My new tires.....What the hell did I order?

Yep, these are racing tires. They are extremely thin so that they weigh less and they will puncture easily. They have a high thread count to give them enough strength to handle higher pressures which decreases their rolling resistance because they don't deform as much as a tire running at a lower pressure. They do seem like they will pop going over the slightest bump, but they won't. They are more durable than that but they don't have much rubber on them so they won't last as long as a good training tire. Most cyclists use a lower cost but good quality tire for training and then switch to the race tires for the race itself. They do look nice on your Bianchi though.

For an even cooler look and less weight, remove the nut and the cap from the valve stem. They are not really needed.

They only have a 56.1mph speed rating though .... be VERY careful on your next LIE ride. :lol:

You are already tinkering and it's just a few days old. Gotta love it - obsessed like the rest of us. Enjoy your new bike!!

I got the same tires on my bike right now. They do actually feel great while riding but i am also constantly worried about flats now that i started training rides i'm going to switch them out i purchased a new set of Conti GP4000s and i'll keep these for the main events if i notice that the conti's are a slower tire.

Grandamn,

They won't kill you - but I found in the few weeks that I had a set on my bike that they're outstanding at picking up thorns and road garbage and then puncturing. If you're used to something really grippy like the Conti GP4000s they'll leave you with a few 'brown trouser' moments too if you lean the bike over hard and I don't think it was a coincidence that they were the only front tire I've locked up at speed with the Dura Ace brakes that have ace modulation. That was a sphycter closing moment and thankfully I was braking in a straight line otherwise I would have ground off some serious skin at speed. So underwhelmed was I that I relegated them to the trash.

Those and the Schwalbe Ultremo that came with my Cracknfail - those tires looked ace. Sadly the looks were the polar opposite of their performance.

Gandamn,
Just to give you counterpoint, I've trained and raced on Michelin Pro Race 2's and 3's for years and before that on their Axial Pros which were the precursor design. I really like the way they handle and roll and feel very confident with the way they corner at speed though I definitely think they're a better dry pavement tire. Like any lightweight racing tire they're more susceptible to flats then heavier or thorn resistant tires, but I haven't had an unusually high incidence of flats with my Michelins, certainly less than with Vittoria Open Corsa Cx's or other lightweight high performance tires.

Anyway, they're road tires not track tires though I've trained on the track with them. They won't blow up when you hit your first pothole and aren't dangerous or unreliable at pressure or at speed. You may or may not like their overall ride quality, wet or dry cornering performance or may feel more confident with a treaded tire (many folks do though bike tires don't really need tread the way a car tire with it's much larger contact patch and higher average speeds does). But the tires are very high quality, very fast tires that are a nice compliment to your bike but may or may not be appropriate for the kind of riding you do. If you ride a lot of debris strewn roads for instance while commuting you may want something a bit more puncture resistant.

Tires are pretty subjective and though I've got no argument with Swampy over Continentals being very good choices, I've personally had really good luck with the Michelin Pro Race series so as in everything a lot is in the eye of the beholder. My current favorite wet weather clinchers are the Vittoria Open Corsa CGs with the green tread and I typically race on tubulars but train on the Michelins and have no regrets with them.

-Dave

I went for a ride with them two days ago and love them. The ride was a little less comfortable but I did notice I seemed to have much less friction on the road. Almost as if I was closer to gliding. I finally got my average speed up to 15mph and it was an incline too. Thanks for the replies.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Gandamn,
Just to give you counterpoint, I've trained and raced on Michelin Pro Race 2's and 3's for years and before that on their Axial Pros which were the precursor design. I really like the way they handle and roll and feel very confident with the way they corner at speed though I definitely think they're a better dry pavement tire. Like any lightweight racing tire they're more susceptible to flats then heavier or thorn resistant tires, but I haven't had an unusually high incidence of flats with my Michelins, certainly less than with Vittoria Open Corsa Cx's or other lightweight high performance tires.

