"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - goodbye pro-race2's

I've had a set for about a month, I always pump them up to 115 before a ride and at least 50% of the time I get a pinch flat within 20 miles. I hover around 170lbs, I can only surmise that these things are meant for pristine pavement-criteriums and guys under 160. They weren't cheap and I regret not just getting another set of Kyrilion Carbon's, I've never trusted them enough to race on them.

Maybe it's bad luck?

Maybe it's bad luck?

I know everyone raves about how "supple" they are. It reminds me a little of the higher end Vittorias, supple=cuts easily, picks up crap off the road and delicate sidewalls. Maybe its the rim, the Reynolds Altas are pretty narrow and have a pronounced bead lip.

I weigh around 200 at racing weight and I ride on ProRace2s. I can't say I've ever pinch flatted them without a previous puncture to lose tire pressure. Yeah, they cut easily, but so does every other tire on the market. They are far from supple; they're hard and grip well.

I actually swapped my rear tire out for a Carbon after I cut through the casing on my last ProRace2. I haven't noticed much of a difference between the Carbon and the old tire.

I run Vittorias Open Corsa Evo LMNOPs on my other bike. I don't like the feel of them as much, but they have way more give than the Michelins. They work for where I ride them, so I can't complain.

I train and race on my P2Rs, and this season my weight has fluctuated between 175ish and 190ish lbs. I've flatted twice over about 6,500 miles. I run 110lbs front/rear, the one time I've gone up to 115 on my Alta Races I flatted for no apparent reason while sitting at the starting line...

I've also pulled off STUPID moves during races where a less sticky tire would have left me with a monster case of road rash following an epic lowside. The P2Rs stick :D

I think you may just have a bum set.

I'm 200lbs and ridden Pro Race 2's for probably like 8000 or so miles and only one flat....last thursday in fact.

What color are they?

I've flatted no more/less on pro2 races, but i definitely prefer the ride they give.

I've never gotten a pinch flat on the pro2s. The flats I have gotten were all when the tires had more than 2000 miles on them. Maybe you're just having bad luck?

Oh, and I'm 180 and ride a lot of chip seal and constantly have to navigate around broken beer bottles.

I dont know how many miles ive put on my mine but I have no flats yet. Ive ridden many miles of gravel with them and use the same ones on the trainer

Check to see if your pressure gauge on your pump is accurate...also make sure you're not catching the tube between the tire & rim.

Check to see if your pressure gauge on your pump is accurate...also make sure you're not catching the tube between the tire & rim.

Yeah, it's got to be something like that.

Are you sure it's a pinch flat and not something else that is causing the flats? Are you aligning up the hole with the spot on the tire and checking the tire? Often something embedded in the tire is causing flats like a little sliver of metal.

8,000ish miles and never had a pinch flat. I have cut a few down on glass but I cant blame the tire for that.

195-200lbs here and I ride PR2's excluisively on 3 of my bikes with 2 flats in 2 years.

But if they're light blue, feel free to send them my way. I'll buy them from you.

http://www.vredesteinusa.com/

Dark grey - I'll pay shipping plus a little more for your trouble.

Dude. You're NOT pinch flatting, unless you're riding the freaking Grand Canyon with these.

You're either

1) Getting the tube stuck between the rim and the tire

2) Not removing something from the tire that's causing the flat

My guess is number 2. Run your hand over the inside casing of the tire when you change tubes. Makes a *BIG* difference.

Maybe its the rim, the Reynolds Altas are pretty narrow and have a pronounced bead lip.


Maybe you just have to watch out for those pot holes and road debris ;)

Dude. You're NOT pinch flatting, unless you're riding the freaking Grand Canyon with these.

You're either

1) Getting the tube stuck between the rim and the tire

2) Not removing something from the tire that's causing the flat

My guess is number 2. Run your hand over the inside casing of the tire when you change tubes. Makes a *BIG* difference.

I'd agree. If it's not these, you either have terrible luck, or you really hard on your wheels. I ride Pro 2 race, and weigh more than you, and don't recall the last pinch flat.

Learning to be light on the bike will avoid pinch flats, and make your wheels last longer.


Also, just as a diagnostic matter you can tell a pinch flat by the puncture; it's a lmost always 2 small holes, close together, looking like a snake bite.

your experience with mich pr2s is not consistent with mine (3 yrs., +/-70 races, 1 flat - it was a pinch flat). however, I would recommend getting (and I use) the mich k carbons for training. i've found them to be more puncture resistent on the mean streets of suburban wash dc. I use the pr2s as a race day tire on race wheels.

People, people. These tires are obviously defective, and should be disposed of by shipping them to Michigan.

.................

I had a similar problem with mine, but it was not the tire's fault. My wheels had crappy plastic rim strips, and I was getting a slow leak caused by the rim strips. Once the tire was low enough, I would get a pinch flat. I always just replace my tubes, I don't patch them, so I was missing the hole caused by the rim strips. Eventually I patched a tube, and discovered my real problem. New Velox rim strips about 600 miles ago, and no flats since.

