Member Contributer Grum Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 Hi All. Just fitted a new 180/55/17 rear tire a Michelin Road 6 at the cost of $389AU. My last rear a Pilot Road 2 was exactly $130 cheaper. Pilot Road 2's, my go to tire, are now discontinued along with the fairly recent Road 5's. I was told that there have been two recent price increases somehow connected with covid issues!! Seems like Michelin are pricing themselves out of the market. Looking for some good advice from the group as to a similar performing alternative. Cheers Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 Welcome to inflation. Oil near $125 is putting huge price pressures on everything. IMHO tires will be particularly susceptible to that. I think of it as Covid on my wallet. There is a US based ebay retailer selling Road 2s for US $220 per set. No idea about international shipping tho. The last set I got from them in 2021 were about 3 months old, so recent production. I may buy a set and toss em on my spare wheels before the price goes up. Unfortunately higher prices are likely here for the foreseeable future. 😞 Just double checked - no international shipping from that seller. Grum - any thoughts about Angel ST or GT? ST's seem in the same general price range as Road 2's, at least here. I'm not understanding why Road 2's have disappeared from mass retailers inventory and even Michelin's website and yet this retailer in the central US is able to source them with current date codes . . . My last set with the 2020 date codes were made in Spain. Too bad about manufacturer's obsession with having "the latest and greatest" - when what customers want is the tried and true that works and is a good value. Maybe that's too simple a concept in today's hyper competitive market, dunno. 1 Quote
Member Contributer bmart Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 Michelin seems to set the bar on price for car tires too. I'll stick with my Dunlops! Quote
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 10, 2022 Author Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 4 hours ago, Cogswell said: Grum - any thoughts about Angel ST or GT? ST's seem in the same general price range as Road 2's, at least here. Thanks Cogs. That seems like good advice. Sounds like similar Michelin technology, dual compound, high silica, long life, AND I can get one of those Pirellei Angel ST 180/55/17 for $212.95 plus fitting, thats a huge difference to what I just paid for the Road 6 Michelin. I can even purchase with free delivery a set, front and rear for $355AU thats a huge saving! After 17 years of Michelin loyalty its by by Michelin from me, latest pricing is just crazy. Quote
Member Contributer RC1237V Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 I switched to the Dunlop Road Sport 2's as they were under $200 for the set, and the 12Hundo tears up tires in 2,500 miles... so far they are every bit as good as the angel GT's. I don't ride in the rain, so don't need the expense of the Michelins... Just checked they are $205 for 120/70F and 190/55R 2 Quote
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 10, 2022 Author Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 35 minutes ago, RC1237V said: I switched to the Dunlop Road Sport 2's as they were under $200 for the set, and the 12Hundo tears up tires in 2,500 miles... so far they are every bit as good as the angel GT's. I don't ride in the rain, so don't need the expense of the Michelins... Just checked they are $205 for 120/70F and 190/55R Good point RC1237V. I also don't chose to ride in the rain so Michelin wet weather performance is not that important to me either, nice insurance though! So given my riding style - Faster than slow riders, but slower than fast riders, longevity with good dry road grip are what I'm looking for. The old Michelin PR2's were perfect for me, both in value and performance, shame they are no longer available, at least in Australia that is. 1 Quote
Member Contributer VFR78 Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 Have a look at the reviews of Dunlop Roadsmart 3 & 4. They are my preferred tyre. I had to swap to Pirelli Angel GT II for a recent lap of Tassie and while they hold on OK, they squared off noticeably after 4,800km. My previous rear Roadsmart 3 still had a reasonable profile after 17,000 km, of mainly touring. The Roadsmart also handled a trackday with no issues. 1 Quote
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 10, 2022 Author Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 36 minutes ago, VFR78 said: Have a look at the reviews of Dunlop Roadsmart 3 & 4. They are my preferred tyre. I had to swap to Pirelli Angel GT II for a recent lap of Tassie and while they hold on OK, they squared off noticeably after 4,800km. My previous rear Roadsmart 3 still had a reasonable profile after 17,000 km, to of mainly touring. The Roadsmart also handled a trackday with no issues. Great info there VFR78. Perhaps the Angel ST's may have served you better than the GT's 17,000k's out of a rear Roadsmart 3 is excellent. What did you pay for them? There's no doubt about it the Road 6 I've just paid a fortune for will be my last Michelin! Quote
Member Contributer VFR78 Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 44 minutes ago, Grum said: Great info there VFR78. Perhaps the Angel ST's may have served you better than the GT's 17,000k's out of a rear Roadsmart 3 is excellent. What did you pay for them? There's no doubt about it the Road 6 I've just paid a fortune for will be my last Michelin! $295.45 (17/07/20) Grum. It wasn’t the cheapest at the time, but I needed it for our SW Queensland trek. Only just removed it, pre Tassie. The Angel GT IIs are supposed to be Pirelli’s latest sport touring tyre. I don’t think STs are available anymore, unless its just called Angel now. Quote
Member Contributer VFR78 Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 I’m wrong, apparently STs are still available! Quote
