I’ve been searching the old threads for Conti 4000s and Michelin Pro3 Race tires. Seems like some prefer one or the other, but not many people have tried both. Looking for pro/cons/impressions of each tire from those who have actually ridden both. I’ve had pretty good success w/the Conti 4000s, but am curious about how they differ from the Michelin Pro3 Race tires.
I’ll be putting them on my new HED Ardennes (C2 rim). Thanks for your thoughts!
I have both sets of tires on different wheelsets at the moment. I honestly like them both about equally but have found myself going with the Conti’s. I actually just bought about 5 new sets of Conti’s including the Gatorskins and the 4000’s. Tire companies talk about rolling resistance and I honestly can’t tell the difference between the two, I doubt anyone can, probably has to be done in a lab. I feel that the Conti’s have better grip in the turns, my level of confidence in hard turns is much higher on the Conti’s over the Michelins. That being said, if you are doing Tri’s and not road races either would be just fine.
I just swapped out my first set of Conti’s with about 3000 miles on them and only 2 flats, one was a bump I would have blown using any tire, I was suprised my wheel wasn’t ruined. The tires actually had decent tread life left, but the side wall gave and a bubble was starting to form. With any tires that are that light, I was very happy to get 3000 miles on them. I have about 1500 or so on the Michelins and no flats thus far, a stem broke on a tube, but that doesn’t count. 
I’ve been searching the old threads for Conti 4000s and Michelin Pro3 Race tires. Seems like some prefer one or the other, but not many people have tried both. Looking for pro/cons/impressions of each tire from those who have actually ridden both. I’ve had pretty good success w/the Conti 4000s, but am curious about how they differ from the Michelin Pro3 Race tires.
I’ll be putting them on my new HED Ardennes (C2 rim). Thanks for your thoughts!
For clinchers, I’d run the Conti in the front in 23mm width w/ a Michelin in the rear. Conti has a nice and aero shape, Michelin has a low Crr and the aero losses are tiny on the rear and rr slightly lower in the front.
-SD
I have about 1500 miles on both Conti’s and Pro3’s. The only real difference I can say is that the Conti’s are a lot tougher to mount on Rolf’s, Hed’s, and Neuvation wheels.
the pro 3 race tires had a lower rolling resistance in the tests done by biketechreview.com
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I’ve ridden them both. I prefer the feel and ride of the Michelins, it feels a lot like a tubular. But the rubber is too soft and it picks up glass and debris too easily. I went through 2 tires in 800 miles. So I ride the Conti 4000S or 4 seasons for daily riding.
im same as android, i train on the conti 4000s(which def. handle better in wet conditions) and race on the pro race 3’s. i feel the pro3’s roll way smoother and dry handling between the two is a wash. the contis are sticker for whatever difference that makes. i usually run the pro 3’s with latex tubes which could be why i think they roll faster. this is all mute once the 320 tpi open corsa clinchers come to my door though
I’ve run both as well and slightly prefer the PR3s. They both seem to “roll” great and test well (the new 400 S that is). Both are hard to mount (PR3s a bit harder when new). Wet slightly better with the Conti’s? I also think the the PR3s ride nicer/softer (also use latex tubes) and although I find lots of stuff in/on them (I brush off regularly when riding), I rarely ever flat for some reason. Same with others I know, so a pretty durable tire for a “race” tire.
Road bike/training I run the Conti 4000S. For racing I have the Conti GP Triathlon tire, same rubber compound as the 4000S but without the tread pattern so it is completely smooth like the Michelins.
but the side wall gave and a bubble was starting to form.
Last year switched from PR2’s to Conti 4k’s and had two side wall blowouts. Prolly just bad luck, nonethless I now run PR3’s and will never buy a Conti again
I’ve ridden several sets of both and in my experience Michelins get a lot more punctures then Contis. I actually rode a set of Contis for 2500 miles without even a single flat…at the same time I had Michelins on my other bike and I was changing flats from glass punctures pretty often!
I’m on PR3’s now and love the ride, though they are softer than the 2’s, and do pick stuff up. I rode Conti’s for about 10 years, and finally got tired of the sidewalls breaking down (presumably UV, as they’d get brittle and start to slough, peel from the casing, etc.). Haven’t looked back.
I just put a set of PR3s on my TT wheels becuase I think they roll slightly smoother, but otherwise I am mostly a Conti guy because I think they are generally tougher under all-around conditions. I’ve had sidewall failures on Contis, Michelins, and Vittorias, so I hardly think any one brand has a monopoly good or bad; if you ride enough miles, shit will eventually happen regardless, but I think on average I get the most mileage out of the Contis (and least on the Vittorias, FWIW).
I’m on PR3’s now and love the ride, though they are softer than the 2’s, and do pick stuff up. I rode Conti’s for about 10 years, and finally got tired of the sidewalls breaking down (presumably UV, as they’d get brittle and start to slough, peel from the casing, etc.). Haven’t looked back.
Yep, I reckon Conti sidewalls suck too; I think it’s mainly to do with the radial seams. I once had a Gatorskin blow out at a completely untouched and undamaged sidewall seam for no reason. To me that was unacceptable, so I haven’t used Contis since. In many months of running PR3s I only had one puncture, and that was a pinch flat from descending a rocky fire road. Apart from that, nothing, but then I do live in Switzerland where the roads are so clean I sometimes have the impression that they’re swept for the benefit of cyclists.