alfonsol

I have a pair of beefy armadillo 700x38's. I've put a lot of city-miles on them and occasionally I find thing embedded in them that would have caused a bad day. ie: https://img215.yfrog.com/i/7ey.jpg/

Every time I find such a thing I think to myself "Well, thank God I had those armadillos. These things are amazing!"

But then there are the occasional punctures. In the year an a half I've had them, I've had maybe 3 or 4 punctures. And every time that happens i think to myself "Piece of **** armadillos don't do a damn thing! What a waste of money!"

So, I guess I am wondering if anyone has a more empirical data to go on? Cause after more than a year of riding on them, I am still sort of on the fence. Are they actually saving me from so many more punctures that I can't imagine? OR are they just not doing much?

dwilbur3

I never had a flat on them, but in the end I decided they were overkill for my commute. I switched to Marathon Racers, and I'm happy I did (they handle better wet and they weigh half as much).

Given the worst case (usually industrial staples on my commute) I think any air-based tire will be punctured.

KLW2

I've been using them for 3 years (Armadillo Nimbus) and knock on wood, no flats at all. I just bought a set of Armadillo Hemispheres for my LHT tourer based on that experience.

AndrewP

I had almost puncture-free experience with Armadillos, but have since used lighter tires with Kevlar belts (Bontrager silicon RaceLite, Panaracer TG foldable, Continental Gatorskin), which make the rides more enjoyable, with only slightly less flat protection.

Deshi

I ran a set of Armadillos for about 1 week. The rear started to some apart. The tread separated from the casing. It was warrantied. Got the new one in and rode it for about another week. Separation yet again. Sent it back was warrantied again. Took used front and new rear and gave away. Switched to Gatorskins. Not one flat on them to date. Still running the same set and they look great so wear is excellent.

I work in a shop that sells Specialized. My separation experience is not the only one I saw. I had 2 or 3 customers this year with equally bad experiences with Armadillos.

My 2 cents.

Here is the tire I and my customers had issues with. The Armadillo All Condition.

nowheels

I prefer the lighter NIMBUS , though they do not have the rim to rim protection, they have a better grip in wet conditions.

sportridertex

I've been riding on my TREK SU100 for 3 years now, with no flats, I have the Armadillo Nimbus tires on my bike, 26 x 1.5 tire size

CB HI

Good puncture resistance, but at least on model feels like riding on a square tire when in high speed (big lean) turns. Other models do have a smooth ride in turns.

DJConspicious

I have a lot of flats but I am currently using some cheaper tires (on the original rims for my 20 some odd year old bike). Just recently I jerry-rigged a way to prevent flats but still keep it flexible. Most of my flats are caused by those damned thorns that fall off those plants, they are everywhere here. I had some duct tape (silver tape) and double rolled it horizonally so I could lay it inside of the tire itself. I then put another strip on top of that that was folded the opposite way (so it wasn't sticky on the outside). The double sided tape kept this tape on the tire and prevents the innertube from sticking to it.

I haven't notice much difference in handling but I haven't gotten a flat on that tire since I fixed. I rarely ever get flats up in the front so I'm going to wait to get a flat before fixing it (it's good to have more than one bike!).

AdamDZ

I used Armadillos 700cc and 26 for a few years and they were good, maybe two-three punctures a year. My LBS recommended Maxxis Re-Fuse and they're better, zero punctures in two years of daily commuting in NYC. They're also lighter than Armadillo. But they only come in 700x23 and 700x25 sizes.

https://www.maxxis.com/Bicycle/Traini...s/Re-fuse.aspx

A.

AdamDZ

Slime Tire Liners:

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...re+Liners.aspx

A.

wheel

had tire separation on both Elites and another one.

My kendra eruotrekker lasted about the same 3400 and produced about the same results.

I found the elite ride rather stiff.

No longer will buy these ever.

idcruiserman

Gatorskins FTW

LostPony

I love my old (but still running) set of Armadillos- they've been used pretty hard and never flatted.

rumrunn6

the tires are fine - you have to change where you ride! ;-) I have them on 3 bikes sized 27 x 1 1/4 and 700 x 28C. I put about 2,000 miles on the 3 bikes last year and didn't have any "puncture" flats. The flats I had were tube/rim tape related, plus 1 bad valve. I have the smooth all-condition armadillos.