# Specialized Turbo Pro's making for harsh ride?



## icaruswings (Apr 27, 2010)

Hey guys, I just got a new specialized SL3 Pro Roubaix bike and I am loving the feel and handling of the bike.

However, the Turbo Pro tires it comes with (I think) are really making for a very harsh and unforgiving ride, opposite of my intension with this bike. They say that the min/max pressure is 115/125psi which is a ton higher than my other 25c tires lying around. Is it safe to run these at lower PSI or are these tires more dependent on pressure for their form than my others? Am I missing something that will make these tires help enhance the smoothness of this bike rather than decrease it?

Specialized also replaced the original wheelset (Roval Fusee SLs) with some Axis 2.0's at the last minute because of a manufacturing shortage, could they be the culprit?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Try 'em at 90psi and see how much they deflect when you weight them. I can't imagine that they're any more supple that my Vittoria Open Corsa and they're fine at that pressure under my 170lbs. Any pressure that gives you the desired comfort is fine unless you start to pinch flat. To me, 115 would be silly unless you weighed 275 lbs or so.


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## icaruswings (Apr 27, 2010)

They feel really mushy at anything under 110 or so, I have never had a tire be mushy at 110 psi, but there it is  Maybe I should just ditch them for some Michelin endurance tires?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

My tires at 110 would feel board-hard to me. Maybe your mushy feeling is all relative? Tire sidewall flex is made to work for us and not against us. I don't know anything about those specialized so I can't comment.


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## Feltrider05 (Jan 5, 2011)

I ride the turbo pro and sworks tubros and I really like both so far, I ride them at 120 psi. I weigh 195. It could be the wheels, but I also had the DT axis 4.0's and thought they were fine until I had them replaced under warranty.


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## Mdrnizd (Oct 21, 2009)

I ride the S-Works Turbo's at 90 psi and they are as comfortable as my Vittoria Open Corsa's.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Feltrider05 said:


> I ride the turbo pro and sworks tubros and I really like both so far, I ride them at 120 psi. I weigh 195. It could be the wheels, but I also had the DT axis 4.0's and thought they were fine until I had them replaced under warranty.


too hard, you need bigger tires if you 'need' 120 to keep from pinch flatting. otoh, if you're running 120 because it feels fast, you're just confused.


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## brad.bradley (Jul 24, 2007)

Almost everything feels stiff compared to the 320tpi vittorias, even the new Pro Race 4.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

cxwrench said:


> too hard, you need bigger tires if you 'need' 120 to keep from pinch flatting. otoh, if you're running 120 because it feels fast, you're just confused.


^^^^This. Oh yeah.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Feelings*



icaruswings said:


> They feel really mushy at anything under 110 or so, I have never had a tire be mushy at 110 psi, but there it is  Maybe I should just ditch them for some Michelin endurance tires?


You are probably just used to a harsher feeling tire. The only way a tire would actually BE mushy at 110 psi is if the rider is very heavy. A lot of very smart and very experienced riders will tell you that if you need more than 110 psi to prevent pinch flats, then you should be on wider tires. General recommendation is around 90 psi front/100 psi rear. 

People think that the harsh feeling they get from overinflated tires is indicative of speed. It is not.


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## reality_V2 (Jul 20, 2010)

Mdrnizd said:


> I ride the S-Works Turbo's at 90 psi and they are as comfortable as my Vittoria Open Corsa's.


You beat me to it, I was going to say I run them at 90 on both the pro and the s-works and I'm super happy. FWIW I'm 140 lb


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