Punctured on Armadillos after only 2 months - AARRGH!

christeb

I punctured on my Spesh Armadillos today and I'm very angry!

After having read the threads here, they were essentially touted as bombproof - that could actually be a direct quote!

The summary was:

-they're crap in the wet
-They're crap on corners
-they're slow
-they don't puncture

After having 3 punctures in 3 months on my old Conti SportContact tyres - I invested in the Armadillo's.

So what gives???

ruprect

Tis the season to get punctures, la la la la...

I got 2 on my gatorskins in the last week, 1 was a big nail that would have got through anything, and I think the other was a faulty tube, never saw a puncture like it before, possibly a pinch, but I was careful. My mate got 2 as well, and we have been puncture free all year.

I ordered these glueless patches
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7206
for emergencies. And others for normal use
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=5371

I used to carry a tube, but that means taking the entire wheel off, these glueless patches should be quicker.

Diarmuid

How many km in 2 months?
Are they correctly inflated?
Are you cycling over glass everyday?

I've had 1 puncture on the Gatorskins after 6 months and 3800+km and that was after 1 month. Just because you got 1 after 2 months doesn't mean they are not tough. There are no such things as completely puncture proof tires.

Chips Lovell

Diarmuid wrote: »

There are no such things as completely puncture proof tires.

+1 Sometimes you just get unlucky.

kenmc

Yeah - 1 puncture after 2 months is hardly statistically significant. Wait until you reach a year and then decide - if you get no more punctures all year, then 1 puncture a year is good going, and you'll be singing the praises of armadillos, won't you!?

Edit: for what it's worth, my new bike came with Schwalbe Ultremos. I punctured on my first spin on that, after 26km. Whereas on my gatorskins I've punctured once in 8 months of commuting and long rides - about 2000km. Damn, now I've just jinxed myself - hope you're happy

blorg

Diarmuid wrote: »

There are no such things as completely puncture proof tires.

Entirely true, you can puncture on anything but the Armadillos in my experience present the least chance of it by far. Don't use them any more however due to the disadvantages you listed (harsh ride, slippy, etc.)

christeb

As I've been combining cycling with running and walking to work (basically anything to avoid paying for stuff in a recession) I've only been doing 25 miles per week or so. No weekend cycles to add to this.

The cycle is on crappy roads (like 99.9% of the city) but I bought into the whole "get ready for the urban jungle" blurb that came with the Arma's!

At least it happened near enough to work, although sucks when it happens on the way IN and not HOME.

Canis Lupus

Got a puncture on my gatorskins this morning. Chunky sliver of glass penetrated juuuuust enough.

It happens. Took me 5-10 mins to repair it and on my way again. Punctures are something you just have to put up with. It's tough in winter with the rain because glass becomes so much harder to spot.

However, just cos you have Armas I hope you weren't just riding over glass and crap thinking you were fine. They're very puncture resistant but not 'proof' Check your tyres as well once a week for anything stuck in there.

christeb

^^ nope, the 3 punctures at still in my head so I still try to avoid all kinds of debris.

And I recently attacked them with the Joe Blow - 100 psi so that's not the reason either...

blorg

Personally I (nearly) always carry tube, levers and pump in a small saddlebag- you never know when you might need them. CO2 might be a more compact alternative to a pump.

Explosive_Cornflake

Pressure is the most important aspect. I have hutchinson team series tyres on one bike, and have yet to get a puncture over a few 1000 k's. The next most important aspect is riding style. I've been on 23c's for about 8 years now, so I'm well used to reading the road.
As Blorg mentioned though, I wouldn't ever go out for a real cycle without spares though.

Danbo!

I got gatorskins about 9 months back after hearing here how good they are. Fitted them on a sunday and just got unlucky with a massive piece of glass the next day.

Had maybe 4 punctures in the last 8-9months, but something interesting happened last week. I generally check the tyres once a week and pick out any glass embedded in them. Got a tiny puncture (slow, tiny hole) last tuessday and discovered a piece of glass awkwardly embedded in the tyre. Took it off and tried to squeeze/pry the piece out, but its in there kinda wedged in sideways and just a corner of it made it through to the tube. Cant get the glass out without cutting a hefty piece out of the tyre so ill have to replace, no big deal.

But the whole exercise made me realise how strong they are. I was shoving screwdrivers and pins and stanley blades and scribes at it and they are so hard to puncture, so its generally only glass working its way in over time, low pressure & hitting potholes, or being very unlucky and hitting a nail or similar...

Turbulent Bill

noblestee wrote: »

I got gatorskins about 9 months back after hearing here how good they are. Fitted them on a sunday and just got unlucky with a massive piece of glass the next day.

Had maybe 4 punctures in the last 8-9months, but something interesting happened last week. I generally check the tyres once a week and pick out any glass embedded in them. Got a tiny puncture (slow, tiny hole) last tuessday and discovered a piece of glass awkwardly embedded in the tyre. Took it off and tried to squeeze/pry the piece out, but its in there kinda wedged in sideways and just a corner of it made it through to the tube. Cant get the glass out without cutting a hefty piece out of the tyre so ill have to replace, no big deal.

