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Michelin Pro 4 tire life sucks

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Michelin Pro 4 tire life sucks

Old 02-05-16, 11:48 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by TMonk
how exactly is the Pro4 Endurance different than the (discontinued) Krylion?

honest question, as the Krylion's can be had for dirt cheap atm.
I think the Pro4 E is the replacement for the krylion. To me, the ride quality isn't appreciably different (and I'm not racing on them either) but teh longevity is superior on the E model. I used to chuck the service course model for cuts long before they wore out.

Originally Posted by ooga-booga
the krylions were my favorite before they were discontinued. good bang for the buck. hadda go with the michelin pro 4 endurance
and pro 3 race in lieu of since i've had difficulty finding the krylions (and now wondering about the ones i do locate as to
how they've been stored, how long will a unused new tire keep before quality/performance deteriorates...).
krylions i was getting about 3K miles of usage per tire, pro 4's about the same. pro 3's seem to be giving me about 2k and
i've had several in the last 2 years either develop strange weakness spots or have part of the inner wire weave poke thru
waay before the life expectancy of said tire. the pro 3's are generally about $10 less per tire (and have always been in stock)
than the pro 4's but the savings aren't worth it to me. the krylions and pro 4's also seemed to handle the occasional dirt/gravel
road much better wearwise. going back to the pro 4's for my main bike but if i come across some
krylions in 700x23 at that discounted price, i'll likely pick up a pair for a back up bike. to me, the pro 4's have always seemed a little nimbler
and more responsive than either the krylions and pro 3's. the pro 4's have the best performance/durability record i've encountered but i've
only ridden michelins, contis and vittorias.
The pro3 model was positively frail and caused me to switch to Conti for a while. I used Pro4 SC for a while and then shifted to Pro4 E... for me that seems to be the sweet spot for price / performance / ride quality. (at 25mm)

I don't really care about tire price either - I tend to stock up from ribble or PBK when I find them on sale, so for under $40 a tire, I don't mind getting < 2000 miles out of a rear.
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Old 02-05-16, 11:51 AM
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Good news guys. Pro4's are out and the now we get "Michelin Power" tires. I guess they felt they needed a rebrand.

First Look: Michelin Power Tires | Bicycling
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Old 02-05-16, 12:30 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by rms13
Well going to give the 4000 S II a shot. Got pair with free tubes for $75 shipped from Merlin
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Don't expect a different result.
Expect an awesome result. You'll never use anything else now.
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Old 02-05-16, 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by shoota
Expect an awesome result. You'll never use anything else now.
If he keeps skidding to a stop, like he did to these tires, the result will be the same.
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Old 02-05-16, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
If he keeps skidding to a stop, like he did to these tires, the result will be the same.
Word.
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Old 02-05-16, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by shoota
Word.


GP4000IIs are great tires, but no race tire will last long if abused that way.
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Old 02-05-16, 12:40 PM
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I gotta agree with the OP, Pro4s are terrible tires in my experience as well. Fast, but just WAY too fragile.
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Old 02-05-16, 10:42 PM
  #33  
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I had good tire wear on my endurance 25's, roughly 1700 miles and tread still looked good, but I started to get mystery flats. I could not find anything in the tread and they were not pinch flats. After the 4th one in as many days, I chucked them and got some Conti GP4ksII's Been smooth sailing since.
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Old 02-06-16, 05:09 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by TMonk
Same here, for the most part, except for the occasional free/cheapo tire that I put on my beater bike.

Also, nice location . I'm in Linda Vista - Mesa College area.
always fun bombing down/suffering up ulric st. and riding out the bumps near the burger king between aero dr. and kearny villa rd. along convoy...

used to live off fashion valley/ulric in those condos just north of fashion valley mall. do not miss living there post thanksgiving-jan 1st.
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Old 02-06-16, 06:25 AM
  #35  
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Any tire that you've come to a skidding stop will have a very limited life span. The softer the tire the quicker you'll toast it. We've all done it and learned our lesson. Seems like the OP just learned his.
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Old 02-06-16, 06:45 AM
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Originally Posted by FLvector
Any tire that you've come to a skidding stop will have a very limited life span. The softer the tire the quicker you'll toast it. We've all done it and learned our lesson. Seems like the OP just learned his.
Sure, but not without getting to hear some anecdotes from others about a mysterious flat problem caused by Michelin tires.
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Old 02-06-16, 06:51 AM
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Hehe. This mystery was solved rather quickly.
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Old 02-06-16, 08:12 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by rms13
This isn't even an issue with cuts/punctures its just about a 1.5" patch that's worn through
Sounds like you may have skidded without realizing it. That can wipe make a any high quality tire wear through with hardly any miles. If so, don't blame a high quality tire for that--operator error!
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Old 02-06-16, 09:36 AM
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Ok so yes I did skid to a stop twice on the tires. Both times going 25-30 mph and car pulled out in front of me without stopping at stop sign aka normal California driving. So those two incidents probably lead to wear but I'd much rather need new tires than have t boned a car.

