mtnroadie

anyone using armadillo tires? how do you like them?

mattm

I used them, hated them. They're well known as strong tires, but they have a really harsh ride.

Check out Conti Ultra Gatorskins, they are a better balance between flat protection and ride quality.

55/Rad

Compared to Conti GP 4000's, they suck. Same with Pro 3 and many other performance-level road tires.

Compared to Michelin Krylions and other lightweight sport/performance tires that offer some flat resistance, they are heavier and not nearly as precise in handling.

BUT...if you are using your road bike as a serious commuter over somewhat rough and difficult road conditions, I wouldn't recommend anything else.

55/Rad

dbell@dytech.co

Never used Armadillos, but have had good results with Conti Ultra Gatorskins.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I train on them. The ride sucks, but they never flat. I keep them at no more than 100psi to give them some semblance of softness.

daven1986

I love them 120psi the ride sucks but they never flat. To me that is worth it.

docjoe

I am using the Armadillo Roubaix Elite tires on my bike and I like them. I like the firmer ride compared to the Gatorskins, which felt a little softer and slower.

Tunnelrat81

Used on my daily commuter. Same set of tires for over two years and no flats. It's only 7 miles round trip, but there have been many glass piles. Will replace with the same when these finally wear through.

-Jeremy

cheval

If I were offered a truck load of these for free- I would move out of country to keep from taking delivery.

Mr. Beanz

I use them on training ride thru the mtns. They are heavy but so am I!...I use a 25 then switch to a GP 23 for an event.

Never a flat on the Armadillos. Also used Conti Gatorskins, they SUCK as far as flat protection!

the shark

Conti Ultra Gatorskins is what I use now as the Conti 4000s were flatting.

The ride is rougher but no flats since I got them 2 mts ago and as an example story on a group ride Tuesday - 4/15 riders flatted I did not. I feel like I can ride over anything vs my paranoia prior to them.

The other tire I got was Schwalbe - Ultremo for my Time Trial bike - I do less miles on this bike but no flats yet and super smooth ride.

mattm

I guess the extra rolling resistance might make you stronger - and getting on better tires for races must feel like butta?

icyclist 

I have and like the Armadillo All Weather Elites; I've got them on a couple of bikes. They don't flat and if the ride is harsh, I can't tell. I'm sure the Conti Ultra Gatorskins are fine tires - they do list a weight greater the Elites, though.

Grumpy McTrumpy

yep. vittoria tubulars feel amazing after riding on those rocks.

AndrewP

I rode on them a couple of years. Almost as good flat protection as air-free tires but I think the ride is similar. The Panaracer Pasela TG foldable is puncture resistant enough for me, and makes the rides much more enjoyable. You only develop strength through the effort you put into training - high rolling resistance tires only make you slower.

jeanHTX

i ride 'dillos on my fixed bicycle and they're okay, never tried them on my road bike. from my Boy's experience, he loves running gatorskins on his road bike and i'm currently running gp4s on my road bike, i'd say those two are your best bet...

velostring

I love Armadillos' They are all I ride. I'm putting 200 miles a week in road riding here in the Bay Area and up into Marin. I've never ever had a flat. Worth it for that reason alone to me.

submicron

I used Armadillos on my fixed gear. They are very harsh, and very tough. They hardly wear at all, and cornering traction is poor, especially on wet. This is fine for fixed gear since you can't really corner aggressively. I had Gatorskins on my road bike, and they ride better, but they are not even in the same league in flat resistance. Mine were a goathead magnet. I retired both and switched to Schwalbe.

-submicron

mascher

I run a dillo on the back of my city bike and got way fewer flats than with what I ran previously (race/training tires and Gatorskins). I think I had anomalous experiences, but I had two tire-destroying failures with gatorskins that appeared to be clean tears along the casing much before their wear life was approached (one had less than 50 miles on it), but I liked them up to that point. Much lighter than 'dillos, obviously. I run a 28 to try to compensate for its seeming inflexibility.

Armadillos are like tank treads. After I'd worn one enough to square off the profile a bit I noticed that all of the little shards of rock and glass that get embedded in the rubber and normally would cause a flat perhaps a few (dozen) miles from where you picked it up would just stay embedded in the tire. The last time I got a flat I removed 12 pieces of glass from it, none of which appeared to be the culprit (piece of metal sticking right through the casing was).

rokataje

FRIGGIN LOVE EM!!! Got so tired of having flats and actual blow outs. NEVER a problem wilt the Armadillos. YES, they are a little harsh riding, etc. Unless your a racer etc., I recommend them. Have not used any other brands so I can't say anything about them. Good Luck.

Torelli4

I used to run'em until my LBS was out and I neede a new tire. I put on a Conti Ultra Gatorskin and the difference in the ride was unbelievable. Gatorskins are all I ride on now.

icyclist 

After I'm on a bike for a few minutes, it's difficult for me to tell the difference between one ride and another. I'm a big fan of Armadillo All Weather Elites. No flats, and the tires run plenty smooth enough for me. I have them on my plush Specialized Roubaix and on my fixed gear bike.

roadiejorge 

I used these once on a borrowed bike and it was fine for commuting but I didn't like their harshness for anything other than casual riding.

froze

I found the Armadillo's to be the only tire of the some 6 or 7 different brands I tried, including the Gatorskins, that didn't flat riding in the desert area of California where goatheads would kill the other tires.

Heavy? yes, but no flats is worth it. But they weren't too heavy to race the RAAM race with! My racing pals at Kern Wheelmen and Team Action Sports in Bakersfield raced the RAAM using Armadillos because their theory was that if they could complete the race without stopping to fix flats they might win...and they they did win without fixing a single flat. So I guess their not too heavy to race with in a long distance event, probably not good for a time trial though! But then in a time trial your not going to be racing on thorn and other debris covered roads.

Ryan McEachern

Switched to Armadillos after a bad spell of flatting about 5 times in two weeks. No flats since I put them on, although it has only been about 1000 km so far.

Since I have three kids now and am working nearly all the time - I need the certainty of being able to grab the bike and hammer away for an hour at any time of the day when I can steal away without worrying about finding a flat tire, and losing part of my dwindling cycle time to messing around with tubes and pumps, etc...


Most of my problems pre-armadillo were with dry, hard, blackberry thorns, and/or glass shards - probably because I live on highway 7 and it only seems to get swept once a year. Last year they did the piece in front of me right before the cold snap and seriously - there was only about one clean week before the sanding trucks messed it up again because of the snow. You would think they would sweep it in the spring.

-Ryan