Chandlers Adds Michelin X Tweel Turf to Grasshopper Mowers

Chandlers Farm Equipment is offering MICHELIN X Tweel Turf fitments to UK Grasshopper mower customers, targeting contractors that face repeated punctures in grounds maintenance work. The Grantham-based business, sole UK distributor for the American zero-turn mower brand, says the airless tyre and wheel assembly is helping reduce downtime for professional users.

A practical answer to puncture downtime

For contractors cutting verges, parks and public spaces, tyre failure can remove a machine from work at short notice. That is the operational case behind Chandlers’ move to offer Michelin’s X Tweel Turf as a more robust alternative to standard pneumatic mower tyres.

The X Tweel is supplied as a single tyre-and-wheel unit, replacing the existing assembly. Michelin says the design removes the need for air pressure maintenance and avoids the downtime associated with flat tyres. Its UK business page also lists turf care, skid steer loaders, UTVs and truck-mounted forklifts among the main application areas for the airless tyre range.

Justin Thompson, Grasshopper UK Dealer Manager at Chandlers Farm Equipment, said the company had been able to offer “high technology Michelin tyre and wheel fitments” to customers needing a more durable alternative to standard original equipment tyres.

“Punctures are frustrating for the customer, and although they aren’t the machine’s fault, excessive downtime can reflect badly on it,” Thompson said. “Putting the X Tweel Turf tyres on the Grasshoppers takes the blame away and leads to happy customers.”

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Why foam filling is not always enough

Thompson, who has a grounds maintenance background, said foam filling standard tyres can create its own issues. These may include extra weight, greater wear and potential corrosion. Chandlers is therefore positioning the X Tweel Turf as an uptime-led upgrade rather than a cosmetic accessory.

In practice, the benefit is clearest where mowers work in debris-heavy areas. Thompson said a puncture on a standard tyre during motorway verge cutting could mean returning to base for a replacement and losing half a day’s productivity.

The company cited Henley-on-Thames Council’s grounds maintenance team as one recent example. The team maintains riverside areas, parks and town verges, and had experienced a high proportion of punctures before adopting the X Tweel Turf.

Part of a wider reliability trend

The story fits a broader tyre market shift towards reliability, uptime and whole-life operating cost. Tyre News recently reported how Michelin X Multi tyres reduced JAGA Brothers’ fleet costs, with the haulier linking its tyre policy to lower monthly spend and fewer breakdowns.

Tyre News has also covered Michelin’s X Works guarantee for mixed on- and off-road operators, where damage risk, casing resilience and predictable replacement costs were central to the business case.

For grounds maintenance users, the same logic applies on a smaller machine platform. The tyre is not just a replacement component. It affects machine availability, operator productivity and the dealer’s aftersales relationship.

Airless tyres move beyond prototypes

Airless tyre technology is often discussed in the context of future passenger vehicles or autonomous mobility. Tyre News previously reported on Bridgestone and Michelin scaling up puncture-free tyre trials, including air-free concepts for low-speed autonomous applications.

The Grasshopper case shows a more immediate commercial route. Turf, utility and light off-highway machines operate at lower speeds and often work in puncture-prone environments. That makes them a practical early market for airless tyre assemblies.

Michelin says the X Tweel design is intended to perform like a pneumatic tyre while removing flat-tyre downtime. The company also says the spoke structure helps reduce bounce compared with pneumatic tyres and harshness compared with solid alternatives.

For Chandlers and Grasshopper UK, the proposition is therefore straightforward. Contractors pay for uptime, not simply tyre hardware. Where punctures are frequent, the airless fitment gives dealers a stronger aftersales answer and gives operators fewer interruptions in the working day.

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Tagged with: Michelin X Tweel Turf, airless tyres, Grasshopper mowers, Chandlers Farm Equipment, grounds maintenance tyres, zero-turn mower tyres, puncture prevention, turf tyres, off-highway tyres, mower downtime, specialty tyres, tyre wheel assembly

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