Michelin Road 6 pulls to the left

4jranch

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I have just put on a new Michelin Road 6 front tire. This matches the new rear that I also installed recently. This is the second of these tires that I have tried. The first pulled so hard to the left it was very hard to ride the bike. I check every measurement I could with no problems noted. I then reinstalled the old tire and the bike tracked fine. I returned the tire to the manufacture and my money was refunded. I have now tried a second new Road 6. Same issue although much less pronounced. This time I removed the wheel and tire together and put it on my wife's bike. Same result. Spokes are all the same tension and with the wheel off I checked for any sign of misalignment. The wheel is straight. Needless to say I am disappointed. For a $200+ tire I think it should track straight. I can ride it as is but just not happy. Anyone else have similar issues? Any suggestions? Thanks
 

Fennellg

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Contact Michelin directly. I sold a car to a guy that owed a tire shop. He said Michelin will step up and replace tires and address problems that other manufactures blow off. Said they are a stand up company, cant hurt to try.
 

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What tire pressure are you running ?

What tire pressures have you tried ?

I’ve run this 6 on another bike and it has been fantastic!!!! Actually “AMAZING”

Side note I have noticed with the Michelin and the Motoz. After I installed the tires, and then filled them with the pressure I wanted to use, they held that for about a week. Afterwards I needed to add 5-6-7 PSI to each tire, back to my original pressure. For a tire like the Road 6, check the pressure maybe once a week until it stabilizes (or the outside temps might also be changing this time of year and changing the pressure)
*** Just make sure the pressure is correct and stays correct. In my case, that has taken a few extra minutes but we’ll worth the extra time for this super awesome tire.
 
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Squibb

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I have seen the Michelin PR6 left pull question discussed elsewhere recently, but no one seems to reach a conclusion.

Yes, the odd tyre may suffer issues, but if you're experiencing the same thing after a second new tyre has been fitted maybe the answer lies elsewhere. Could it be that the new profiles simply exaggerate the problem, although not the root cause.

I am thinking worn steering head bearings, or could the yokes be slightly out of alignment with the front axle - the odd fraction of an inch is all it takes.

We all ride around minor issues with our bikes as a matter of course, bent handlebars after a minor fall being the classic example.
 

4jranch

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I have used Michelin tires for years. Never any problems. When I got the first tire I assumed it was something wrong with the bike. I measured everything I could and it seemed OK. I then switched back to my old tire and the bike track straight. I assumed it was a manufactures defect as the bike really pulled hard and was not fun to ride. Now with the second tire acting similarly I was concerned about this particular tire package. When I switched it to my wife’s bike and it also did the same thing I was convinced it was either the tire or the wheel. I measured the wheel in every way I could think of and did not note any problems. I was running at a pressure of 33. The tire is rated up to 42 pounds. I will try that in both front and rear and see if I get a better response. The comment about bent handlebars etc. is very appropriate. I would likely keep this tire and deal with the issues but if I can’t get it better with air pressure changes I would likely be a little frustrated. I’ll keep everyone posted with the results. By the way we both took a set of PR4s To Alaska a few years ago. They performed great.
 

Michiel_S10

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I changed to the road 6 yesterday and have the same problem! The bike is pulling to the left on all speeds. Went back to the shop to have it checked but they couldn't find anything. I never had that issue before with the stock tyres or the michelin PR5's.
 

4jranch

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Well I appreciate your report. I was afraid of that. I think there is something truly wrong with these particular tires. After reading your post I will try the higher pressures but I plan to return the tires. Thanks for your input.
 

Cantab

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I have seen the Michelin PR6 left pull question discussed elsewhere recently, but no one seems to reach a conclusion.

Could it be that the new profiles simply exaggerate the problem, although not the root cause.
Hmm could be ? If it is plus the road camber where countries ride on the correct side ;) of the road may exaggerate the issue.

I ran 36F 38R last weekend on my wee trip away and bump them up about 2 - 4 psi if two up, ran PR5s PR2s and T32s at those pressures.
 

VALPOMIKE

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I have been in the tire business for 40 years. The cause of a tire to pull is that the steel belt is not perfectly centered on the carcass of the tire. If you knew the DOT number of both tires you could determine if they were produced in the same batch. The last 4 digits is the week and year of production. I would appeal to the seller first then get the manufacturer if no success with the dealer. Good luck!
 

Hank super10

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I have just put on a new Michelin Road 6 front tire. This matches the new rear that I also installed recently. This is the second of these tires that I have tried. The first pulled so hard to the left it was very hard to ride the bike. I check every measurement I could with no problems noted. I then reinstalled the old tire and the bike tracked fine. I returned the tire to the manufacture and my money was refunded. I have now tried a second new Road 6. Same issue although much less pronounced. This time I removed the wheel and tire together and put it on my wife's bike. Same result. Spokes are all the same tension and with the wheel off I checked for any sign of misalignment. The wheel is straight. Needless to say I am disappointed. For a $200+ tire I think it should track straight. I can ride it as is but just not happy. Anyone else have similar issues? Any suggestions? Thanks
Front fork alignment should fix your problem. Also, check final drive alignment if rear wheel didn't go back on it smoothly...
 

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Front fork alignment should fix your problem. Also, check final drive alignment if rear wheel didn't go back on it smoothly...

I’ve seen this before. Someone torques the rear pinch bolt and then torques the axle. The wheel then is not straight.

good point you bring up.
 

Lamby

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I'm currently running road 6 on mine without any issues tyre pressures most likely.
 

4jranch

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No joy. Increased air pressure actually made it slightly worse. Tire is going back. I hope Michiel-s10 and I are the only ones to have this problem but I suspect we won’t be. I’m definitely going to buy a different tire.
 

4jranch

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Just put on a Michelin Road 5 Trail front tire. This one tracks straight. It was the closest to the Road 6 tread so it should be fine with the new rear 6. I think that as suggested the Road 6 front tires that I tried were a bad batch. Hopefully I got the only two bad ones.

Thanks for all the input.
 

Michiel_S10

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Went to the shop where they rebalanced the tire and reinstalled it with the right torque specs. It didn't change a thing so we fitted a pirelli scorpion trail 2 (it was the only tire in that size available in the shop) and the problem was gone. So another bad batch tire here...

As 4jranch already said, thanks for the input guys.
 
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