Cobblers! They weren't when I looked yesterday:-(

they were when i looked!

Indeed they are!

The Toyos arrived today, nice 'n early so no having to wait all day for delivery

In case anyone is wondering how they compare to Mabors, it's immediately apparent that where the Mabors are a soft and flexible tyre with an even softer rubber compound around the tyre bead (helps them to seal on the rim), the Toyos are somewhat more like Firestones. The rubber is definitely harder and the sidewalls are stiffer, also the rubber is a uniform grade throughout with no softer compound at the bead. The Toyos are also steel belted, I haven't looked to see whether the Mabors are steel or polyester belted, but the former tend to give better puncture resistance and the latter tend to give a better ride quality.

I've already had them fitted to the rear, the old n/s/r Mabor had suffered from being on a dud Portuguese rear arm (must get a replacement ) and the outer shoulder had worn down to illegal in just 8k miles. The o/s/r has loads of life left and is evenly worn so at last I have a decent spare. Unsurprisingly the tyres were a little less grippy around wet corners this morning and the rear end felt a little skittish on the road, but this was only when I really chucked it around and to be fair the tyres haven't yet had a couple of hundred miles to loosen up a bit. In normal driving I doubt anyone will notice the difference. I've also found that despite new valves, the n/s/r has already needed pumping up and so I'll take it back to the fitter tomorrow morning to be reseated, one of my old Firestones used to need pumping up weekly so my comparison with them seems accurate. In contrast, the Mabors only ever lost pressure due to punctures and a faulty valve. On the positive side, the Toyos should be harder wearing and longer lasting.

If the Mabors had been available for similar money to the Toyos then I'd have preferred them, but as Mabors are currently around £50 plus postage and Toyos are under £30 including postage I have nothing to complain about!

At the French National, a number of traders were selling "Wearwell" tyres. To look at they are a very good copy of the Michelin 125X, though about half the price(50 euro ish). No idea of quality of manufacture or driveabilty though.

Since then it's been back to be reseated twice and had a precautionary valve change. Seems to be airtight now, but only after the fitter tried swapping the two tyres over and then as a last resort he applied a couple of layers of self-amalgamating tape to where the tyre bead sits on the wheel rim. 126 miles later and neither tyre has lost any pressure. Job's finally a good 'un.

Why look at the price instead of looking at the quality, performance and life time. If the cheaper tyres only last half or less the distance of Michelin 125/15 you pay more for the cheaper tyres in the "long run"
Nothing beats Michelin when we talk standard road driving. The quality and performance is outstanding, I’m sure nobody will dispute this. You get what you pay for 30-50-100 bucks per tyre but how often will you need to replace the tyres. I have tested Michelin 125/15 and 135/15 in Australia over the last 8 years against other tyres. Nothing will ever come close to Michelin
If the steering and suspension (king pins, wheel bearings, rims, etc etc) is not spot on in perfect condition, the Marbo suffer significantly more that the Michelin. Michelin is a soft compound tyre and cope very well with the 2cv's unique steering and suspension. Most other none Michelin don't. OK the prices has gone through the roof but I will fit Michelin no matter what.

Yeah, I have Michelin ZX 135 all round, cost £95 each, but hopefully worth it.....We'll see how they perform over time/distance.

Me too, and also because I love the look of the "X" tread pattern. It's possibly the only instantly recognizable tread ever designed. As for lasting well, yes you're right of course, but how many people ever wear out a set of Michies on a 2CV these days? The sidewalls rot before the tread's worn out, so the longevity's not really an issue.

You should never run a car on tyres more than 6 years old unless they've been kept wrapped in the dark!!

Regarding the tread pattern,

Is it just me, or does a 2cv look 'wrong' on any other tyres? It's only subtle but it's like canvas roofs as opposed to genuine ones, it doesn't look quite 'right'.

I'm not saying it is wrong or anything like that, but when you see a 2cv on those awful Mabor tyres or with a Matts style roof, it definately doesn't look natural to me.