Originally Posted by rule
When you commute, with all the starts, stops, and maneuvers, anything that accelerates and handles like a toad is going to slow you down or at least be noticable over something more responsive. Surely that's fair enough for a guy asking an honest question as it relates to commuting?
Sorry but this is a honest answer; the answer is NO, Armadillos will not slow you down by more then maybe 10 seconds (and I'm being very generous) over a course of 8 miles of stop and go commuting, but a flat will slow you down a lot more! In fact no flats was what Team Action Sports was counting on during the RAAM-a race with no stopping periods to fix a flat, and that's what they got and won.
I never had any handling issues; heck I use to race guys down winding mountain roads when I lived in Bakersfield California on Armidillos (700x25) and could either out handle or keep up with them! I never noticed any real issues with them nor was I scared to push the tires limits...and I was in my late 40's running against guys in their 20's and 30's!!! That's not to say I think these tires are high performance racing tires, but on normal roads their fine.
Problem is there are some people out there who think Armadillo tires are soooooooooo slow that there is no way anyone could or should ride on them, and that just pure bull! Are they maybe a tad slower? Maybe in the larger sizes, and maybe in a race like the TDF it could mean the difference between winning and losing; but there they sweep the course before the race to remove all debris, thus flats are rare anyways and when there is they get a new rim with a new tire, so the down time is very short so using a flat resistent tire like the Armadillo is stupid.
But like you said, we're talking about commuting to work where a flat will make you late to work which is not how you impress the boss. Armadillos, though not flat proof, are the most flat resistent tires on the market thus your down time due to flats while going to work would be almost all but eliminated thus saving you time and maybe your job.