Praxis

Totally unrelated to the fact that I've been looking at Schwalbe tires--my Armadillos have been falling apart from the first time I mounted them. It's not that the tread is coming off, but rather the rubber at the very inside of the tire, past the wire bead. It's right at the edge; get a tire iron on it and it just comes off in strips. If you're not lucky or careful you'll get bits left in your tire along with the tube, hastening a flat.

Anyone else have this problem with this or other tires?

pdlamb

Not I. Only one Armadillo (bought in West Yellowstone on tour two years ago), but it's still going strong. Of course that's the rain bike at home, so it only has 4,000 miles or so on it.

Nobodyetal

I've had this happen with multiple different types of tires - the tire iron scrapes off the excess rubber on the inside of the bead.

It hasn't caused me any problems thus far - and with the armadillos I have to take the tires off so infrequently I've never really even thought about it.

Kojak

When you inspect the inside of the tire, can you see loose bits of rubber? If you peel them off, is there more rubber underneath? Generally loose bits of rubber isn't a huge issue (except of course if this is causing tube abrasion/flats). If the carcass/fabric of the tire is intact, with no loose thread strands the tire should still be ok. If the carcass is also coming apart, you've got potential problems.

Koa C.

I have this problem right now and my tire actually had a tear in it where the tube pushed through. Last night this happened and i tried to fix it by putting a piece of old tube over the tear and then putting the new tube in but after ten feet the tube pushed through again. I was wondering if this problem happens more with the tires that you buy that are folded up in the box v. the ones that are rigid and not folded up. What is the difference between these? Is it just the widths, where the tires under 28cc are sold folded up and the bigger ones are rigid?

jack002

I have. Mine peel off a layer of rubber on the outside. It looks like a car tire with a bad retread job.

Kojak

I don't know much about how Specialized packages and markets their tires, but generally the difference between folding tires vs. non-folding tires is weight. Folding tires have a bead made of Kevlar (or something like it). It's very strong, but light and flexible. Rigid tires have a steel bead (heavy and not so flexible). Neither of these should be more susceptible than the other for production issues, but it's possible that a production run of one or the other had some issues. I would contact Specialized and see if they are encountering this in any sort of numbers, and heck, they may even warranty the tires.

prathmann

The difference is the material used for the tire bead. The ones that are more rigid use a steel bead while the ones that can be folded up use a kevlar bead. The kevlar is also a little lighter weight.

I frequently have a little bit of rubber come off near the bead, but it's never caused any problem. The only Armadillo tires I had were never removed from the rim until the tread wore down to expose the tire cords. I kept hoping they'd wear out sooner since they had a rather harsh ride and high rolling resistance, but they never got a flat and had good durability.

Koa C.

Thanks, I just did a little research on my own and found this out. I guess my tire was just bad or something, the tread is fine(still new looking) but the area right past the bead is trashed. It looks like it's going to separate at a few more spots than the one that's already ripped so I guess I gotta get a new tire today. Kinda pissed, I figured the Armadillo Roubaix Elite that I got would last a little longer than 5 months.

buzzbee

I never had this problem, in fact, I'm happy...
16K miles on the rear tire, 6K on the front tire, no flats and the tread wear is much less than other knobby tires (I haven't tried Schwalbe).
I'm using the 26" x 1.95", not sure of the bead type, don't think it's a foldable type.

scoatw

same here. I just noticed it last week. I've got about 4k miles on it, a nimbus, and the tread is still good but the rubber is separating from the tire. dissapointing. I liked that tire and I'll probably buy another. but if it keeps happening then I may go with another brand.

Praxis

No, not the carcass, just around the bead area. Seems like others have worse problems than I. The rubber makes it hard to mount and dismount the tires because the levers (which aren't sharp) end up scraping off strips of rubber and impeding the progress of the lever. It's mostly a problem getting them off; most of the problem seems to be on the inside edges. But remounting them is difficult too, and I often end up with bits of rubber in there. It's caused abrasion-related flats once or twice.

scoatw

Kicking up an old thread. I wanted to show a picture of what's happening. Maybe someone from Specialized will see it and correct the problem.

CinqueMalcolm

I'm definitely disappointed seeing as how I'd heard such positive things about these tires. They've been solid as far as eliminating flats from glass, etc. but the outer layer of the tire is peeling off and I think I've had these tires maybe 3-4 months. I would say I do about 140-200 miles a week. I switched to these after getting flats on the regular with those thin Continentals and the guy at the shop recommended them over Gatorskins, so I figured it was a good move. I really don't feel like dropping another $45 on these tires after my experience and hearing these stories as well.

Any recommended alternatives would be appreciated. Anyone have any with Fxyation tires?

zonatandem

Recommend and use 'em on our tandem: Maxxis Re-Fuse 700x25

Sirrus Rider

I advocate a more direct approach.. E-mail that pic to Specialized's customer service Dept.

SlimRider

Damn! This is really disconcerting, to me!

I was just getting ready to purchase a couple of Armadillos. I even recommended them to other people, based upon all of the previous positive reviews I've read.

Now, I feel like a heel for ever having recommended something that I really didn't know about! This is just awful!

Kojak

I probably shouldn't be writing this about another mfg. tires, but don't get down on a tire brand because you've had an issue. Contact them, and let them take care of it.

In my opinion, Schwalbe makes some of the best bicycle tires available, but we still have problems with a tire every now and then. If it's truly a bad tire (not just worn out or damaged due to riding) we replace it. So, as Sirrus Rider suggested, go to the Specialized website and at least give them a chance to take care of you. If they do, you won't be out money for a replacement tire. If they don't, you'll act accordingly in the future.

SweetLou

I agree, every manufacturer will have a bad product every now and then. But, Armadillo tires are more prone for this to happen. Besides riding like bricks, these tires have a reputation of peeling. I have seen quite a few of them. I worked at a Specialized shop and I would never recommend these tires. We had other choices that I consider a far superior tire.

I tried to convince a co-worker (different shop) not to buy them, but he did for his trip to South America. His tire started to peel before getting out of the US. He took my advice and bought a Marathon as a replacement.

El Gigante

Other than their weight and the harsh ride, haven't had any issues with Armadillos. I have 700 x 28 Armadillo Infinitys on my Tricross Comp and have not had any problems with either the rubber on the bead flaking, or the tread separating from the cord. I only got about 2000 miles on my last rear tire, but I probably replaced it before it was really bad.

Underground

I've had good luck with Bontrager tires lately. Then again, the only one I have some mileage on is the 23c Hardcase tires. I have about 1000 on those so far. I got cheap Bontrager H2's on the commuter. I am also running a set of Stop Flast 2 tire liners. So far no issues. Then again, I only have about 50 miles on the setup so far, but I started over with the new computer, so I'll say 37 miles.

Metal Man

I had one come apart just like scoatw's.

nfmisso

I have an Armadillo 630-32 on the rear of the World Tourist. The Armadillo is a heavy beast. One puncture (piece of steel wire, probably from a car or truck tire steel belt) in 5K miles with a 300+lbs rider in an urban environment.

Because of their construction, Armadillos do NOT tolerate under inflation. The sidewall on mine say a MIN and a MAX pressure. Keep them in that range, and no issues. Below the MIN, and problems will result.