So a couple a weeks ago I get a sidewall cut on some cheap Kendas. I decide that now is the time to pop on some vaunted Armadillos. Halfway through the second week, my front tire is flat. Now to be fair I did have to ride through a part of Oakland where the road resembles something from Baghdad outside of the Green Zone.

Still, I think this is pretty nice tire and I still expect to get a lot fewer flats. Time will tell.

What variety of armadillos?

The red sidewall All Condition 700x23, ~37 bucks each at the LBS.

That sucks - check the bike tyre for car tyre carcas wire skewers. At least that's the only thing I seem to get punctures from with armadillos.

I had two flats over 4000 miles on my road bike on armadillos. Once was an ultra tiny sliver of metal wire. Once was the sidewall blowing out. :shrug: Tires are a lottery. I say Schwalbe is better because I've had similar flat experiences and the schwalbe has reflector sidewalls where the 'dillos have ugly red sidewalls. Riding a bike = flats. Its a good reason never to buy a nexus rear hub

...reflective sidewalls if you buy the right tyre.

https://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl...-8&sa=N&tab=iw

I rode 'dillos for years before discovering the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. The ride and wet weather traction are better and the flat resistance is far superior (though 'dillos are much better than ordinary tires -- particularly for sidewall cuts). The MP costs and weighs significantly more though.

Having said that, you just got unlucky. The

"Its a good reason never to buy a nexus rear hub"

How so? Because it has nuts, not quick release? Because you have to remove the shifter cable before you can remove the wheel? Unless you also got a roller or coaster brake, removing a Nexus wheel is a split second longer than removing one with cassette and quick release... and that's even doubtful once you get done futzing a quick release wheel out from the chain/derailleur clusterkcuf. Even with a brake in the hub and an extra connection to undo, I don't see a flat with a nexus hub slowing you down too much more than a couple extra minutes with a flat. Complete non-issue unless you don't like carrying an extra tool (15mm/adj. wrench).

Saying flats are a good reason not to buy a nexus hub equipped bike is just like saying flats are a great reason not to be riding in the first place.

schwalbe is the ONLY tire maker. these other supposed tire makers in reality just make **** in the shape of tires!

Schwalbe is the only summer tire maker. Nokian is the only winter tire maker, though.

Paul

Without Armadillo: three weeks, four flats (mostly glass) and one long walk (hey, new bike not yet completely equipped).

With Armadillo: One year, 1,200 miles, no flats.

I report, you decide.

My armadillo experience: Without, 1-2 flats a week in 150 miles/week of commuting. Since switching to armadillos, 0 flats in 1,800 miles of commuting.

My advice: don't give up on the armadillos yet.

My experience with those tires was similar except in the winter when flats occurred every couple hundred miles or so. Most flats were glass, most of the others were wires from steel belted radials. They're far better than regular tires in terms of flat resistance.

Switched to the Marathon Plus sometime back. Only 3 flats in over 20,000 miles -- one nail that tore a fender up, a roofing staple, and a huge shard of glass that would have required me to throw away any other kind of tire. Plus, I get a lot more miles out of the MP than I did out of the 'dillos.

Be more open minded.
To some people that extra cpl of minutes is a serious issue.
Ride through the area the OP mentions or Riviera Beach at 6:30 am and
have to screw around with a hub bike and tell me if you wouldnt re-think your position.
I own both, btw.....

Be more open minded. Some (most?) of us don't ride where a couple extra minutes is a life or death situation. Besides, I took OP's comment about Oakland to be indicative of road/tire hazards, not human hazards. If JBM2 had merely pointed out (as many have in the past) that nexus hubs take a couple more minutes to remove when changing a tire, it would be one thing, but to say "Riding a bike = flats. Its a good reason never to buy a nexus rear hub"...? C'mon... you ride IG hub, potential flats obviously didn't scare you off.

I have had exceptional luck with my Borough CX Armadillo Elite Tires, I tossed those on my Trek 520 after the flats I was getting on my Kenda Kwests. I am still up in the air on a 26" tire for my Marin Novato though. I am thinking either the Schwalbe MP or the Specialized Nimbus Armadillo. The Armadillo Elite doesn't have the maroon sidewall the Nimbus does. I do prefer the non-maroon so that might be factored in, along with all the positive reviews on the MP.

However, I'd say stick it out with your Armadillos for a bit, they may yet surprise you, in a positive way.

I've got about a thousand miles on my 'dillo's and ridden over some rough stuff with no problems. Is there a warranty on them? What about gator skins? I heard those were great tires too.

I've found that Armadillos and Continental Ultra Gatorskins peform about the same. They are not puncture-proof, and I still get the occasional flat, usually from center glass or long goathead thorn punctures; but as long as I make sure that the rubber down the center of my back tire is not worn out, I'm fine. You can tell when the rubber is worn out, when the area where the center of the tire meets the road is no longer rounded, but looks flat or square. If I let the rubber get a flat profile, then I can be prone multiple flats on a single day. I have to buy a new back tire every 1.5 years or so (about 5600-6000 miles for me), but have been running the same front tire for 3 years total, and it still looks great.

Armadillos are heavy and slow. I got a flat the first ride with my Ultra Gatorskins last year. It was a nail all the way through the tire. It made me worried I'd made a mistake. No flats since then. I wish they made them in 32mm.

How does the RR compare? Are they pretty good in the rain?

I'm not giving up on them. It was probably just one of those things since it took a tub of water to find the puncture. I got home fine, it was the next morning I found the flat. They do feel like they have greater rotational weight than others I have used, but I like the ride and they feel solid in corners.

I did intend to imply the road is hazardous to bike tires, but in fact this is not a great part of town either. I've got a track hub so I do have to pull out the wrench to facilitate a change. My target objective in this area is a BART station, so I can at least take refuge there for repairs.

For kicks look at https://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/crimewatch/

Plug in Coliseum Bart Station and open up the area to a mile. There is a "little" action going on there.

+1 for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I've got well over 2000 miles on my 700x25's with no flats yet.

Update

I haven't had a flat since the one reported in April. I was going home last night in the funky light just after dusk on a busy road and hit a what I think was a pretty substantial metal object. My rear tire spit it to the side with a load clatter. No hissing and pressure remained.

Once home I examined the tire and found a cut that created a .25 inch flap in the tread down to the Kevlar. Still had pressure this morning. I think that object would have shredded any other tire and the tube.

Now I'm really impressed.

The Ultra Gatorskins have been great to me; first flat (rear tire) was at 657mi. and was a very thin wire during a wet ride. The only thing is they are pavement only at any decent speeds. My previous tire Kenda Kwests on a hybrid were having 4-5 flats a week, but since the change too a road bike and the UG’s I have been riding farther away from the road edges which has probably helped a great deal also.

I'm on my third set of ultra gatorskins since June. I guess I ride in a war zone, also. My newest tire now has a nice slash down to the kevlar and is holding but the front has a nice screw hole through it. I got some of those Hutchinson tubeless tire patches and they are a bit@# to install. After trying to glue them in three times, I just slapped the patch on there with some duct tape and glued it from the outside. Problem solved. I recommend trying to patch your tires if you are having problems with tire damage.