One of the best things I bought for my commuting bike last year, was a pair of Armadillo tyres. I have only had one puncture in the past 12 months – and that was a large nail, that could have punctured a car tyre. They are not completely puncture proof. But, my own experience is generally backed up by others who have used them. In my experience, they definitely have reduced the incidence of punctures on my commuting bike (which is good because I don’t carry a spare tube and tools on my commute)
I have toyed with the idea of putting them on my winter training bike. However, I have been put off because they are slightly slower. It’s hard to quantify how much slower, but, it’s not a huge difference.
They are also seem to be much longer lasting than other tyres. My commute involves a rough canal path and they haven’t needed changing for 12 months of commuting. So even though they cost £25, they are good value.
- Specialized All Condition Armadillo Tyre – £25.00
- Armadillo Tyres at Evans Cycles
- Puncture resistant tyres
10 comments ↓
There’s no better tyre. They are a lot slower (especially the rigid ones that I use), but who cares for training? You just have to try a bit harder than the person your riding with! I’ve got them on all my training wheels.
I think I will put them on all my training wheels too.
For readers who use 26″ semi-slicks I recommend Continental Sport Contact MTB Tyre (http://tinyurl.com/mtbtyre). They come with a 1 year anti-puncture guarantee. I’ve been commuting 12 miles a day on these for nearly a year now with no punctures.
Tejvan, I’m using a moutain bike for a 7 mile daily commute and for some longer rides at weekends on roads. Do you think it worthwhile to replace the ‘off road’ tyres with some slick tyres? Am I likely to notice an appreciable difference in handling and speed etc? Thanks!
Jonathan. You will definitely notice the difference between commuting on mountain bike tyres and ordinary road tyres. I’ve always found a mountain bike significantly slower on the road
I bought some of the above mentioned “Continental Sport Contact” tyres and they have made a massive difference! The bike rides much more smoothly and goes faster with less effort, which is pleasing! I am quite pleased that despite having very little prior knowledge about different tyres, I managed to order some from Wiggle that fit, although the various sizing methods do seem pretty confusing. The new tyres are 26 x 1.6 (42-559) and replace 26 x 2.1 (ETRTO/ISO number not written on tyre) mountain bike tyres. Consequently they are slightly smaller in circumference and hence the gear ratios are also different. The only downside is aesthetically they look a bit strange as the mudguards now look a bit big and the wheels too far away from them. This seems a small price to pay for road performance All I need now is a pump with a pressure cage to check that they are optimally inflated, as it has been guess work up till now.
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