Anyway, they're road tires not track tires though I've trained on the track with them. They won't blow up when you hit your first pothole and aren't dangerous or unreliable at pressure or at speed. You may or may not like their overall ride quality, wet or dry cornering performance or may feel more confident with a treaded tire (many folks do though bike tires don't really need tread the way a car tire with it's much larger contact patch and higher average speeds does). But the tires are very high quality, very fast tires that are a nice compliment to your bike but may or may not be appropriate for the kind of riding you do. If you ride a lot of debris strewn roads for instance while commuting you may want something a bit more puncture resistant.

Tires are pretty subjective and though I've got no argument with Swampy over Continentals being very good choices, I've personally had really good luck with the Michelin Pro Race series so as in everything a lot is in the eye of the beholder. My current favorite wet weather clinchers are the Vittoria Open Corsa CGs with the green tread and I typically race on tubulars but train on the Michelins and have no regrets with them.

-Dave

I used to like road racing on the old Vittoria CX tubulars back in the day - a grippy and fairly hard to puncture tyre. I was pretty disheartened about how many punctures I got with the one Open Corsa CX I tried and shocked to see how easily they cut. Definitely a race only tire.

Maybe the Conti GP4000S's have some weird kinship with some higher power or something but I've only had 3 flats in 3 years - and one of those must have been a slow one because I didn't notice it until I got the bike the morning after and got to fix it in the comfort of my garage.

I thought the Michellin Hi-lites were the tire that spawned the Pro Race range? Those things were around back when I was racing the first time around. Them and the NuTrak FasGrips - those were some awesomely grippy tires. They'd almost give Clement Crits a run for their money. I see the Clement Crit has been "rebranded and revived". Nice.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by swampy1970 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
I thought the Michellin Hi-lites were the tire that spawned the Pro Race range? Those things were around back when I was racing the first time around. Them and the NuTrak FasGrips - those were some awesomely grippy tires. They'd almost give Clement Crits a run for their money. I see the Clement Crit has been "rebranded and revived". Nice.

Perhaps the Hi-Lites predated the Axial Pro's but I'm pretty sure the Axial's were the predecessors to the Pro Race line.

Yeah, Clement's were reborn as Challenge tires and their Challenge Criterium is a very nice hand made tubular. I run them on my crit wheels and still run Vittoria Corsa CX tubulars on my deep road rims. They both seem as nice as the old versions. The one tire I lost faith in is the Conti Sprinters. Those used to be a really nice tubular but they feel really dead with their butyl tubes, OTOH they seem to last forever if a long lasting but none to inspiring tire is a good thing 😉

-Dave

Nothing wrong with Pro3's they are a fantastic all round tire. Been using them on bikes for years and had very few flats. They are actually good in the wet as well. Takes a few hundred miles before they really get grippy.

I'm a total noob, so please excuse my noob question. How many miles can you get out of a tire like that? What do they cost?

They are not the cheapest tires on the shelf: performancebike.comProduct 10052 10551 1034963 1 1590008 20000 400013Open ↗

Mileage is a matter of how you ride and surface that you ride on. I have never used Michelon Pro 3 tires but I have used others and they last about half as long as a regular tire, i.e. 2500 miles on a Hutchinson Equinox tire versus 1500 on a Hutchinson Fusion 3. Part of what makes a race tire desireable is the fact that they are lighter than training tires. Part of this weight savings comes by not using as much rubber in the casing and using more threads to give it strength. The tires wear out more qucikly because they start out with less rubber.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by kdelong [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

They are not the cheapest tires on the shelf: performancebike.comProduct 10052 10551 1034963 1 1590008 20000 400013Open ↗

Mileage is a matter of how you ride and surface that you ride on. I have never used Michelon Pro 3 tires but I have used others and they last about half as long as a regular tire, i.e. 2500 miles on a Hutchinson Equinox tire versus 1500 on a Hutchinson Fusion 3. Part of what makes a race tire desireable is the fact that they are lighter than training tires. Part of this weight savings comes by not using as much rubber in the casing and using more threads to give it strength. The tires wear out more qucikly because they start out with less rubber.

Are you using the black Equinox or the ones with the colors.? The reason why I ask is I had a fairly serious crash while riding the "Equinox Red" during a downpour. I have had good luck with Hutchinson tires other than that. I am giving the "Road Intensive" tires a go around right now and have been quite pleased.
Your thoughts?