Props again to my Black Prince pads for stopping me so quickly with carbon clinchers. Pads btw have plenty of life still
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Old 02-06-16, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Ok so yes I did skid to a stop twice on the tires. Both times going 25-30 mph and car pulled out in front of me without stopping at stop sign aka normal California driving. So those two incidents probably lead to wear but I'd much rather need new tires than have t boned a car.

Props again to my Black Prince pads for stopping me so quickly with carbon clinchers. Pads btw have plenty of life still
That is totally understandable, and I've lost a good tire or 2 that way before. It might not happen with a hard shell tire, but I'm not willing to deal with the rough ride.
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Old 02-06-16, 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Ok so yes I did skid to a stop twice on the tires. Both times going 25-30 mph and car pulled out in front of me without stopping at stop sign aka normal California driving. So those two incidents probably lead to wear but I'd much rather need new tires than have t boned a car.

Props again to my Black Prince pads for stopping me so quickly with carbon clinchers. Pads btw have plenty of life still
You would have stopped faster with more front brake. Your fastest stop is with the rear just off the ground.
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Old 02-06-16, 11:32 AM
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I had the same experience with Michelin car tires years ago. Never have cared for the brand. 1000 miles is nothing for some riders,could mean a new tire every month.
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Old 02-09-16, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Ok so yes I did skid to a stop twice on the tires. Both times going 25-30 mph and car pulled out in front of me without stopping at stop sign aka normal California driving. So those two incidents probably lead to wear but I'd much rather need new tires than have t boned a car.

Props again to my Black Prince pads for stopping me so quickly with carbon clinchers. Pads btw have plenty of life still
Glad you're ok, and that your brake pads and tires did what they are supposed to do. But the title of you post should have been, "Tire life sucks if you skid on high quality tires!" Blaming your Michelins for that is at the very least disingenuous, and at the most blatantly dishonest.

Last edited by Clipped_in; 02-09-16 at 09:44 AM.
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Old 02-09-16, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by Clipped_in
Glad you're ok, and that your brake pads and tires did what they are supposed to do. But the title of you post should have been, "Tire life sucks if you skid on high quality tires!" Blaming your Michelins for that is at the very least disingenuous, and at the most blatantly dishonest.
Maybe. But I used to have a fixed gear for around town. Ran bargain bin tires because I intentionally skidded on that bike and still got just as long of life out of some like $20 Forte tires
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Old 02-09-16, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Maybe. But I used to have a fixed gear for around town. Ran bargain bin tires because I intentionally skidded on that bike and still got just as long of life out of some like $20 Forte tires
If you skid to a stop, you will shred up every racing tire made. It's not the fault of the tire.
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Old 02-09-16, 12:11 PM
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My experience with Michelins is they tend to be on the "fragile" side...
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Old 02-09-16, 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Maybe. But I used to have a fixed gear for around town. Ran bargain bin tires because I intentionally skidded on that bike and still got just as long of life out of some like $20 Forte tires
I had a $12 Forte that just wouldn't die, so I purposely put it on the fixie to kill it!
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Old 02-09-16, 01:01 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by rmfnla
My experience with Michelins is they tend to be on the "fragile" side...
It all depends on the model, not the brand.

I've had tires that ride like rocks(but are indestructible), and tires that ride great(but can be fragile).

The OP bought race tires, and treated them like $20 FG/skidding tires. Tire manufacturer isn't the problem.
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Old 02-09-16, 05:11 PM
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Originally Posted by rms13
Maybe. But I used to have a fixed gear for around town. Ran bargain bin tires because I intentionally skidded on that bike and still got just as long of life out of some like $20 Forte tires
If skidding is something you regularly do then high performance tires are not for you. If raw durability is your top priority then $20 Fortes are what you want. But that still doesn't mean Michelin P4's are junk.
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Old 02-10-16, 03:23 AM
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Originally Posted by rms13
This is the first "expensive" tires I've splurged on and after about 1000 miles the rear has a spot that is worn through already. I got two flats in a month and thought it was a fluke but nope tire is shredded. My Conti Ultra Sports for $20 lasted about 2500 miles
You can't buy high performance/racing/superlight tire and expect long life. It simply doesn't work that way.

Those two tires are incomparable weight-performance-price wise.

Last edited by Ice41000; 02-11-16 at 03:55 AM.
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