Tires

Here is my advice re tires:

1.  For "race ONLY" wheels, use Michelin PR4.

2.  For everyday wheels, or ones that you race AND train on, use Conti GP4000s.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Just an "off the top of my head" guess, but I would expect not.  I would think that any "gain" would be near immeasurable in real-world conditions and would primarily consist of individual perception & preference.

Basically -- Your Mileage May vary, as the saying goes.

Out of curiosity, what advantage do the Michelin PR4s offer on  "race ONLY" wheels above the Conti GP4000s? Why do you make this very specific recommendation?

You can get the PR4s with different colored side-walls to match your bike.

^^^^ x2

If I am picking a Race Only set of tires is is not going to be Michelin Pro race 4's. There are quite a few choices that have better crr and aerodynamics. Actually the Conti 4000s is a faster tire than the MPR4.

This is just opinion:

The PR4 is slightly better performance.  Slightly grippier.  A teeny weeny bit better in the corners.  Maybe slightly better road feel.

However its rubber is softer and it wears out faster.  It is also MUCH more prone to cuts and flats.

The GP4000s are ALMOST as good as the Michelins, but they last much longer and are much more flat resistant.

Now if you are riding a race course, it is likely very good pavement and it's only going to be 10, 25, 62 or at most 124 miles....and you are probably only doing this a few days/year. 

So if you have "race only" wheels it probably makes sense to use the PR4's and maybe even latex tubes.

However if you are going to be training AND racing on the same wheelset (like most of us on a budget) the clear winner is GP4000s.

I hope that helps.

If you're racing a triathlon being slightly "grippier" is probably not at the top of your list of priorities. A better crr and aerodynamics is however at the top of your list, and I believe that the Conti GP4000S wins that competition.

This may be.  My background is as a cyclist.  So that could be my bias. 

if you are used to the pr4's, stick with them until after your race. Changing things up close to race day isn't a recipe for success.

That said, I guess the PR4's and 4000s' *could* be considered race tires (I train on 4000s')... but if I were interested enough to run latex tubes, I'd pick a real race tire.

YMMV

EDIT: pretty much the same thing Chris said above, only slower to post.

Edited by the bear 2013-03-28 10:18 AM

Another reason why I suggest they are good for "race only" tires but not everyday training.  I would go through a boatload of tires if I used them for training. 

The GP4000s should last approx 4000 miles.  Of course, YMMV.