Corsaire

Thanks, Rich.

Yeah, it just dawned on me the fact why should I have two tires of the same kind, if I could combine the best of both worlds: Gators & Armadillos (sounds like strange bed fellows, doesn't it?)
My overall flat experiences have ALWAYS been the rear tire (the *****y one because of the chain), maybe because of my riding style, I'm always checkin the road ahead - what's coming on to me, almost always I hop over spotted pavement problems, but the rear gets to go over what the front got over.
I'll keep it posted how it worked out.
Corsaire

LittleBigMan

I'm very happy with my Continentals.

Corsaire

I went this morning for a 26 mile ride on my newly acquired Nimbus Armadillo 700x28C.
It rolled smooth on flawless pavement, although got a bit rough on less than perfect parts of the road (my bike is a Chromoly hybrid), just like the name states Nimbus, it felt nimble feeling almost any road roughness; by mile 16 I bumped into a group of road bikers, I trailed behind them for two miles until we got to a steep hill, I got on my toes and passed three of them, couldn't beat the faster guys, my gears didn't live up to the challenge either, like I said not a road bike, can't wait to get me one, but that's another story.
I have perused and examined these tires closely, inflated and deflated, and seems like Specialized have fixed the stiff wall problems, the red color walls doen't feel stiff, but only time will tell, but so far so good. I'll get me the 25C version of the Armadillos once they come out, at least for rear tire, the front I'll use the Gator, also 25C.

Corsaire

prestonjb

LBM what kind of contis?

mrfix

After trying many tires over the years and living season after commuting season with the short commings of each, the continuous flats, the premature tread wear, the poor handling characteristics whe loaded, the sliding around on wet roads. I decided to try the Conti top touring 2000 on the commuter, I bought the 26" X 1.75, I run them at 50 PSI, I now have 5561 flat free miles on these tires, the tread is still 50% there and they handle loaded as well as they do unloaded, they ride soft and present very little rolling resistance. They haven't slipped on wet roads and do quite well on hard packed dirt roads. I liked them so well I bought a second set fo my touring bike and a set of ultra 2000's for my road bike, none of these tires have ever flatted, I guess I'm a conti fan.

willic

Like Mrfix. After about 4,000 miles on my Conti top touring 2000, I was begining to think they were practicly indestructable. But this morning riding into work I recieved my first flat, thanks to a sharp metal object wich I failed to see till it was to late. On inspection the tyre was badly slit so I called in at the L.b.s for a replacement, only to be disappointed when told there were non in. I was shown many other tyres, but I declined all of them, Insisting on ordering a new conti so pleased had I been with them. So John The bike shop owner patched up my present tyre hopefully to get me by until the new tyre arrives,

That is how enthusiastic I am towards the CONTI TOP TOURING 2000.....

notgermy

I've been riding Vittoria Zaffiro Aramid 700x25c and I love them. The best thing about this tire: they run $25/pair.

Kevlar is great but I've yet to see a tire that can withstand glass. To decrease the likelihood of a puncture I routinely remove the tire and dig any and all glass shards out with an sharp implement. Sure it's time consuming but I'll trade the comfort of my garage over the side of the road any day!

Desertrat

I used Ritchey Cross 700x38 for about two years solid.....NOT ONE FLAT!
I was very pleased and I did 20 miles per day commute on this particular bike. I also use Green Slime tire liners.....worth it and not too pricey.

froze

The Specialize Armadillo actually use 3 flat protection layers, the following was copied from their web site:

"Race Across America (RAAM) two time winner and 6 podium positions. Our most flat resistant tire with bead to bead flat protection. Co-developed with engineers from DuPont®, the next-generation Specialized Armadillo tire family combines the smooth, long-wearing ride of a performance tire with three proven flat-protection technologies.

A DuPont aramid subtread barrier provides bead-to-bead protection. A second aramid barrier impregnated with an aramid-engineered elastomer seals all gaps in the fabric weave. Finally, a new synthetic cap ply material uses a lightweight version of the latest offroad motorcycle racing technology to prevent sidewall cuts. The result is the most effective flat-prevention technology on the market. Available in both Mountain, Road, BMX and Ergo/RTB versions. Just look for the Armadillo Icon."

So even though these tires are made more for commuting and light touring there are some people racing on them. I commute plus ride for excercise and light touring, I use to get at least 1 flat per ride or destroy the tire before switching to the Armidillo's, I feel they are the best for that because they have eliminated flats. Note, this flat problem was not a large issue before I moved to Bakersfield when I averaged about 4-5 flats a month on racing tires, but when I moved to Bakersfield that ratio went to 3-5 per week! Thus my search of many tires to reduce the flat issue here eventually after about 12 sets of tires and never getting more than 750 miles out of a tire led me to the Armidillo.

Ed Holland

Another vote against the Hutchinson Kevlar excel I'm afraid. Yet another of these just "let go" at the sidewall, close to the bead. It seems the fabric casing cannot deal with the wear and tear where they meet the rim (not just one set of wheels either). The tread would have stood a great deal more milage, which is frustrating.

After a few months using Conti "ultra gatorskins" on my other bike, I decided I like them enough to invest in a second set. They do seem to ride better than the Hutchinsons IMO, which is interesting, since others contributing to this thread have made negative comments about this aspect of their performance.

Cheers,


Ed

Chuckie J.

