Bicycle Mechanics - armadillo tubes???

I have been getting flats quite often lately. I have slick tires on my mtb. The slicks seem to be in decent condition. I tried the slime liners, still got flats regularly. Placed a tube that I had cut open between the inflated tube and the tire, still got flats. Currently I have a slime tube and still have the cut tube wedged in there between the two. But if I still get flats regularly I am thinking of going to an Armadillo tube. I read some product reviews and they seem better than the Thorn proof tubes that I tried to buy at REI today but they don't carry them. So....what do you all think of the Armadillos????? I gotta get this flat tire problem resolved. I get about 2-3 flats a week, it's killing me!!!



Thanx


Gabe

Do you mean Armadillo tires, made by Specialized? I checked their website and they do not have an Armadillo tube line.

Armadillo tires work great for preventing flats. You can get slicks for an MTB (Nibus Armadillos) or semislicks (Hemisphere Armadillos).

Have you identified what has been giving you the flats. If you have a little peice of glass, or wire, embedded in the tire and only just sticking through, it can give you all these repeated flats. You need to run a tissue around the inside of the tire and see if it catches on anything.

two suggestions: (1) tuffy liners, (2) kevlar belted tires

Thanx everyone for the info!

I checked out specialized.com and looked at the tires. The Nimbus says it's for 26x1.50. Currently mine are 26x1.95. Would the 26x1.50 fit?? The Hemispheres were the same size though, maybe I'll just go with those.

Gabe

the 26 X 1.5 will be better for streets (even with potholes), but if you are riding over rocks or soft sand you will need the fatter tires.

I can vouch for 700Cx28 Specialized Armadillo road bike tyres and their immediate predecessors, and for Continental Ultra-2000 700Cx23, as well. However, I have been using WTB Raptors on the mountain bike and plan to try something else next time.

Two or three flats per week isn't common. You obviously have a problem that you haven't figured out yet that is causing all of those flats. Here's what I would do:

1. Whenever I install a tire, I orient it so that the colored label is adjacent to the valve stem.
2. Whenever I get a flat, I pump a little air into the inner tube to see where it is leaking.
3. If the leak is on the inside circumference, none of the things you have done so far would be any help what-so-ever. Most likely you need new rim strips (can you say velox?). The rim strip needs to cover the whole inside of the rim from flange to flange. Even a tiny creasent of spoke hole showing will cause repeated flats.
4. If the leak is on the outside circumference, you probably have a common puncture. As one of the other posters has indicated, it is important to remove the thorn or glass or whatever if it is still stuck in your tire. If your tire label is adjacent to the valve stem, you will have a better idea where exactly on the tire to look.
5. Another common type of leak is commonly called a "snake bite." If your inner tube has two parallel slits, that's what you have. Common causes are pinching the tube under the tire bead during installation and too little air pressure.

I suspect your problem is covered under either #3 or #5. Figure it out and you will save yourself the money of buying expensive new tires, fancy tire liners, or yuck-filled tubes. You'll also be able to spend more time riding your bike and less time fixing flats.

Kenda makes a puncture resistant tube for 26" x 1.5"/2.2" .

Kenda makes a puncture resistant tube for 26" x 1.5"/2.2" .

how much them kevlar tubes cost?

how much them kevlar tubes cost?

The tubes aren't made of Kevlar, but are just thicker then a regualar tube. Standred equipment on rental beach crusiers.

how much them kevlar tubes cost?

The tubes aren't made of Kevlar, but are just thicker then a regualar tube. Standred equipment on rental beach crusiers. I'm not sure of a retail price since I get them from a wholesaler, but they're Kenda Thorn Resistant Tubes.

armadillo has kevlar mtb tubes.