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170 Posts
Years ago I bought a bunch of Michelin Pro Race (the original ones). They were black, they had no tread, they didn't have any flashy logos (they had an understated logo), they were light, they rolled well, and they lasted at least 3000 miles.
Now I'm in the market for tires again - what the hell happened? The new version of the Pro Races (3s) suck and last 1500 miles, evidently the Contis have chunks explode off of them in the second ride, and Vittoria is making tires with channels to get rid of water even though bicycles can't hydroplane. I understand that everyone's experiences with tires varies, but it seems like today's tires are a total gimmick.
The Conti 4000 S seems nice but it's got ridiculous labeling which basically says "look how much I am willing to spend on tires" and useless patches of tread. Vittoria seems to have forgotten what makes a good tire so they just make 22 different kinds of them now, and they simultaneously refuse to admit that any of them have drawbacks while also offering special tires for every possible riding condition. Oh, you might ride over some bumps? Here. Oh, there's a chance it will rain on your ride? Take this. Everyone rides over crappy roads sometimes, and everyone gets rained on sometimes, and your tire has to not suck in all of these conditions, and even if you have enough wheels to keep a specialized set of tires for each combination of circumstances you will be riding in, the fact is that the same ride contains both wet and dry roads, bumpy and non bumpy roads, so offering tires not designed to handle everything is silly.
Anyway, does a tire exist today with the following criteria?
- No tread at all (this does not ever matter for road tires)
- Black (nicer looking anyway, but doesn't being a different color mean they forgot to add the compound that makes you actually grip the road?)
- Not a logo billboard
- Somewhere on the level of lightness/ride quality of the old Michelin ProRaces.
- Not a Hutchinson (sorry, there's only so many problems you can have before you give up on a brand)
Thanks.
Now I'm in the market for tires again - what the hell happened? The new version of the Pro Races (3s) suck and last 1500 miles, evidently the Contis have chunks explode off of them in the second ride, and Vittoria is making tires with channels to get rid of water even though bicycles can't hydroplane. I understand that everyone's experiences with tires varies, but it seems like today's tires are a total gimmick.
The Conti 4000 S seems nice but it's got ridiculous labeling which basically says "look how much I am willing to spend on tires" and useless patches of tread. Vittoria seems to have forgotten what makes a good tire so they just make 22 different kinds of them now, and they simultaneously refuse to admit that any of them have drawbacks while also offering special tires for every possible riding condition. Oh, you might ride over some bumps? Here. Oh, there's a chance it will rain on your ride? Take this. Everyone rides over crappy roads sometimes, and everyone gets rained on sometimes, and your tire has to not suck in all of these conditions, and even if you have enough wheels to keep a specialized set of tires for each combination of circumstances you will be riding in, the fact is that the same ride contains both wet and dry roads, bumpy and non bumpy roads, so offering tires not designed to handle everything is silly.
Anyway, does a tire exist today with the following criteria?
- No tread at all (this does not ever matter for road tires)
- Black (nicer looking anyway, but doesn't being a different color mean they forgot to add the compound that makes you actually grip the road?)
- Not a logo billboard
- Somewhere on the level of lightness/ride quality of the old Michelin ProRaces.
- Not a Hutchinson (sorry, there's only so many problems you can have before you give up on a brand)
Thanks.