Michelin versus Vittoria

I've been on Michelin Carbon's for the last two years and I will be buying another set this spring. I finally cut the rear tire after ~3000 miles and moved the front to the back and scrounged a slightly used Vittoria for the front so I can sell the bike with 1500 miles of rubber left. I think it's a Rubino Pro.

I'm impressed with the Carbon's. In spite of being a bit heavy, they seem to roll pretty fast. I've had only two flats in two years. The first was a puncture I deserved after riding up a fire road. The second was the aforementioned cut. Both times the tires took quite a while to lose pressure and I got home OK. Even though the cut in the rear was over an inch long, the tube had only one small hole. The tire is still rideable, but it has its share of wear and I don't like riding it with that much casing exposed by the cut.

As far as the Vittoria goes, it does specify a higher pressure on the sidewall (120 or 125 vs. 115) but I'm unsure about the weight. We've had 30 inches of snow in the last two weeks, so I've only had the bike out once with the new tire about a month ago. There was also wheel change made at the same time, so I can't make a direct comparison of the road feel anyway.

As far as the Carbons go, I'd be more concerned about a harsher ride with the 20's than pinch flats. I've had my 23's out on a half dozen or more dirt roads without a problem.

One thing about the Vittorias. I've never worn one out.
I've had to replace them because of a huge bulge that appears on the tire.
After trying four of them, I decided to go back to Michelins.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by CipoWins42
One thing about the Vittorias. I've never worn one out.
I've had to replace them because of a huge bulge that appears on the tire.
After trying four of them, I decided to go back to Michelins.

Thanks for the input! Out of curiosity - how many Vittorias have you had this problem with?

I was leaning towards the Carbons but was concerned about the lack of a kevlar belt as I bought a set of Performance Forte Pros (I believe Panaracer makes their tires) last fall because they support up to 150 PSI (I like the low rolling resistence of high PSI and the ride quality doesn't bother me). Unfortunately I got a 3/16" gash on my first ride out so I'm looking for reliability as I don't want to roach another brand new tire in the spring...

You may want to look at Conti Ultra Gatorskins. They go to 125 psi and have kevlar. They are much faster than the plain Michelin Open Pros, but not as "gummy" a compound. I noticed no difference in cornering or rain. I haven't tried the Carbons. They sound interesting, esp. since they appear to last longer than the Gatorskins.

Vittoria has a great website that tells you all your answers(www.vittoria.it/). The Kevlar belt is to make the tire stronger and foldable. But, it doesn't really pertect you from punchure. The TPI is the protection from pucture. I have road both tires and the Conti Attach/Force. I like the Conti, then michelin, the then the Vits. As stated in previous post - the Conti's wear out a little faster but everyone loves the durablity and ride. The Michelin will last you a season and has great grip. I also had a tread failure on my first set of vits, the shop replaced the tire - but that didn't help the walk back to the car. So in summary - you want a Conti or Mich with a 320 TPI and kevlar belt.

As for 20 or 23s. Depends on the road. I live in Washington and seem to find all the potholes. The 20s give you very little protection from rim to ground. I ran 20s for one season until I had to replace my front wheel after grounding it over a hole. Of course I also weigh 250 pounds - so you might get away with 20s.

Thansk for the info and suggestion on the Conti's I checked the web and they have 370 & 430 TPI for front and rear respectively. I've heard that Conti's in general don't provide as good of a road feel as other tires (maybe due to the high TPI) but that may be mitigated by rider weight.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by sjp
Thanks for the input! Out of curiosity - how many Vittorias have you had this problem with?

I was leaning towards the Carbons but was concerned about the lack of a kevlar belt as I bought a set of Performance Forte Pros (I believe Panaracer makes their tires) last fall because they support up to 150 PSI (I like the low rolling resistence of high PSI and the ride quality doesn't bother me). Unfortunately I got a 3/16" gash on my first ride out so I'm looking for reliability as I don't want to roach another brand new tire in the spring...

I bought a total of four. Had the same problem with them all.
They rode and handled great, until that point.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by CipoWins42
I bought a total of four. Had the same problem with them all.
They rode and handled great, until that point.

How heavy are you?

I have had 3 sets of Rubino Pros and have got at least 5000 miles out of them (and usually quite a bit more than that). I weigh ~70kg.

Have heard good things about the Michelin Carbons but haven't personally ridden them. If weight is an issue for you, these are about 40 grams heavier than the Rubino Pros.

I'm 97kg. I had a set of the carbons and just wanted something different. Never did wear them out or have any problems. Just got tired of looking at them. In fact I just bought another set of them. I put them on my training wheels.