ClevelandGuy

Check out Continental GP3000, so far they have been great. Mine have over 700 miles so far without a flat and the rear one looks like new. They cost around 47 bucks each but hey, they have a big responsibility...

TheRCF

Well, the bad news is: I got a flat today

The good news is: It was on the old front tire, not the Armadillo in the rear.

Since the rear was always where most of my flats were and where I have the new tire, that is the only one I really care about. If it works well, I'll changed the front tire too.

Bob (161 flatless miles on the REAR tire and counting)

greywolf

Iv'e just fitted Armadilos on the front & rear they seem OK but as you say ,time will tell!! They do ride a bit hard till you get used to them , compared to the gatorskin I had (only lasted 3months ) Useless as punture proof I ride a steel frame & have a Selle Royal Lookin saddle wich helps take the harshness out of the ride They are 700x23 & I ride them @ 100psi , this seems an ok press. but I may experiment a bit on that I will keep you posted on the success or failure ,but wats next ,solid tyres ???

TheRCF

I still don't notice any obvious difference in the ride. Of course, I always rode my tires at maximum pressure so it is possible that anything will feel stiff!

I'm still riding the Armadillo at 115 since that is the low end of what the tire says.

Bob (161 flatless miles on the REAR tire and counting)

froze

RCF; I went to the Specialize Website and it does appear they no longer make the folding version of the 700x23 Turbo Armadillo-to bad, it was a decent tire. I also weighed my tires on a digital postal scale, not sure how accurate that is but I never had mail returned for insufficent postage.

>I wonder if there is any difference in how the sidewall are on the different sizes. I'm worried about the reports some make about them not holding up.<

I heard those same stories but from experience I never had a problem with the sidewalls seperating. I have used all the 700 sizes and never even seen a problem looking like it may happen and I have ran the tires till wearout. I also asked 2 LBS's about that concern and the none of them had seen any Specialize tire to that and one LBS that recommended them and use them doesen't even sell them!!

I now have over 13,000 miles on the Armadillos and even with using ultralight 65grm tubes I have not had one flat-except for one flawed tube, but I don't count that.

Also the 28 is a slightly taller tire than the 26 but not wider and I measured these with calipers; so since I don't need a taller tire I will switch back to 26's all the around. I also run about 130 psi in the rear and 120 in the front.

GreyWolf: I ruled out the GatorSkin tire without even riding it because I found the sidewalls to be paper thin and I was getting stuff damaging the sidewalls on tires so knew those just would not last since I had experienced that with a Conti 3000.

By the way to those that want to know; I use to race back in the early 70's through to the early 80's and know from that experience how to handle a bike in fast turns. I no longer race, but I do know that I can trust the Armadillos to handle just fine. I got into a fun race on the bike path about 5 months ago and entered a section of the path where there is a series of 3 S turns in a row and the person I raced through that could not keep up with me and he was riding on Michelins. Not I am not saying that due to that experience that I feel the Armadillos could be raced on fast turns, but I am saying that they are plenty fine in the traction department for the normal bicylist. I also had to ride home during a surprise rain storm (as a rule I avoid rain), and did not experience any real problems that other tires do not experience.

TheRCF

> I heard those same stories but from experience I never had a problem with the sidewalls seperating. <

Good.

> I also run about 130 psi in the rear and 120 in the front. <

Interesting, since I'm assuming yours have the same rating as mine (115-125). Why those settings?

> By the way to those that want to know; I use to race back in the early 70's through to the early 80's and know from that experience how to handle a bike in fast turns. I no longer race, but I do know that I can trust the Armadillos to handle just fine. <

That's also good to know, from an experienced rider. I was happy with my 4-seasons, but I really had no experience to use as a comparison.

Bob (161 flatless miles on the REAR tire and counting)

TheRCF

I rode a bit more today and still no flats on the Armadillo in the rear and I know I rode through two areas of glass today.

Bob (190 flatless miles on the rear tire and counting)

TheRCF

Well, the Armadillo is up to 242 miles now with no problem. That's 2 miles more than the best I got out of the Mr Tuffy liner on the old tire between flats so I guess that is a milestone of sorts.

Bob

TheRCF

276 flatless miles on the Armadillo

mechBgon

Incidentally, it may be a good practice to use a bench grinder and feather the ends of the Tuffys. That's been my practice, anyway, because otherwise it may happen as you say... the abrupt edge of the Tuffy can chafe its way through the inner tube.

TheRCF

I had covered the ends with electrical tape. I was going to smooth the ends on the next flat, but ended up changing tires instead. I do think that at least once it wasn't the end that did it, but the side edge where it overlaps (and thus is thicker). At least I saw the usual worn groove going over the actual puncture as usual.

Bob (276 flatless miles on the Armadillo and counting)