Road Cycling - Life of my tires

Hello,
I have the Michelin Axial Pro . These are about $45 per tire OUCH.

How many miles should I get from these? Any suggestions on a like tire for a better price?

I'm not too familiar with tires...

Thanks,

My new road bike (2-1/2 months old) came with Axial Pros. I had 2 flats the second week I had it. I read on Michelin's website http://195.154.239.169/cycle/tires/axialpro.htm and also user's comments and decided that these tires are made for racing and riding on the "ideal" road (no glass, trash, etc.).

I put Continental Ultra 2000 (that's what I had on my old bike) and haven't had any flats yet. I rode Contis last summer and had 3 flats in 4 months riding through all sorts of trash on the road.

The Michelins are great tires for racing (they are great on fast corners) and road riding as long as the road has no debris.

Anyway, from what I've heard and read, you should get 1000-1500 miles as long as you rotate them periodically.

Ron

There are a lot of factors that determine tire life. The Axial Pro is a sweet tire, in my opinion, but for $45 you get a tire that's light, has low rolling resistance, good traction, real good "feel", but lousy mileage numbers. My numbers are a little better than RonH's. I got about 2K out of one of my Axial Pros before the threads started showing. (The mate is in temporary retirement until I can spring for $45. :() Many of these miles were during cold and moderate weather. I'm convinced that tires wear much faster when you can fry an egg on the pavement.

There are lots of tires for around $20-$30 that wear better, and don't lighten your wallet nearly as much when you replace them. I'd suggest checking out some of the lower-end Michelins or Contis that are oriented toward general purpose riding. You might want to check out tire reviews on roadbikereview.com to see what opinions are.

FWIW, there's a similar thread in the VeloNews tech talk forum. The concensus there seems to be ~1000 for an Axial Pro on the rear. I was in Performance today... they had a lot of tires in the $10 (well, $9.99 actually) to $20 range. The compound on these tires was pretty hard, and fairly thick. A little heavier, but more durable. I darn near picked up a pair of Michelin Bi-Sports... at $10 a pop, what's not to like?

I've got close to 2K on mine with only one flat due to a baseball size rock (my fault).
Most of my riding is on clean bike path so I would imagine milage would be less on the road.
The grip is the best I've had.
I didn't know they were so expensive since they came on the bike.
Food for thought.......

I think I got 2 or 3 thousand miles out of mine, I don't keep track.
You can get flats out of any tire, glass and nails etc. goes through all of 'em. I've used Michelins exclusively on my favorite race bike frame because the ride qualityand performance is better than anythng I've tried, and I've tried many.
Learn how to "wipe off' your tires after you go through glass and inspect them, removing any imbeeded glass particles etc. you find, when you take breaks and after you get home, before they work into the tube, and you"ll have far less flats.

Thanks Guys. Very good info.

I have 800 miles on them now and I have only had 2 flats. both were while I was just turning in a circle at about 1 mph...Answer, GO STRAIGHT...hahaha,

I must say that I have only had one tire to give me an idea of rides but I have come to read these posts and from riding I have found that I love these tires...


Thanks for all the info............................

Recently bought myself or gifted myself a Michelin Axial Pro about ten days ago, so far I had seven flats on them the size of the tire I bought was 700 x 20, I think I got a Lemon for a tire.....

Orguasch- You don't have a "lemon" tire you have a lemon size, try 23's you'll have better luck with flats, better cornering and a smoother ride. "Wipe" your tires off and inspect them more often too.
I've used Michelin 23s for years and love them, I tried the 20s once and hated them.

Pat5319, Yes I like using size 20, coz' it has less resistance, and I can really go zoom zoom zoom:D :D :dance: :dance: :dance:

I'm fairly new to riding, and it seems like you guys are saying that 20's and 23's will fit on the same rim. Is that true?

Originally posted by ocr_3
I'm fairly new to riding, and it seems like you guys are saying that 20's and 23's will fit on the same rim. Is that true?

OCR_3,
You are correct, Sir! A given rim will accept a range of tire widths. A regular road rim will, for instance, probably handle anything from 20-25 mm. 23 is the standard and best choice. Very small riders may get away with 20s, but generally they are for time trialing. Touring rims handle slightly wider tires. Mavic's website has tables showing appropriate tire widths for each rim. You might check the website for your particular rims.

RainmanP,

Thanks for the feedback. I have LOTS to learn!

I recently replaced my rear Axial Pro w/ a (700x23) foldable Conti Grand Prix 3000 in hopes it will be a good balance between durability, weight, and road-feel. I had previously sworn off Conti's because of problems with the sidewalls splitting, but the Grand Prix 3000s (and Super Sonic 3000s) don't appear to use the natural rubber sidewalls.

They're pretty light, and the compound is definitely tougher than the APs and SS 3000s. After ~200 miles, I can say the ride is not as good as the APs, but good enough for me. ('Course, I still have the AP up front, which is the tire you "feel" more). Anyhow, so far, so good.:thumbup:

They cost about the same as Axial Pro's.:thumbdn:

I'll post an update when I get about 1500 miles or so on it, if anyone's interested.

Just on tires I have continental 2000 tyres on my norco racer. had them on for 8 months with only 4 flats, although 2 of them were on a training long weekend ride with my group. Very annoying. Was probably due to lots of rubbsih on the roads.

I have 2,000 uneventful miles on my Michelin Axial Carbons, and they don't look like they will need to be changed for some time. My LBS said to expect 3,500-4,000 miles.

seems like a good deal for $30 tires!

I ride Continental Ultra 2000s. They are decent tires and moderately priced. I use 25 mm tires because I put on a lot of miles and I am pretty large (190 when I am pretty lean) and I get about 3000 miles on a rear tire and it seems almost infinite on a front tire.

I put over 3000 miles on my Axial Pros before I got my first flat. I hit a large piece of glass that would have slit any tire. After fixing it with a boot and super-glue I rode another 450 miles on the tire before replacing it.

I replaced it with the Michelin Race Pro because the Axial Pro has been discontinued. Michelin says the Race Pro is the Axial Pro's replacement but has been improved. They claim that there is an additional layer of puncture protection under the tread.

I just through some Serfas Seca FPS on my Trek. They supposedly have a built in layer to protect against punctures. I picked them up dirt cheap on Ebay, so I figured what the heck. I have about 25 miles on them so far. Ill let you know how they hold up. I had two flats in two days with my old tires. :mad:

Conti Ultra 3000s here in 23C. I've got about 500-750 miles on 'em riding on fairly dirty roads (gravel and glass) and there's not a single significant nick in the rubber. Oh and... no flats.

The rear is starting to show slight wear so I'll be rotating them soon.

These are quite durable with nice road feel. They're comfortable but not squirmy. My only complaint is they seem super slippy on tar strips... more so than the cheapish Specialized tires I used to ride in 700x20C.

I'm riding Conti GP3000s and I love them. They're a bit pricey though. :( I put about 4,000 miles on my last set but I would not advise this. I decided it was time to spring for a new pair after I split my rear down the very worn middle on a high speed descent. Luckily I was going straight and near the end of the hill when it happened and even more lucky that it wasn't the front tyre that gave way. I even flatted on that same tyre earlier in the day. Those were the only flats I ever had on them. I suspect I can probably safely get away with 2,500 to 3,000 miles on new GP3000s.

I ride Conti GP 3000s, also. I'm getting around 2,000 mi on the rear and much more from the front. I had very bad luck with Ultra 2000s as the sidewalls tore on at least 3 tires in a row. The GP 3000s are pricey, but I've been buying them off eBay and saving a bundle.