wet 84 84
Snow – 76
Comfort 75 82
Noise – 61
Treadwear 74 80
Handling (owners) 86 91
Efficiency – 66

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Not important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Recomputed
Headline score
± 8

City Grip 2

± 7

Pilot Alpin 4

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A City Grip 2

Pros

  • Exceptional grip in both dry and wet conditions
  • Improved confidence and stability when cornering and leaning
  • Solid mileage and tread longevity

Cons

  • Slightly stiffer construction can reduce impact absorption or comfort on rough roads for certain riders
  • Transmits noticeable road feedback and creases
  • Requires a brief warm-up period of around 5 minutes to reach maximum stickiness
All owner themes in the City Grip 2 review

Tire B Pilot Alpin 4

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and handling in snow and ice
  • Sporty, responsive handling on dry and wet pavement
  • High level of comfort and low road noise for a winter tire

Cons

  • Higher price point compared to some competitors
  • Above-average noise level reported by a few users due to the aggressive tread pattern
  • Slight initial tread squirm when brand new before settling in
All owner themes in the Pilot Alpin 4 review

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Michelin City Grip 2 B · Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
CategorySummerWinter
Vehicle typeMotorcyclePassenger Car / Crossover

Which one should you actually buy?

Michelin City Grip 2

Michelin Pilot Alpin 4

Built for different seasons: Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 is a winter tire, Michelin City Grip 2 a summer tire. Each score is measured against tires of its own season, so the two are not ranked against each other — pick by the season you drive in.

Tire A · Michelin City Grip 2
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Alpin 4
Check price on Amazon

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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score. Full methodology