Originally Posted by
GeorgeBMac
The guys at my LBS have generally discouraged me from getting tires with flat protection (Bontrager calls them "hardcase"). I can't say that there is any one particular reason, just things like "Their harder to change" and other sort of nebulous type negativity towards them.
But most of them are serious performance cyclsts...
There seems to be a "cool factor" in having the latest, lightest, high performance item even if it isn't the most durable and the rider is definitely not a top notch competitor. When I made the switch on one of my road bikes to kevlar tires it was amazing how many people counseled against it because they "would hurt performance". When actually, withiin my performance envelope, a pound or two difference in tire weight makes no significant difference. I suspect that is the case for others as well.
It seems to me tike tires could be easily made and sold that would be as flat resistance as motor vehicle tires. To say they can't is, to me, nonsense.
If someone enjoys thin, puncture prone tires and developing flat tire repair skills they can still have their fun. The rest of us can have more ride enjoyment time.