Road Cycling - Punctures & Tubes

Newb here. Been riding my Lemond for about a month now, averaging about 75mi/week, and in the last week had 2 punctures. Questions to all the experienced riders:

Has anyone tried any of the thorn resistant Tubes or Tires (Spzd Armadillo...) and are they worth the price of entry. Are these something you'd recommend?

What are your experiences with self healing / slime injected road tubes? Do they make the ride harsher or heavier or are there any other problems with this kind of tubes?

Appreciate your comments.

I use Armadillo tires and do not get flats. The tires are heavier than average and some people say they ride harsh, but at 120 psi, all tires ride harsh.

I don't use slime or thorn resistant tubes. I don't see a need to with the Armadillos.

Slime is OK for low preesure tire but at road tires pressures wont plug the hole. Continental 4 Seasons are also reinforced for thorn resistance with less weight than the Armadillos. You can also get plastic shields to fit between the tire and tube.

Newb here. Been riding my Lemond for about a month now, averaging about 75mi/week, and in the last week had 2 punctures. Questions to all the experienced riders:

Has anyone tried any of the thorn resistant Tubes or Tires (Spzd Armadillo...) and are they worth the price of entry. Are these something you'd recommend?

What are your experiences with self healing / slime injected road tubes? Do they make the ride harsher or heavier or are there any other problems with this kind of tubes?

Appreciate your comments.

For summer commuting I use Armadillo's; they're very puncture resistant up to around 3000 miles. Also, they're cheaper than all the other tires I ride on. Is your Lemond new, or did you buy it used? If used, how many miles are on the tires. I've found that (depending on the tire) after 2000-4000 miles the tire is shot any essentially everything gets through to the tube.

I ride in the streets of Atlanta that are littered with broken glass, metal bits, and all sorts of trash.

Get some Continental Grand Prix 3000 tires. I ride them all the time and average ~1500 miles between flats. Colorado Cyclist (http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=16089&S=16089,29472,31054,14570,26684,12424,12428,27276,29473,31131,29474,31132,31133,32600,12429,12435,12 438,12415) has them on sale for $36.99.

Another good tire (on my other bike) is Vittoria Rubino Pro (http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=16105&S=33054,16105,13633,22967,13577). Just under 800 miles and no flats.

I have Armadillo's on my bike...but funny enough am getting them switched out to Maxxis ReFuse as we speak for a ride tonite. Main reason is because I want the 23c vs the 26c stock Armadillos.

I never flatted w/ the Armadillos, so I can attest to their ruggedness. They are a heavier tire...and mine are only rated at 100psi, so I'm looking foward to the 120psi tires.

I'll let you know how the new ones compare...they are considered a training tire and are supposed to be more puncture resistant as well.

For summer commuting I use Armadillo's; they're very puncture resistant up to around 3000 miles. Also, they're cheaper than all the other tires I ride on. Is your Lemond new, or did you buy it used? If used, how many miles are on the tires. I've found that (depending on the tire) after 2000-4000 miles the tire is shot any essentially everything gets through to the tube.

Thanks all for the comments. Bike and tires are new. Around 200 miles tops. I was hoping to not have the tires changed so soon though :rolleyes: I'll look up the Armadillo's and the Contis.

What is the shield? any brand names you could suggest? I guess the slime alternative is used more by the mountain bike crowd then?

On a side note, just wondering (with inherent fallacies, of course) amazing that Automotive tires cost twice as much, need 1/3 the pressure but last more than 15 times longer!