A couple of months ago I was doing routine maintenance on my R5 when I noticed that my tires were pretty close to shot. I figured I had about 500mi left on them if I was lucky and would just ride them until I started flatting and then replace them. I'm pretty lazy.
A month ago I was on the Sunday morning ride when I got a flat on one of the dirt roads. As I was inspecting the tire to see if it was a puncture or a pinch flat, I noticed a ton of cuts in the tire as well as a section of my sidewall that looked like moths got to it. They were done.
If you recall, I was given the Specialized Turbo Pro tires to try out and see if I liked them. I hated the last pair of Specialized Tires (Mondos, they were straight garbage) but I have been more than pleased with the Turbos. Great puncture resistance, a surprising amount of grip and they rolled well. At a claimed 230g for the tires, I think they compete very well with other tires in that price/weight range. I would highly recommend them.
When I noticed the tires were going, I started looking for my next tire. Michelin launched the Pro 4 tires and were rumored to be launching the lighter version by the end of summer. At the shop, we can't keep the Service Course model in stock. at 200g they a great weight and they offer tons of stick. Isaac, Joe, Mike and Myles had all tried them out and had nothing but good things to say. We've had two sets come back into the shop with complaints of excessive wear and punctures, but we've sold close to 100 pairs, so overall they have rave reviews. At Interbike, Micheline announced the lighter version of the Pro 4s, but they aren't available until early next year according to QBP, so I just ordered the Service Course models in 700x23.
I got a gram scale to feed my weight weenie addiction, and I weighed the tires before I put them on. The old Turbo Tires came in at 206g and 207g. The new Pro 4 tires came in at 205g each. The Specialized tires are almost 25g less than they claim to be and the Michelins are 5g heavier than claimed weight. Kudos to Specialized, but that really puts o damper on the weight savings I thought I was going to be getting. I weighed the tubes while I had them out and they came in at 93g and 97g. I have on order 4 Bontrager XXX tubes that claim to weigh 50g each, so hopefully I can save a little weight there. I was hoping to save almost half a pound with the tire and tube change but now it looks like it will be closer to less than a quarter pound. The plan was to get down to 15lbs even, with just the tire/tube change. Oh well. The bike is still stupid light.
Back on topic, I mounted up the Pro 4s today and took them out for a spin. I hadn't been on my road bike in a month and I haven't had a ton of time to ride, so I was hoping to just get a quick 20miler in. I headed over to Valley Forge and then threw in the Audubon Loop for good measure. As I was approaching the hill I noticed a guy shoot across Egypt Rd and start off up the hill before me. Like any good cyclist out on a casual ride, I immediately set off to try and catch the guy. I halved the gap going up the hill, but he pulled it out again over the top. There were wet leaves on the ground, and I was being ginger around them while he wasn't, so he pulled out a little more of a gap. On the straights I just buried my head and went after him. I saw him look back a couple of times, and all I could think of is how that's the kiss of death for a breakaway. I caught him right at the intersection with the SRT and made my pass. I said "hi" to him as I passed, and he hopped on my wheel and we started working together down the SRT until almost Norristown before we started talking. His name is Keith and he's a beast. He was holding a 20mph pace on a Trek Ion with 38mm tires. It took a lot out of me. If you look at the ride you can see I got a ton of PRs hanging with this guy, but it was nice for me to see that I could hang with him. He's a hell of a nice guy and I hope I run into him again on the trail.
As for the Pro 4s, they are really nice. They were kicking up a shit load of small rocks onto my downtube, but they handle really, really well and when I got above 20mph they felt noticeably faster than the Turbos. They're just as, if not more comfortable to boot. They're pricey for a clincher at $70ea but that's only about $5 more than most other tires, and they offer better performance. We'll see how they wear over the next few months.
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