Continental Tyres instead of Armadillo?

Rezident

New to cycling and sick to death of punctures, yet another one yesterday. So I was looking for Armadillo tyres based on recommendations but my local bike shop says they only have Continental tyres which are just as good. Are they?

It's a hybrid bike and I'm getting regular punctures on the road over distances less than 10km.

Any anti-puncture advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Seaswimmer

well I will start the ball rolling..

Most people on here will recommend Continental Gatorskins or Armadillos as offering good protection mainly for road bikes. Sizes up to about 28c width.

On a hybrid i would tend to get a Schwalbe Marathon plus tyre.

What size is your current tyre do you know?? It should be on the side. something like 700c X 25c

How are your current tyres puncturing?
Glass, debris or "pinch" type punctures from tyres too soft?
Do you have a pump with a gauge and are you pumping the tyres hard enough?
do you regularly inspect the tyres and remove pieces of glass or other debris?
Are the punctures always in the same tyre and in the same part of the tyre?

that should give you enough to start with but even a new tyre will puncture if not inflated correctly..

07Lapierre

What ever tyre you have, make sure its inflated to the correct pressure.

"A correctly inflated tire will not get pinch flats in normal use!"

Rezident

Seaswimmer wrote: »

well I will start the ball rolling..

Most people on here will recommend Continental Gatorskins or Armadillos as offering good protection mainly for road bikes. Sizes up to about 28c width.

On a hybrid i would tend to get a Schwalbe Marathon plus tyre.

What size is your current tyre do you know?? It should be on the side. something like 700c X 25c

How are your current tyres puncturing?
Glass, debris or "pinch" type punctures from tyres too soft?
Do you have a pump with a gauge and are you pumping the tyres hard enough?
do you regularly inspect the tyres and remove pieces of glass or other debris?
Are the punctures always in the same tyre and in the same part of the tyre?

that should give you enough to start with but even a new tyre will puncture if not inflated correctly..

Thanks for the reply. No the pump doesn't have a guage, it's just a normal hand pump and it's pretty poor, as in, when I pump the tyres up as hard as I can, as soon as I unscrew the pump it lets air out, no matter how quick I do it, so it is impossible to get them very hard. Any recommendations on a good type of pump?

When I inspect the tyres I normally just check that they are pumped up, I've never noticed any glass, do you mean inside the tyre? I've never taken it off, I take it to the shop when it gets punctures.

No both tyres have punctured repeatedly.

lochdara

Rezident wrote: »

Seaswimmer wrote: »

well I will start the ball rolling..

Most people on here will recommend Continental Gatorskins or Armadillos as offering good protection mainly for road bikes. Sizes up to about 28c width.

On a hybrid i would tend to get a Schwalbe Marathon plus tyre.

What size is your current tyre do you know?? It should be on the side. something like 700c X 25c

How are your current tyres puncturing?
Glass, debris or "pinch" type punctures from tyres too soft?
Do you have a pump with a gauge and are you pumping the tyres hard enough?
do you regularly inspect the tyres and remove pieces of glass or other debris?
Are the punctures always in the same tyre and in the same part of the tyre?

that should give you enough to start with but even a new tyre will puncture if not inflated correctly..

Thanks for the reply. No the pump doesn't have a guage, it's just a normal hand pump and it's pretty poor, as in, when I pump the tyres up as hard as I can, as soon as I unscrew the pump it lets air out, no matter how quick I do it, so it is impossible to get them very hard. Any recommendations on a good type of pump?

When I inspect the tyres I normally just check that they are pumped up, I've never noticed any glass, do you mean inside the tyre? I've never taken it off, I take it to the shop when it gets punctures.

No both tyres have punctured repeatedly.

Get a track pump in.Halfords with gauge for 25 euro. How much is a puncture to repair in a shop

BostonB

Personally I bought a Top Peak Joe Blow track pump, best money I ever spent. Takes no time to get tyres up to pressure.

You shouldn't be getting that many punctures, its either the route, or you're doing something wrong.