Member Contributer bmart Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 And be aware of the difference between the RoadSport and Road Smart. They aren't remotely the same tire. 🙂 RoadSmart IIs haven't been availble in the states for some time, just the III and IVs are out now. 2 Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 10, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 10, 2022 Grum, That Road 6 pricing is indeed crazy. Even with the currecy conversion, that single tire is significantly more expensive than the Road 2 set available here. The high cost of tires is why I finally set myself up to mount and balance tires myself. That takes some of the sting out of it and it seems that fewer shops want to mount tires not purchased from them. I have a bit over $200 invested in setting myself up, so I figure the first 2 sets paid for it. Regardless, it looks like inflation is here to stay and we'll all be paying higher prices for everything. 1 Quote
Member Contributer RC1237V Posted March 11, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 11, 2022 +1 I did the same, and with 5~6 bikes in the stable along with trackdays, and ALL my friends come over to use it (price is some high quality beer), it has paid for itself many times over! Also keeps my fridge stocked with Hazy IPA's 3 Quote
Member Contributer adkfinn Posted March 11, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 11, 2022 On 3/9/2022 at 8:46 PM, Cogswell said: There is a US based ebay retailer selling Road 2s for US $220 per set. No idea about international shipping tho. The last set I got from them in 2021 were about 3 months old, so recent production. I may buy a set and toss em on my spare wheels before the price goes up. Unfortunately higher prices are likely here for the foreseeable future. 😞 Just double checked - no international shipping from that seller. Can you share the link to that listing? I had the cheap PR2's bookmarked on Amazon, but the listing is now (recently) gone and I can't find it in search. TIA! Planning on swapping out my T30's for PR2's and hoping for more feel/confidence. 1 Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 10 hours ago, adkfinn said: Can you share the link to that listing? I had the cheap PR2's bookmarked on Amazon, but the listing is now (recently) gone and I can't find it in search. TIA! Planning on swapping out my T30's for PR2's and hoping for more feel/confidence. Go to ebay and search on "Michelin Road 2". Can't miss it. It's the same seller that was on Amazon - same name and ships from the same location in MO. 1 1 Quote
Member Contributer adkfinn Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 13 hours ago, Cogswell said: Go to ebay and search on "Michelin Road 2". Can't miss it. It's the same seller that was on Amazon - same name and ships from the same location in MO. Thank you!! 1 Quote
vfrpilot28 Posted March 12, 2022 Posted March 12, 2022 Directly correlated with the price of oil and everything else going on. If you need tires - time to buy is now. I suspect you will see a sharp increase around the beginning of summer as the tire industry takes a while to catch up with pricing... 2 Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 It wouldn't surprise me to see shortages of stock in tires - can't find what you want no matter the price. Not a prediction, but an observation that seems plausible given the incompetence of leadership. Weird, weird times. Quote
Member Contributer bmart Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 My car tires have been on backorder for many months. No update on even a production date from Michelin (BF Goodrich). Ugh. Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 Just put a new set of Michelin Defenders on the Honda cage. It took Costco almost 3 weeks to get em in. Caught their $150 off promotion and beat the coming price increases though, so worth the wait. Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 12, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 12, 2022 On 3/11/2022 at 7:13 AM, adkfinn said: Can you share the link to that listing? I had the cheap PR2's bookmarked on Amazon, but the listing is now (recently) gone and I can't find it in search. TIA! Planning on swapping out my T30's for PR2's and hoping for more feel/confidence. I found these from the same seller on Walmart.com, same free shipping, for $15 cheaper. I have not purchased through Walmart previously, so not sure how well that works. Can save some cash though . . . Must be Walmart's seller fees are less than Ebay's. Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 13, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 13, 2022 So, I ordered a set of PR2s from the same ebay seller on Walmart for $205 delivered. The Pilot Powers on my spare wheels are mid 2014 date codes so have to go. I'll report on the upcoming PR2's dates when they arrive. Quote
Member Contributer Grum Posted March 13, 2022 Author Member Contributer Posted March 13, 2022 59 minutes ago, Cogswell said: So, I ordered a set of PR2s from the same ebay seller on Walmart for $205 delivered. The Pilot Powers on my spare wheels are mid 2014 date codes so have to go. I'll report on the upcoming PR2's dates when they arrive. Sounds amazingly cheap Cogs, grab em while ya can! Quote
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted March 13, 2022 Member Contributer Posted March 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Grum said: Sounds amazingly cheap Cogs, grab em while ya can! It is indeed. I have loved the PR2s since they first came out and feel very lucky to be able to still get them and particularly at such a deal. I looked at international shipping and it's prohibitively expensive - in the $thousands, so unfortunately no way to share the good fortune across the ocean. 1 Quote
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