I've used Specialized Infinity (700 x 32) for the last eight months and like them a lot. They aren't Armadillos but have something Specialized calls "Flak Jacket" protection. I've had two flats in approximately 3000 miles and they were both "stealth flats"-- flat after returning to a parked the bike.

I just put on some Ruffy Tuffys (700 x 28) today. My rear Infinity was looking a little worn so I figured I'd try the Ruffy Tuffys. I'm hoping they're as good as the Specialized. I'll chime in again when I know.

Chuckie

Daily Commute

Before I put on Gatorskin Ultras, I got a flat when a piece of glass went around the side of my kevlar lining. So I like having the belt go up the sidewall. As "Late" pointed out, the downside is that the Gatorskins don't absorb as much shock as other tires. (I can only compare them to non-kevlar tires, so take this comment with a grain of salt.) You can mitigate some of the harshness by getting wider tires. I use 700x28's when I could have gone narrower. I've only had the Gatorskins on for a few hundred miles, so I can't judge their durability. But I like the way they deal with rain and the way they corner.

froze

I have commuted over 15,000 miles on Specialize Turbo Aramadillos and only have had 2 flats, one from a faulty tube and the other because I let the tire wear down to far where cord was showing in some small parts of the tire and a piece of glass went thru the cord. But normally I crunch glass without fear of flats. These are the best tires on the market for flat protection. Are they heavy? yes, but you can counter some of that by using ultralight Specialize 65grm tubes or Mich 70gram tubes. Are they stiff? yes, because the sidewalls also have flat protection there as well-no other tire I know of does that. Great tire for commuting because you will have very little to worry about getting flats anymore.

Bryan T

Conti Ultra Gators, appx 2k miles so far.

As for ride, I went from Michelin Axial Pro's,
which I LOVED, and initially felt like the Cont's
were going to slip out from under me, but I
adapted quickly and like them a lot.
So far so good.

Ed Holland

Bryan,

It is interesting that you mention the slippery feel of the Conti Gators - This concurs with my experience. In the wet they seem to have slightly poorer grip than the Hutchinson kevlar Excel tires used previously. This is especially noticable when riding over iron-work (covers, railway tracks etc.).

I have also suffered a couple of punctures recently but then, nothing is puncture proof....

Cheers,

Ed

naisme

I gotta mention my Nokians. I love these suckers. Every season they go on and carry me through some fun stuff that an ordinary tyre just can't handle. Of course I wouldn't try a road tyre out on a frozen lake, but I trusted the Nokians to give it a try.
I haven't flatted them yet. I can't imagine what it would be like to change them at the side of the road with numb fingers. There'd be a good deal of cursing I'm sure.
I'm still deciding on tyres for the rest of the season. I've had the side walls of Contis shed on me, the fabric was fraying, and wrapped around the hubs. It was a poor experience. I've got Sefras 700x23s, which were great until the first flat created hole in the inner lining and continues to abraid the tube to where it goes flat, I've got several tubes with the same hole in the same place. Yes, I checked to make sure there wasn't a forien object inbedded in the tyre.
Specialized I like, I have a set of Michelins now that I like, and some off road cycle cross(Vittoria) that have been phenominal. I'm still a whimp when it comes to putting out bucks for a set of tyres, on the promise that they'll improve my ride. I'd rather go inexpensive, than lay out the cash for something that'll last. That's flying in the face of the Nokians I know.
But since I've gotten rid of the steel coffin, I figure wtf, let's get some good tyres.

Daily Commute

I wonder if there is really much of a difference between Gators, Armadillos, or other similar tires when it comes to wet pavement. Maybe one of the engineering-types in this forum could jump in, but given that the treads on these tires don't differ by much, I'd think the only thing that would matter would be the size of the tires. So 700x32's would hold better than 700x23's, but Gators and Armadillo's would hold about the same.

Dchiefransom

I have Conti Gatorskins on my Zurich for rec riding, and Armadillos on my Trek 1000 for commuting or shorter rides. The tread compound on the Armadillo actually feels softer to me than the Gatorskins. This is the 2004 Armadillo. The older ones were fairly hard also.

PaulH

Naisme, I agree with you on the Nokians. They are the only tires I have used that have never flatted. Of course, there may be other factors -- snow and ice cover some road debris and the cold may keep some folks from drinking outside ans smashing their bottles. Still, I am impressed. They are really quality tires.

Either this weekend or next, I will be taking them off and putting on Schwalbe Marathon Plus (622-40). I'll kinda miss the buzz and crackle of the studs.

Paul

froze

Some people think that when it rains this or that tire is slippery, usually thats false and here's why. When it first starts raining the roads are slippery anyway due to the oil that comes to the surface and any bicycle tire will slip if pushed on that situation. After it has rained for an hour or so than most tires will respond adequately. I have rode the Specialize Armadillos during a rain storm that hit while on a bike path; of course you need to slow down in the rain which is what I did to be prudent. On the path the tires worked great with no issues of slipping, however about 20 minutes later I had to get on a surface street and thats when I notice quite a difference and had to ride very cautiously due to the slippery conditions. What was the difference between the bike path and the street? Cars don't drive on the bike path so the oil was not there whereas on the street the oil was there causing the slippery conditions.

I have rode numerious of high performance tires over the past 35 years in the rain and I can tell you the experience that happened above is above is virtually the same!!! Maybe a Conti Top Touring tire or something similar won't behave that way, but I have never tried those so cannot attest to that.