Describe the puncture.

http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#slowleaks

Rezident

BostonB wrote: »

Personally I bought a Top Peak Joe Blow track pump, best money I ever spent. Takes no time to get tyres up to pressure.

You shouldn't be getting that many punctures, its either the route, or you're doing something wrong.

Describe the puncture.

http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#slowleaks

One minute I'm cycling along fine, next thing the wheel goes very flat and it pressing on the ground. It's happened five times and I never cycle more than 10km. The roads are horrendous with all the potholes which nearly always seem to be on the left of the road.

RossieMan

Rezident wrote: »

One minute I'm cycling along fine, next thing the wheel goes very flat and it pressing on the ground. It's happened five times and I never cycle more than 10km. The roads are horrendous with all the potholes which nearly always seem to be on the left of the road.

dodge the holes.

BostonB

What kinda holes do you find in the tyre/tube?

Seaswimmer

Rezident wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. No the pump doesn't have a guage, it's just a normal hand pump and it's pretty poor, as in, when I pump the tyres up as hard as I can, as soon as I unscrew the pump it lets air out, no matter how quick I do it, so it is impossible to get them very hard. Any recommendations on a good type of pump?

When I inspect the tyres I normally just check that they are pumped up, I've never noticed any glass, do you mean inside the tyre? I've never taken it off, I take it to the shop when it gets punctures.

No both tyres have punctured repeatedly.

I think this would be a good starting point. Forget about everything else for the time being and get a pump with a gauge as suggested by the other posters.This is a pump you would leave at home. Ask in the shop for a track pump and they will know what you mean. If its a hybrid i would guess pump to about 85psi per tyre but again read what it says on the side of the tyre..

also check what type of valve you have. If its like a car tyre its called Schrader. The most common other one is Presta. ideally get a pump with connections for both types..

Rezident

BostonB wrote: »

What kinda holes do you find in the tyre/tube?

I don't know, I have never found them. Spent the last few hours googling how to fix and avoid punctures so now I know. My one-bed has no room for a big foot pump (I'll get one when property prices correct) but for now can anyone recommend a good mini pump? Even the Topeka mini blaster one is getting slaughtered in user reviews.

lochdara

Rezident wrote: »

BostonB wrote: »

What kinda holes do you find in the tyre/tube?

I don't know, I have never found them. Spent the last few hours googling how to fix and avoid punctures so now I know. My one-bed has no room for a big foot pump (I'll get one when property prices correct) but for now can anyone recommend a good mini pump? Even the Topeka mini blaster one is getting slaughtered in user reviews.

A mini pump wont get u the correct pressure. Tesco do track pumps fir 20 euro with a gauge. Fits both valves

BostonB

Seriously. A track pump is soooo much easier. it would be the first thing I'd suggest people buy when getting a bike.

Cookie_Monster

BostonB wrote: »

Seriously. A track pump is soooo much easier. it would be the first thing I'd suggest people buy when getting a bike.

+1, absolutely.
Quick and easy and accurate to a large degree. You'd be surprised just how much you need to inflate tyres to get to the 85-100 psi range!

Cyclepath

Rezident wrote: »

I don't know, I have never found them. Spent the last few hours googling how to fix and avoid punctures so now I know. My one-bed has no room for a big foot pump (I'll get one when property prices correct) but for now can anyone recommend a good mini pump? Even the Topeka mini blaster one is getting slaughtered in user reviews.

A track pump is less than 2 foot tall and couple of inches wide; It'll stand in a closet or sit on top of a wardrobe! We're not talking about large amount of space here! Seriously, you need one.

Also next time your tyre/tube is off, check the tape on the inside of the wheel rim and make sure that there are no dodgy spokes sticking through. And, run a cloth round the inside of the tyre to make sure there's no grit/debris in there.

BostonB

Maybe go a different route if that one is so bad. Mine track pump hangs on the wall.

I think you need to trace the source of the punctures by finding them on the tyre and tube. And what Cyclepath check the rim and spokes.