# Michelin Lithion 2 vs Vittoria Rubino Pro 3 tire



## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

Greetings all. I want some input as what you all think of these 2 tires I plan to buy as for handling, durability, weight, etc from personal experience if you owned one. Vittoria cost $7 more($29) vs Michelin($22). Thanks in advance.


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## flatsix911 (Jun 28, 2009)

I would go with the Michelin Lithion 2 ... very good overall balance of performance and durability :thumbsup:


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## High Gear (Mar 9, 2002)

Better luck posting your question here: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels-tires/


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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

Vittoria. The Michelins seem to wear much faster, and are prone to getting cuts in the tread. The Vittorias wear longer, seem a bit more flat resistant, and perform as well in cornering and the wet imho.
In fact I have had both, and have a set of each on both my bikes right now, so I'm currently riding both tires on different days.


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## mtnroadie (Jul 6, 2010)

I run Vittorias on numerous bikes. I have had great luck with them, and always find myself buying another pair for the next build. I ride the Diamante pros, I used to ride the Rubino Pros and they were awesome (currently ordering another set), the Diamantes are even better. I have heard ok reviews for the Michelins Pros, i wouldnt even bother with the Lithions especially if you are considering the Rubino Pros. 

I am pretty sure the TPI count is way higher on the Vittorias.


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

My main concern is durability and weight since whatever tire I will be buying will be going on a lighter wheelset I will be buying and swapping the stock wheels.


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## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

Had two versions of the Rubino's and the first Lithion. Lithion is thinner but the performance is comparable imo. 

Unless the Lithion 2 picked up on the improvements from the PR3, expect the Michelin to exhibit cracking pretty quickly. But no means has the tire been compromised. Just unpleasant to look at.


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

I have a set of lithion 2's in 25c with about 30 miles on them. I found them intolerably bad, feels like riding a tire full of sand. Worse than cheap wire bead kendas.

Also in that 30 miles i popped 3 tubes. Wasnt an install pinch or debris from the previous puncture either. Before that I was flatting about once a year. Im not too picky with tires, but these blew me away with how bad they were.

I had rubino pros and they were great.


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## Bill2 (Oct 14, 2007)

I love my lithion 2s- now have them on both my bikes. The one bike came with Vittorio Diamante Pro's, which I ditched after repeated flats. No experience with rubinos.


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## B007dep1 (Apr 13, 2010)

Litheon 2 has been great for me for the price comment about sand filled feel is so not accurate. Had several sets for 2 years durable fast and trouble free.


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## ClancyO (Mar 20, 2011)

+1 for Vittoria Rubino Pro (from someone who ALWAYS rode Michelin ProRace). The cheaper Michelin's I've treid were not worth the effort to mount.


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## EvanAlmighty (Aug 27, 2013)

I'm relatively new to cycling so my experience is limited to the Rubino Pro's. So far so good, no flat after 2K miles or so. I recently upgraded my wheelset and got another set of Rubino Pro's for the new wheels as well since I always see them on sale. Chainlove occasionally has them for around $15-$17 a tire.


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## 3DKiwi (Dec 1, 2012)

I run Lithion 2's and they have been very reliable. I'm on my second front tyre and third back tyre that I only changed a couple of days ago. In 18 months of using them, one puncture out on the road (500m from home) and 2 punctures when I went for the next day's ride and found the tyre flat.

They definitely don't feel like sand to me and the performance is fine. What I like is they are fairly cheap so I can replace them before wearing too thin.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I use both of these tires for Spring riding, then switch to GP4000s or Pro3/4s for the Summer. They both perform very well, and I only have more Lithions than Rubinos because they were cheaper on sale ($14).

It's slightly less annoying when road debris catastrophically cuts your $15 tire than your $40 tire.


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## paule11 (Jun 11, 2011)

Had Lithion 2s was very happy with them good rolling resistance and rode really nice but started to get too many punctures . Changed rear tyre to Maxxis refuse have had one puncture so far on that from a thorn going through the side . Was getting punctures every second weekend before that and tyre had about 1000km on it. Would still have a Lithion on the back if there was no glass on the road. They seem to be faster than the Maxxis and feel better


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