Michelin Pro Race 3 or?

downhill paul

I'm after recommendations on an alternative tyre to the pro race 3. my first set of these tyres were 25c, not long after that I sold the bike with them on. my next set were 23c. I can't say I noticed a big difference but from what I have been reading, it turns out there is. I think it's time for a change as both front and rear tyres have cuts in them, one cut in the rear is quite large after hitting the edge of a pot hole (I think)
Is there anything better than the pro race 3 for a similar price? please don't suggest the pro race 4 to me. my girlfriend had a set of these on her road bike (in white) within no time at all the black rubber on the tyre was cracked and split and the white rubber was showing through. I've heard that the continental gp4000 are similar to the pro race 3, are they? any help would be appreciated.

trailflow

Ive just replaced my pro 4's for Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick 25c. They are currently on offer at Wiggle for £13.79. They have 150 tpi vs 110 tpi on the Pro4.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-rubino ... cher-tyre/

Been out on a couple of wet rides and they feel great. Never had any sketchy moments. Running them at 80 psi with 23mm wide rims.

olake92

Regardless of your feelings about the Pro 4 I suggest that you don't write it off instantly. I use Pro 4 Service Course 23mm tires @ 105 psi and they are perfect for 'most' weather riding. I'm currently in Gran Canaria (where the weather has been s**t) and only had one puncture, which was a collision with a rock at high speed. I've been riding here full time so they've had plenty of use. I also used them throughout the race season last year and had surprisingly few punctures.

My UK winter tires are the Bontrager R2s and I love them for being strong but still grippy (which is the usual pay off). I've tried Gatorskins but they're like riding on ice. GP4000s were really nice too, but I found them less grippy than the Michelins.

I actually switched to the Pro 4 SC from Bontrager R4s, which are brilliant but too fragile for UK roads. In fairness, my tubulars are Conti Competitions. The only downside of all my tires bar the R2s is the price (I can't match £14).

With regards to your girlfriend's tires, I have had bad batches of tires from so many brands that it seems to always be a risk that you run.

on-yer-bike

PR4 cracked badly on me and I sent them back to Michelin and they were replaced with SC4 and they threw in 2 tubes. SC4 have always been good for me, better than PR3. I never buy coloured tyres, only black.

downhill paul

I'm also thinking of switching from 23c back to 25c tyres. recent reading has got me thinking that 25c tyres might be slightly faster and have less rolling resistance than the 23c tyres due to a different size and shape contact patch (short and wide for the 25c vs long and thin for the 23c) and less deformation of the tyre wall with the 25c.

downhill paul

Would changing from 23c to 25c tyres make much difference?

olake92

Would changing from 23c to 25c tyres make much difference?

I want someone to explain this to me; the reasoning behind 25s having less rolling resistance is that they handle the imperfections in the road better. If a 23 and a 25 are both at the optimum pressure for the respective tire width, with around a 15% deflection, would they not deflect around imperfections in exactly the same way? I wonder if the studies that espouse 25s are pumping both tires to the same pressure and correctly inflating one while over inflating the other in a bid to keep the variables the same, while ignoring the differences in the tires.

When it comes to aerodynamics, providing the rim is the correct width for the tire, a 23 would be more aero?

Cornering; at the correct pressure, will a wider tire always corner better than a thinner one because there is a larger contact area? Or, does it depend on the speed for some reason that I don't know?

Come on scientists!! :P

dilatory

My Pro4 SCs cut up like nothing else. I bought a few on offer but won't be buying again. GP4000s were my go to but also have picked up a bunch of Vittoria cheap ones for winter. If these don't work I'll go back to the GPs

schlepcycling

I use Pro4 SC 23s on my summer bike and Pro4 Endurance 25mm on my winter bike and they've both been excellent. I was sceptical about the whole move to 25mm thing but when I went from Pro4 Endurance 23mm to 25mm and dropped the pressure a little I swear they are more comfortable (I appreciate the placebo effect could be operating here). As for cutting up, I haven't noticed it being any worse than other tyres I've tried (that doesn't mean that other tyres don't cut up less just that I personally haven't noticed the Pro4 to be any worse).

downhill paul

I think the 23mm tyres have a long thin contact patch while the 25mm tyres have a shorter thicker contact patch. from what I have read, the side wall on the 25mm tyre deflects less than the 23mm sidewall.
I did hear a suggestion of putting a 23mm tyre on the front and a 25mm tyre on the rear to give more grip on the drive wheel. but if a 25mm tyre will give more grip on the rear wheel, you would think it would do the same on the front wheel too.

iron-clover

downhill paul wrote:

I think the 23mm tyres have a long thin contact patch while the 25mm tyres have a shorter thicker contact patch. from what I have read, the side wall on the 25mm tyre deflects less than the 23mm sidewall.
I did hear a suggestion of putting a 23mm tyre on the front and a 25mm tyre on the rear to give more grip on the drive wheel. but if a 25mm tyre will give more grip on the rear wheel, you would think it would do the same on the front wheel too.

Yeah, I think this reasoning comes from motorbikes- but really you want more grip on the front if at all, which helps with cornering and braking, plus it'll help dampen the vibrations to your hands which are more vulnerable than your backside (your legs can act as shock absorbers, but your wrists take a beating).

The only time I can think of more grip on the rear being crucial is on a damp hillclimb, where you will be putting a lot of force through the rear wheel and handling isn't much of a concern.

downhill paul

Maybe I'll stick with the 23mm tyres.

il_principe

Vittoria or Veloflex Open Corsa's in 25mm. Especially if you run deep rims.

downhill paul

I'm currently running mavic aksium s wheels, so no need to worry about a deep rim.
thanks for the advice though.