hotwired

No! not the one around my midsection! I use Specialized Armadillo tires which have the huge advantage of being virtually puncture proof. They also have a huge disadvantage which is that they are virtually impossible to get on a rim using tire levers. I am racking up the miles without any flats so far but it is too soon to replace my current tires. I am considering carrying a Hutchinson folding tire with a Kevlar bead weighing 210 grams, along with an inner tube so that if I do get a flat I wont have to struggle trying to get the Armadillo back on the rim. Anyone else carry a spare tire with them.

Retro Grouch 

Have you ever installed a folding tire onto a rim?

Once they've been on the rim and inflated so that they have some shape they're not so bad. Brand new ones, which are folded up conveniently to carry, are a PITA the first time you install it onto a rim. I think they're lots harder than Armadillos.

hotwired

Retro: Very good to know! Once installed, stretched and subsequently removed can a folding tire be refolded to store in saddle bag?

NOS88

Yes.

Mojo Slim

Some of the guys in my group carry a standard tire, folded, under their seat bag, in case a tire gets shredded. None have ever had to use it.

Shifty

I use regular Armadillo tires, the first installation is hard, but once they've been on the rim and ridden they stretch a bit and are not that hard to work on the road if you should flat. The second and third installation get increasingly easier.
I never carry a spare tire, a GU wrapper between the tube and tire will hold very well until you finish your ride and get home, I've covered some very big holes this way.

hotwired

Plenty of room under my Brooks B17 saddle!

10 Wheels

I carry one under my Topeak rear rack.
3 spare tubes, patches, two pumps.
30 miles from home I had a rear tire with 2,800 miles on it, Snake on me.
Thump ,Thump all the way back home.
It had worned down to the threads by the time I got home.

IntoThickAir

I haven't carried a spare tire since 1981. On tours I do bring a bit of duct tape, in case I need to patch a sidewall rip - but I've yet to use it. I'm lucky, careful, and use pretty good tires.

DnvrFox

While tough, I have no problem with Armadillos - on 3 different wheels.

It truly is in the technique. I have even mounted them with no tools.

Be sure you are keeping the tires edges in the center of the whell - in the dish.

Retro Grouch 

Excellent point!

hotwired

It would probably be worth my time to practice changing out a tire over the winter. It has been 40 years since the last time I changed a tire.

stapfam

Always carry a folder on the Tandem- but just don't bother on the other bikes. And that tough tyre to fit- I use a thick rim tape and that takes up the room in the well of the rim. It does make it tough to remove and fit tyres.

staehpj1

Where and how far do you ride would be factors in whether to carry a spare. It would seem to me to be a bit much to carry a spare tire unless riding in really remote places on tour. I know that I didn't bother with a spare when I rode coast to coast and towns were few and far between on much of the route.

I have found that in most cases good technique is the key in getting tires on and off of the rims. Otherwise maybe carry a Kool Stop Bead Jack. I haven't tried one myself, but have heard that work pretty well.

Bud Bent

I carry a spare tire on my randonneuring rides.

Jim from Boston

I'm not sure what a "GU wrapper" is (?GUM), but a dollar or other denomination currency bill works great as patch. A mechanic once told me you could even use some leaves in a pinch.

The Smokester

The Park Tire Boots are also worth carrying. Even with really high quality, brand new tires you can get a screw or nail go throught the bead and out the sidewall...Sometimes even through the rim! A boot (or the famous dollar bill substitute) and careful, low pressure riding will see you through an amazing amount of miles back to civilization.

bobkat

The good thing about armadillos is that they rarely, in my experience, ever get a flat. In 3 or 4 years and about 4500 miles I've only had one flat, and possibly because they had been on for several thousand miles they were easy to get off and back on beside the road. I'm not even sure I had to use levers either.

hotwired

Thanks for sharing your experience with Armadillos. I want to avoid being miles away from home in 45* weather struggling with cold hands to get a tire back on a rim.

NOS88

I carry a HeatMax Hot Hands 2 handwarmer in my jersey pocket on cold days. They can make fixing a flat much easier.

hotwired

More helpful information. I love this forum! Thanks Hotwired

doctor j

I would recommend the Park Tool tie boot as well. A pack of three of them is about the size of a credit card, so they lay flat and require very little space. I ran over something, not sure what, earlier in the year, and a reasonably new tire was sliced open. I installed the boot and a new tube and was able to get back to the truck. Went and got a new tire and finished the ride.

nashcommguy

I HAVE tried one and they work great. Have SMP on all my commuters and the Kool Stop mounting tool has saved more than one pinch flat, I'm sure. They stow away pretty easily in panniers, but are a little long for seat wedges. I keep mine cable tied to my frame pump and use side cutters to free it. Very handy device. Would recommend highly.