I am sold on Michelin (no Conti’s, Vittoria, etc; etc; responses please).
Yes, another (ANOTHER) tire question…
but, real world experience only.
My A races of the year (an Oly and an IM). Then a few sprints.
I have ridden the Mich. Carbons for the last 2yrs (no flats in races)…only race with them, then turn them into training tires for the next year.
But, I am looking for “any” edge (especially at 41)…so, for an IM how does the Pro Race 2 (not the light) hold up?
Is it worth the change or In Your Humble Opinion…
I put a new set of pro race 2’s on for IMOO last year, had no problems. FWIW, I use several predecessors to the pro race series over the years, and never a problem until the tires were getting worn out (1500-2000 miles).
Just looking at changing from the carbons to the Pro race 2 based on rolling resistance…seems the PR2 are the tires of choice…i.e. go with the crowd if you want to use Michelin (clincher also…disc, tri-spoke).
I ride ProRace 2’s all the time on my regular every-day wheels. We ride on some terrible roads around here. We even hit the dirt and gravel roads from time to time. In short, the tires take a pounding and I have had a perhaps 2 - 3 flats in the last 3 years. For a race level tire, I have found the Pro Race 2’s to be extraordinarily durable as well. The ST rolling resistance police give the Pro Race 2’s high marks as well, so I am not sure what’s not to like about this tire.
I’ve used them in PCB for about 6 sprints, 3 halfs and IMFL with good luck, there is probably more glass on Bay County roads than anywhere else in the world, with all the whiskey dicks throwing beer bottles out every weekend. These tires don’t need high pressure to perform well either I run around 100-110 lbs.
My carbons lasted forever on my road bike. So I just got 2 new pairs of Carbons - one set of replacements my road bike, and one set for my tri-bike training wheels. I like my PR2s on my tri-bike race wheels.
I’m sold on Michelin.
**Can’t beat the Pro Race 2. The only thing they suck for is the trainer. I can handle that. **
Just a general FYI for folks that ride indoor trainers - any of the high-end clincher tires do not work well on many of the standarrd resistance trainers( regular rollers are fine). One hard indoor ride on a high-end clincher will wreck the tire. You should use a dedicated trainer tire - Continental makes one that seems to be the most redily available or use a low-end clincher tire. I use an old Conti SuperSport on the trainer and it works great - no shredding of rubber at all. I have an old rear wheel that I just swap in, when I am going to ride the resistance trainer. Takes 10 seconds to do and I am good to go.
Yeah, I throw an old Vittoria Rubino on my rear tire for the trainer. Seems to work fine without shredding. I used my pro2race on the trainer last season. They squeak to high hell, but didn’t shred. It did wear faster and had a lot of cuts in it by the time I replaced it. Never once flatted though once I brought it outside!
I’ve trained and raced on a pair thats ~ 1yr old with a few thousand miles, put a drywall screw through the back tire a couple of weeks ago, and still riding it (without the screw!). Nice strong tire, hard to believe its a “race” tire. Also, can easily change a flat without tools on my ksyrium’s.
i cannot say i’ve noticed any problems riding Michelin carbons or PR2s on our computrainer. its certainly not good for the PR2s and they need substantially more roller pressure because of their oval shape. the carbons have a much flatter profile. i wouldn’t want to put new race tires on a wheel that was going to be used in the CT, but we’ve been quite happy with the result of putting PR2s that we consider too used to be race worthy on rear wheels and riding them on the CT, and the same with carbons that are worn out from too much road riding. some of us don’t happen to have a spare rear wheel with a campy block on it just sitting around.
I agree PR2 are great and train and race with them. Before using PR2s for training I used Michelin Megamium 2s and they are nearly as good in terms of rolling resistance and last for ages - I did 6000km on them on rough country roads and didn’t get any punctures. They have a rounder X section than PR2s and work fine on my trainer. They are very cheap on Ebay and good tyres for a training bike.
Another nice thing about them is that you can run the 20 up front and it is a good match for Zipp rim profile (I think they run a hair wide). Then run the 23 in the back for better comfort, wear and traction. A great combo and a pretty low cost tire…especially at probikekit.com
“so, for an IM how does the Pro Race 2 (not the light) hold up?”
I use Pro Race for everything. I use standards in 700x23 for training and Pro Race Lights in 700x20 for racing (I’ll leave a 23 on the rear for races on rough roads…well…I’ve done this ONCE, anyway…)
I had some Carbons a couple of seasons ago but didn’t really get any more training mileage out of them than a set of Pro Race 2s, so…I’ll stick with the Pro Race as I like it’s ride better.
My advice is to ride your carbons until they are toast, get a set of Pro Race Lights for races (and some latex tubes to go with them), and then replace the carbons with Pro Race when it comes time to do so.