But the whole exercise made me realise how strong they are. I was shoving screwdrivers and pins and stanley blades and scribes at it and they are so hard to puncture, so its generally only glass working its way in over time, low pressure & hitting potholes, or being very unlucky and hitting a nail or similar...

The Gatorskins seem to have a relatively flexible outer compound for grip, with a very tough inner band (Kevlar?) to stop the punctures. I hit a particularly sharp shard of glass which cut a star-shaped pattern in the tread, but only barely punctured the tube because the inner band stopped it. It probably would have done serious damage to an ordinary tyre.

Maybe the Armadillos have a stiffer outer compound which doesn't 'grip' the glass as much, just pushes it away, but also makes them less grippy overall.

Danbo!

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

The Gatorskins seem to have a relatively flexible outer compound for grip, with a very tough inner band (Kevlar?) to stop the punctures. I hit a particularly sharp shard of glass which cut a star-shaped pattern in the tread, but only barely punctured the tube because the inner band stopped it. It probably would have done serious damage to an ordinary tyre.

Maybe the Armadillos have a stiffer outer compound which doesn't 'grip' the glass as much, just pushes it away, but also makes them less grippy overall.

Sounds about right. As soon as a I knew the tyre was a write-off, i took a sharp scribe just to see how tough it was. Sank through the first few mm like butter, but then took some serious force to push it through the inner band. One tough puppy though

DirkVoodoo

+1 to what Blorg said, I carry a track tool, multi tool, levers, tube and pump in my bag. I can swap out the tube then and there, cycle home on decent pressure and fix up the tube if desire.

However today i forgot the track tool so fingers crossed!

Danbo!

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

+1 to what Blorg said, I carry a track tool, multi tool, levers, tube and pump in my bag. I can swap out the tube then and there, cycle home on decent pressure and fix up the tube if desire.

However today i forgot the track tool so fingers crossed!

Make that 2 tubes. hit a nasty pothole a while back and punctured both, theres a lesson for high pressure in your tyres! In the rain. Late for work. One of those 'roof of city hall with a machine gun' days

DirkVoodoo

Some days it just goes against ya! :rolleyes:

blorg

To save space I carry 1 tube and the Park self-gluing puncture repair kit about the size of a postage stamp, in case I get more than 1 puncture. Note the Park self-gluing patches are not permanent and you have to replace the tube when you get home; they will however get you that far (normal patches will keep a tube fixed forever but can be a hassle to put on while out.)

Danbo!

blorg wrote: »

Note the Park self-gluing patches are not permanent and you have to replace the tube when you get home; they will however get you that far

Do they have a PSI limit?

Supercell

I got 4 punctures in two days after having none for months..admittedly two were probably caused by me being clumsy..its was dark cold and wet when I was changing the tubes.
I replaced the tyres with Schwalbe Marathon Plus and they are much thicker and hopefully will prevent all but the worst chunks of glass or nail on the road causing a puncture. The manfacturer claims "Punctures are a memory"..yeah..I'm still bringing a spare tube with me on rides!

littleknown

must say i found the armadillos excellent apart from the grip issue. had a set of slicks on a city bike for around a year and never got a puncture - was well impressed with them plus they seemed that they would still function with little or know air as they were well ard!, recently had four punctures one weekend after another on my nobby nicks which drove me bananas - was actually thinking of getting offroad armadillos.

Civilian_Target

Supercell wrote: »

I replaced the tyres with Schwalbe Marathon Plus and they are much thicker and hopefully will prevent all but the worst chunks of glass or nail on the road causing a puncture. The manfacturer claims "Punctures are a memory"..yeah..I'm still bringing a spare tube with me on rides!

I changed incrementally from Armadillos to Schwalbe Marathon Plus in 2007. (One armadillo was cut open by a knife when someone tried to rob my bike, the other wore thin after about 4000km) and I'm still using the same tyres. I got it serviced last month and I asked when they were giving them back Are those tyres still OK? to which the response was Good for another 2000km at least. That gives them about 6000km (rear) and 8000km (front) of puncture free service, so I guess they're good Only complaints are that they're **** in the rain, and they add up to nearly a kilo of tyre between them. That's the price of bombproofing I guess!

Sean02

Whats a track tool?

DirkVoodoo

Sean02 wrote: »

Whats a track tool?

A tool for removing track nuts. Not a problem on most bikes as you will have quick releases, but most fixed gear bikes based on track bikes will have track nuts. Makes the wheel a bit harder to swipe too, unless they come armed with a wrench.

shane202

you should try these panaracer ribmos....got great reviews: http://www.panaracer.com/technology.php?sub=protex

Diarmuid

Anyone tried the Vittorio Open Corsa EVO? I have seen a number of positive reviews of them. Not cheap but how often do you replace tyres?