I really enjoy my ProRace2 and haven't had any problems with them yet. I have almost 1,000 miles on them.

People, people. These tires are obviously defective, and should be disposed of by shipping them to Michigan.

cleeeeearly

What color are they?

I've heard the "dark gray" tires flat the most.

I run 120 PSI and no problems in 3 years of the ProRace.

Except for that second flat because of the thorn I failed to remove from the inner casing after the first flat.

I ran the last set until they started looking square instead of round and threads were sticking out the sides,

I love mine and I'm near 250 lbs; no flats so far.

Check to see if your pressure gauge on your pump is accurate

I tested mine with a digital gauge, it was reporting 100 when it was actually at 75! I've since switched to Joe Blow which is spot on.


I hover around 170lbs, I can only surmise that these things are meant for pristine pavement-criteriums and guys under 160.

I'm doing fine with ProRace2 at 185 - 190 lbs and crappy GA pavement.

Kyrillions are good, but...

I switched to Pro2Race at the end of last season. I weigh 210, and run them on Kysyrium Elites at 8 atmos (116 lbs). 3000 miles without a flat of any kind. I use them for fast paced training rides, most of which are immediately north of New York City, where potholes and debris are constant. I do pretty good at avoiding this stuff, but you can't miss everything.

I DO change them for new every 1500 miles. And I use Michelin Air Stop tubes.

If it's pinch flats, you probably need to be more careful when you're putting the bead back over the rim. I always "roll" the tire and tube once, all the way around the rim, before inflating.

Ckeck you rim tape

I have not had a problem with the P2R over many years. Low number of flats and decent wear.

195-200lbs here and I ride PR2's excluisively on 3 of my bikes with 2 flats in 2 years.

But if they're light blue, feel free to send them my way. I'll buy them from you.
these are light grey and say "service course" on them. I'll let anyone have them for a deal. Last season I had one puncture in 2000+ miles on my Kyrilion Carbon's. The last straw was Wednesday night, 2 punctures on 2 different 30+ mph descents. I don't have time to delve into the physics of why these don't work for me, I know what works.

The pavement here has a lot of serious pavement breaks perpendicular(across)to the road. Also the Reynolds rims I was using these on come with a rim strip installed. I'm using a specialized air-tool comp pump that I've checked against a digital air guage and its within 5 psi. I've tried a variety of tubes, I always get the pinch flats on the rear. The punctures are always on the rim side of the tube, its not debris. I've raced on Carbons, there isn't enough difference to justify the hassle at this point, day light is burning.

these are light grey and say "service course" on them. I'll let anyone have them for a deal. Last season I had one puncture in 2000+ miles on my Kyrilion Carbon's. The last straw was Wednesday night, 2 punctures on 2 different 30+ mph descents. I don't have time to delve into the physics of why these don't work for me, I know what works.

The pavement here has a lot of serious pavement breaks perpendicular(across)to the road. Also the Reynolds rims I was using these on come with a rim strip installed. I'm using a specialized air-tool comp pump that I've checked against a digital air guage and its within 5 psi. I've tried a variety of tubes, I always get the pinch flats on the rear. The punctures are always on the rim side of the tube, its not debris. I've raced on Carbons, there isn't enough difference to justify the hassle at this point, day light is burning.

Sounds like you have tube between the bead of your tire and the rim. Are you certain that after you seat the bead on your tire that you check prior to inflating to be sure that absolutely no tube can be seen between the bead of your tire and the rim?

make sure nothing is sticking through the rim as well

these are light grey and say "service course" on them. I'll let anyone have them for a deal. Last season I had one puncture in 2000+ miles on my Kyrilion Carbon's. The last straw was Wednesday night, 2 punctures on 2 different 30+ mph descents. I don't have time to delve into the physics of why these don't work for me, I know what works.

The pavement here has a lot of serious pavement breaks perpendicular(across)to the road. Also the Reynolds rims I was using these on come with a rim strip installed. I'm using a specialized air-tool comp pump that I've checked against a digital air guage and its within 5 psi. I've tried a variety of tubes, I always get the pinch flats on the rear. The punctures are always on the rim side of the tube, its not debris. I've raced on Carbons, there isn't enough difference to justify the hassle at this point, day light is burning.




Sounds like you have tube between the bead of your tire and the rim. Are you certain that after you seat the bead on your tire that you check prior to inflating to be sure that absolutely no tube can be seen between the bead of your tire and the rim?

Wow, I'm impressed with all the fatsos in this racing forum, I feel guilty when I hit 175. So I guess maybe its not a gravity issue.

