Michelin Pro3 Race Tire

This tire somehow performs across the board, seemingly without compromise: tacky, light, fast, durable, flat-resistant. I don't know how they did it. This is the one. The chosen tire. We are saved! Rejoice!

I have ridden these since they first came out, primarily because the Michelin Krylion's I used to ride became unavailable for a while with the introduction of the Pro3. Right away I noticed the difference in rolling resistance, my commute time was measureably better. Also they are nicely sticky on turns.

I have bought several sets of these, so my experience is based on more than a few rides, or one set. Truth is, I like these tires, but they have drawbacks. The ride seems pretty harsh to me. On L. A. city streets, I find they flat easily, and often, even when new. Perhaps a light rider on a light bike can get thousands of kilometers on these. I am 6', 170 lbs, and find they last me around 1000k, give or take 50%. The tread isn't worn off, but they have sustained many cuts, and I will suddenly start getting a bunch of flats on the same tire. Accumualted damage to the casing, I guess. Sidewalls also puncture easily, which pretty much kills the tire.

That said, I keep buying them. I always think "this is my last set", but when the time comes, I can't bring myself to give up the low rolling resistance for a more durable tire. That, and Krylion's are still rare where I live.

Not the perfect tire, but if you can live with durablity issues, they do perform well.

Michelin got it right with the Pro2s. Long life, low rolling resistance,and lots of road grip. The Pro3s on the other hand seem to be optimized for grip and nothing more. I only get 1000 miles or so out of them at which point, the tread is a conglomeration of large and small cuts plus significant general cracking due to UV I assume. Not a good every day tire. I would love to have the Pro2s back in production. Will be switching to some other tire.

After 20 years of competitive mtb racing - I bought a road bike. I soon learned that OEM road bike tires don't grip much and I had a very hard fall early in the season on my new road bike Trek Madone 5.0.

I was quickly on the web to search for an uber-grippy tire, price not much of an object. I just didn't want to fall like that again! The ProRace 3 was actually recommended by some local Cervelo riders and I grabbed a couple of sets from BTD.

The reviews I'd read were all very polarized - either people LOVED this tire or hated it. I'm here to offer a middling data point.

It's certainly grippy and I feel much more confident on this set than the OEM Bontragers. They are very fast, perceptibly so on the first couple of ride but I have no empirical data to confirm this - seat-o-the-pants "feel". But I have to admit - I have not cornered them as hard as I did the Bonti's - since I'm now pretty cautious in tight, high-speed corners after my concussion.

My most puzzling finding is MODERATE wear and suceptibilty sp? to cuts and nicks. This contrasts many other reviews that say they are either unmarked at 3000kms or toast at 500!

I just did a thorough inspection of both tires on the bike and there are 3-4 little nicks total across both tires. Nothing I'd worry about. I'm about 1000kms into thier lifespan and there's no other appreciable wear I can see - despite several lock-up, panic stops over the season. I ride this bike like it's a mountain bike, through a lot of rough pavement, crappy wooden bridges, and a bit of gravel in some sectors of my local rides. So frankly - I'm really impressed with thier toughness.

RK

Solid performance on cornering. Tire is subject to cuts and prone to flats. I've switched to Continental Gran Prix 4000 with better wear results.

The Pro 3 Race is much improved in the areas of grip and road feel over the Pro 2. I think the jury is still out on flat protection - it seems about the same as the Pro 2 if you ask me. As a racing clincher, I don't think there is much that can beat it. If you're really looking for a tire that will last a couple thousand miles or more, then your priority is not maximum performance and you should be looking elsewhere like the Krylion Carbon for example. But if you want great grip, suppleness, and low rolling resistance, the Pro3 Race is just the ticket.

I used to get 2500 miles on the Pro2 but only about 1200 miles on the Pro3. Bring the Pro2 back or I'm changing to another brand.