Michelin

Pro 3 Race Tire

When you're buying a new bike, two factors lord over all others: Weight savings and ride quality. Weight is easy to measure, and doing a dollar-per-gram-saved analysis is simple. Ride quality, though, is more of a mystery. The longer we're in the bike industry, the more we know that one person's 'magic carpet ride' is another person's jackhammer. It's rare to find unanimity in how a bike rides -- is too stiff? too soft? New debates start daily here, and they end not because of measurable evidence, but out of exhaustion.

Few items can guarantee an improvement in ride quality, but this is indisputably one of them. The Michelin Pro 3 Race in 25c width is identical in every way to our standard 23cm width, except for the fact that it's a fraction wider. More width means more overall volume to the tire. And more volume translates into more shock absorption. When you absolutely, positively need to mellow out the ride quality of your bike, the surefire solution is to install 25c's. Some folks try to buy a better ride quality by dropping $4k on a new frame or $1k on a new set of wheels. Our suggestion? At ~$120 you can get exactly what you crave.

Just like the 23c version of the Pro 3 Race, the 25c has a Silica Energy rubber compound made in a "dual co-extrusion", which along with its 127tpi casing makes it feel as fast as it really is. One added standout quality of the Pro 3 Race is its flat resistance. On the one hand you get their newly-redesigned "High Density Puncture Protection" to resist glass, staples, and other road garbage. But you also get sidewalls that have a proven track record of blowout-resistance.