Question Michelin Pro 4 tires

At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700 X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to 100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!

-retro

wrote:
At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700 X
23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to 100 -
120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought they'd be
too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a turn,
when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike oversteers;
i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!

-retro
Probably. Also lower pressure will make snake bite punctures more likely
so you may want to rethink that plan.

--
duane

On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 1:47:55 PM UTC-7, wrote:
At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700 X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to 100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!

Hmmm. Maybe you're giving it too much steering input. At 90psi, the tire is not going to wallow. Also, at 110-115 psi, they will be less prone to pinch flatting and probably no more prone to puncturing in the usual ways.

-- Jay Beattie.

MORE COUNTERSTEER less bar twisting...

try changing front -rear pressures in 3lb increments 96F 90R 90F 96R ad nauseum

on inflation develop an eyeball for the tire curvature sans contact and with contact

have someone your weight sit on it an eyeball that

On 4/8/2015 3:47 PM, wrote:
At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700 X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to 100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!

-retro


That's at the low end of a rideable inflation range and yes
probably feels like jello in a corner. Rum them up to normal
and they will ride very well.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Wed, 8 Apr 2015 13:47:52 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700 X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to 100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!

There IS a reason for recommended tire pressures. Strongly suspect
more air will solve the problem - and be LESS likely to puncture the
tire as well.

-retro

On 09/04/15 06:47, wrote:
At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700
X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to
100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought
they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a
turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike
oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite
disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!


I never noticed that kind of problem, but I would normally pump the
front to about 100psi, and the rear to about 110psi with 23mm tyres. It
depends on how much you weigh as well. I'm about 75kg.

--
JS

On Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 5:43:28 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 09/04/15 06:47, wrote:
At the group's suggestion, I bought and mounted a couple of Pro 4 700
X 23C tires on my Paramount. The instructions said to inflate them to
100 - 120 PSI, but I inflated them to only 90 PSI because I thought
they'd be too prone to puncture at the higher pressure.

They seem to handle squirrely to me at this pressure. Going into a
turn, when the sidewall tread starts to grab the road, the bike
oversteers; i.e., turns more sharply than expected. This is quite
disconcerting!

Is this because I didn't inflate them enough?

Thanks!


I never noticed that kind of problem, but I would normally pump the
front to about 100psi, and the rear to about 110psi with 23mm tyres. It
depends on how much you weigh as well. I'm about 75kg.

I've ridden 23mm Michelin Pros (pick a number) at 90psi with no problem whatsoever. I weigh maybe 205lbs. I don't do this by design, but there are plenty of times when I forget to pump up before leaving for a ride.

I've fixed flats and ridden home on 70-80 psi, and I may get some wallowing if I drive the bike hard down hill, but it doesn't feel "squirrelly." It feels like you're scrubbing the tire and that it will wash-out -- and steering is heavy. IMO, the bike gets squirrelly when tires are over-inflation because it is getting bounced all over the place and doesn't feel planted. It feels like the front wheel is castering.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 2015-04-08, Duane wrote:

Probably. Also lower pressure will make snake bite punctures more likely
so you may want to rethink that plan.

He's not going to snake bite at 90psi unless he rides into a curb.

--
Gregory S. Sutter Mostly Harmless

http://zer0.org/~gsutter/

Gregory Sutter wrote:
On 2015-04-08, Duane wrote:

Probably. Also lower pressure will make snake bite punctures more likely
so you may want to rethink that plan.

He's not going to snake bite at 90psi unless he rides into a curb.

Or a pothole.

--
duane