I hate tire shopping. It's not that I hate shopping for gear, in fact I find bike shopping to be overall fun. Tires... hate them. There are too many options and we've all had a bad experience with a set of tires that seem to get a flat every time you go out for a ride. That being said, are there any good, comprehensive tire reviews out there? I'm probably looking for two sets (one for training and the other for racing... maybe), but will probably get disgusted with the cost and end up with a pair of racing slicks that I refuse to take off even when I'm not racing. Last season I was on specialzed mondo's and I loved them... until I replaced the rear due to age with no flats (something like 750 miles no flats!) and then the next day blew out the new tire when it was about 10 miles old (I complained about it on a post last fall). Comon' trifuel! There has to be someone else out there with my same hatred for tires and a solution to the problem.
I've ridden these bad boys
I've ridden these bad boys for the past 5 years or so with very few problems. 1 set per year.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=42278&eid=355
yeah, I rode those last year
yeah, I rode those last year and loved them. I'm about 90% sure i'll be on them again. good golly they are kind of expensive though. $120 for a set! I'm still a poor recovering college student. Loans are killing me! I even patch tubes when I'm not racing, go figure.
Before I got drug to my
Before I got drug to my indoor trainer I was using Continental GatorSkins and loved them!! I road on them this whole summer (1000-1200 miles) and they will run you about 100 bucks for a set. I currently use TUFO tubulars on my race wheels and have never had a flat till this year when I had the bike support guy at a race inflate my tires and he bent my valve (of course saying nothing about it) till my flying mount left me with a flat about 200 yards out of T1. Ive never flatted them and have been riding that brand for three years.
Michelin Pro Race 3. Perfect
Michelin Pro Race 3. Perfect ebay purchase.
Michelin Pro Race 3.
Michelin Pro Race 3.
i get a year out of tires
i get a year out of tires (+/-2200 road miles + unknown trainer miles)
i don't expect them to do much more than that
michelin krylions or pro race 2's
continental ultra gatorskins or 4000S's
i haven't tried the michelin PR3's but it seems like folks here like them too
+1 on the gatorskins. they
+1 on the gatorskins. they last a long time and because of their weight make it a great training tire. i use continental 4400s for my race tires.
Whatever I can get cheap on
Whatever I can get cheap on eBay for training. Usually Conti's or Michelins. For my race wheels, the Zipp Tangente's tubular feel real good.
I just noticed that
I just noticed that trisports has Zipp Tangente clinchers at 178g. I think I'll try out a set for my next race.
http://www.trisports.com/zitatuti.html
so following my recent
so following my recent trashing of tires/tubes due to a pothole incident, I just bought 2 michelin pro race 3 tires for a pretty good deal I guess given the prices these guys put up (63 euro- about 90 bucks). I just have 2 questions before I open the packaging and put em on.
1) the roads here aren't fantastic...can I use these tires to train on--I've got to get in a ton of miles within 5-6 weeks (not really ready for my HIM race)?
2) does anyone have suggestions for how to get a new tire onto a wheel without a hell of alot of trouble? everytime i've done this, i've had to pry it on and it takes a long time....
EDIT: I guess I have more questions...
3) I just found out that I can get into a sprint tri this weekend, do tires need to be broken in? could I use them for this race?
4) I was planning on doing a long ride on saturday (wanted to bike to spain, take the train back). but is it recommended to do a long ride then a sprint tri (i'm training for an HIM -- unconfident about being able to go the distance)...
Amish wrote:so following my
[quote=Amish]so following my recent trashing of tires/tubes due to a pothole incident, I just bought 2 michelin pro race 3 tires for a pretty good deal I guess given the prices these guys put up (63 euro- about 90 bucks). I just have 2 questions before I open the packaging and put em on.
1) the roads here aren't fantastic...can I use these tires to train on--I've got to get in a ton of miles within 5-6 weeks (not really ready for my HIM race)?
2) does anyone have suggestions for how to get a new tire onto a wheel without a hell of alot of trouble? everytime i've done this, i've had to pry it on and it takes a long time....
EDIT: I guess I have more questions...
3) I just found out that I can get into a sprint tri this weekend, do tires need to be broken in? could I use them for this race?
4) I was planning on doing a long ride on saturday (wanted to bike to spain, take the train back). but is it recommended to do a long ride then a sprint tri (i'm training for an HIM -- unconfident about being able to go the distance)...[/quote]
1. I train and race on mine all the time - can put a ton of miles on these tires.
2. Pop the tire into the dryer on low heat for a few minutes - softens it right up - makes it pliable if you put it on then right away.
3. Definitely get some miles on them - verify no pinch flats
4. Just do the sprint for fun.
My heavy training tires are
My heavy training tires are Bontrager Race Hard Case. Wire bead, kevlar housing. Impossible to plat once you get them installed. For racing I could go with either the Bontrager Race Lite or Michelin Prorace 2/3 (whatever you find cheaper, you wont notice a difference)
ok, so i just need to be
ok, so i just need to be sure about my purchase...on the tire they say Michelin Pro3 race service course. is that right? i'm scared these tires are meant for a track and not for the road. oh well. would anyone recommend buying different tires to train in? and only race in these?
You can do it both ways. I
You can do it both ways. I like a wide bullet proof tire for training. My rear training tires are 25s. Better ride quality.
Amish wrote:ok, so i just
[quote=Amish]ok, so i just need to be sure about my purchase...on the tire they say Michelin Pro3 race service course. is that right? i'm scared these tires are meant for a track and not for the road. oh well. would anyone recommend buying different tires to train in? and only race in these? [/quote]
"Service Course" is actually not in English. It's French and means: for "race use."
You can definitely train on those on the road.
The only Pro Race 3 tires I wouldn't use in training are the Light version, and only because they have less puncture resistance than the normal ones.
Picked up Continental
Picked up Continental GP4000's yesterday and went for a ride on them today... If anyone ahd asked me this morning how much of a difference tires make i wouldn't have had much to say. Now, I do. My old ones were beat up cheap low grade tires and just going up to these is a complete 180. Excited to see how they will feel after the next few rides. No complaints yet though, and I did slam a decent size pothole due to swerving cars- tires looked fine when I got home.