I have 4 sets of wheels, 2 of them shod with Carbons. when I mount a tire, I start at the valve stem, the only time I have ever caused a pinch from mounting its been on the opposite side from the valve where you really need to stretch the bead over the lip. Oddly all my pinches on this set have been within 6 inches of the valve stem. Nothing protruding in the rim. The rim tape on the Reynolds is heavy and has a little edge to it, maybe I'll go over it with an additional rim strip before remounting, but I need to ride 100k on these tomorrow so the pro races are off.

I'm guessing from the "rough edge" description, you're using a plastic rim strip. A number of people have reported issues with various plastic rim strips.

Velox cloth tape has always worked well for me.

Velox cloth tape has always worked well for me.

+ 1 on the cloth tape.

I know everyone raves about how "supple" they are. It reminds me a little of the higher end Vittorias, supple=cuts easily, picks up crap off the road and delicate sidewalls. Maybe its the rim, the Reynolds Altas are pretty narrow and have a pronounced bead lip.

I have worn two sets in two years -never a cut or flat. Thousands of kms each set. Plastic rim strips, really crappy roads.
115 psi pinch flat?? you pinched the tube when installing. I ride at 110psi, I'm 200lbs.

Great tires.

alright alright, all these replies from the clydesdale set has shamed me into starting from scratch. I retaped the rims with cloth and started all over with a fresh set of tubes. 15 mile test spin and everything looks hunky-dorey so far. I'll take my DA/OPs with me in the morning and if either wheel has lost air I'll just swap out.

Different problem for me, but the sidewall on one of my pro race2's started coming apart after only a couple hundred miles. My Schwalbe Evolution's lasted forever compared to these. Definitely not buying Michelin's again anytime soon.

I have a set with 2000 miles on them (need to be changed to my new Tubular Lightweights tomorrow)...but I have had ZERO flats on them in 2k miles, and I fluctuate from 204lbs to 179lbs. You need to steer AROUND teh glass...not into it! Oh, and no bunny hopping curbs!
a.s.

I'll be one of the few to say I have the PR2's as well. I love them for their cornering ability, but hate them for their flat resistance. I have had my bike for about 5 months, and have had 6 or more flats. I do all the typical precautions so its not that. I weight 174 run them at 115 psi. I basically hate them for their resistance to flats, but love them for their grip.

The resolution. I put some Bontrager Race tires on my Mavic Kyseriums, and put the PR2's on my Bontrager Race lite wheels. I haven't flatted yet on the Bontragers even though they are supposed to be soft and supple. That's my 2, these people who never flat the PR2's either ride like a feather, or ride much nicer roads. I for one, do neither.

I have the same bad luck. Mine are "lights" but the only difference I've been shown is that it's missing a puncture protection layer. There are no punctures or cuts in the tire itself. But I keep wrecking tubes. Just on one tire, so maybe there's something wrong with that one. My pump works fine. I played with the rim tape. I inspected everything. I have no problems with my other tires, so I don't think it's a problem with my installation. I do prefer the grip. I run them between 110-115. I'm not heavy.

I don't know how my luck could be THAT bad.

Dude. You're NOT pinch flatting, unless you're riding the freaking Grand Canyon with these.

You're either

1) Getting the tube stuck between the rim and the tire

2) Not removing something from the tire that's causing the flat

My guess is number 2. Run your hand over the inside casing of the tire when you change tubes. Makes a *BIG* difference.



Where exactly is the leak in the tube? If it's against the tire, there may be something very tiny embedded in the tire. Turn the tire inside out and it may show itself.

Learning to be light on the bike will avoid pinch flats, and make your wheels last longer.
It also makes your butt hurt less. :D

-Bullseye

I ride Pro 2 race, and weigh more than you, and don't recall the last pinch flat.



Completely friggin jinxed myself. Riding in a pceline today. Hit the same rock with both tires, and pinch flatted front and back.

However, I don't think the type of tire had anything to do with it. The front was a PRo Race 2, the back was a Continental Force.

Completely friggin jinxed myself. Riding in a pceline today. Hit the same rock with both tires, and pinch flatted front and back.

However, I don't think the type of tire had anything to do with it. The front was a PRo Race 2, the back was a Continental Force.

Dude, mixing and matching tires like that.. You're lucky that the universe didn't explode.

Actually, I have had bad luck with these too. I hit a rock and got 4 wholes (deffo a pinch flat) one day, and had a blowout because of glass the next. That shard put a knick in the tyre such that you can see the base webbing when it is inflated. Doing the same thing with other tyres has resulted in none of those problems.

But they are nice to ride on, much nicer than the All Condition Pro tyres I'm using atm.

heh heh, yeah tough-as-nails these P2Rs but this was really the least of my problems at mile 55:


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/halimec05/IMG_0875sm.jpg

No pinch-flats though! I should have sold them while they were still virginal.

Man, you have some tire issues....

Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires. Granted, they're a bit heavy with the wire bead and all, but they inexpensive, you can run damn near anything over with 'em, and they roll/handle pretty well. They make great training tires.