I was using the black tire as it was on a black and white bike. Red or blue would have looked a little awkward. They were 700C X 23 if that makes any difference. I am not aware that the color makes any difference, did the color band separate from the black band? Anyway, I never had any issues with the Equinox but I don't ride in the rain if I can help it as I need glasses to see and it gets difficult when they get wet. The Road Intensive is a nice tire. It is similar in design to the Fusion 3 but is made with a high mileage thermoplastic compound.

No seperation of the color band. The tires are still perfect. My shoulder still reminds me that I am human.

reviews about tires on the interenet should be taken with a grain of salt. it's like asking which saddle to get. you can give advice but really there are several points of personal set up that can be a deciding factor. I PERSONALLY will never buy a pro race 3 again. had bad luck with tons of flats. does that mean its a bad tire? no, I just dont have the money to keep buying a high end race tire. Same goes for the gatorskin tire from continental. People rave about them, but I had 3 different sets, all had sidewall blowouts within a month. Will never buy again. Could have been something I did when installing, could havebeen air pressure to high/low, terrain....etc. I ride on specialized mondo pro's currently and love them despite it's low rolling resistance. I have nearly 3000 miles and not one flat. It may not be the fastest tire but it has proven to be reliable for me. Unfortunately they stopped making them and I going to try the gp4000 (continental) next. I have also had fatntatsic luck with the serfas seca RS tire. Cheap but very durable! comes in tons of colors also. If you want a solid tire that you can feel asured that you wont be on the side of the road each ride fixing a flat, i would really look into the serfas tire. Not going to be your number 1 race tire out there, but I would bet money you would be happy with it.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by bianchi10 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

reviews about tires on the interenet should be taken with a grain of salt. it's like asking which saddle to get. you can give advice but really there are several points of personal set up that can be a deciding factor. I PERSONALLY will never buy a pro race 3 again. had bad luck with tons of flats. does that mean its a bad tire? no, I just dont have the money to keep buying a high end race tire. Same goes for the gatorskin tire from continental. People rave about them, but I had 3 different sets, all had sidewall blowouts within a month. Will never buy again. Could have been something I did when installing, could havebeen air pressure to high/low, terrain....etc. I ride on specialized mondo pro's currently and love them despite it's low rolling resistance. I have nearly 3000 miles and not one flat. It may not be the fastest tire but it has proven to be reliable for me. Unfortunately they stopped making them and I going to try the gp4000 (continental) next. I have also had fatntatsic luck with the serfas seca RS tire. Cheap but very durable! comes in tons of colors also. If you want a solid tire that you can feel asured that you wont be on the side of the road each ride fixing a flat, i would really look into the serfas tire. Not going to be your number 1 race tire out there, but I would bet money you would be happy with it.

Reviews about anything on the Internet, or anywhere else should be taken with a grain of salt. That is why they coined the phrase:"Your mileage may vary". There will be people who are going to love a certain product because they have had good results with it and there will be those that hate it because they have not had good results.

If Serfas Seca RS tires are your gold standard, check out this review site: buzzillions.comserfas seca rs folding road tire reviewsOpen ↗

Now twice as many people liked them as disliked them, but with a 33% disapproval rating, I would be a little worried about betting money on it.

Grandamn-

I recently bought an identical Bianchi C2C to yours in Celeste. I love it!

I'm wondering what type of rims and tires you have and if I have the same thing.....clinchers or tubulars. My tires are Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Slicks, 700x23c. Rims are Reparto Corse.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by kdelong [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Reviews about anything on the Internet, or anywhere else should be taken with a grain of salt. That is why they coined the phrase:"Your mileage may vary". There will be people who are going to love a certain product because they have had good results with it and there will be those that hate it because they have not had good results.

If Serfas Seca RS tires are your gold standard, check out this review site: buzzillions.comserfas seca rs folding road tire reviewsOpen ↗

Now twice as many people liked them as disliked them, but with a 33% disapproval rating, I would be a little worried about betting money on it.

They aren't my standard. I like my specialized mondo pro's but they dont make them anymore. I was simply saying that I have had great luck with the serfas tire along with everyone else I have tlaked to about such tire. I would still bet money that if he were to buy this tire, he would in fact enjoy it.