Recommend puncture-proof hybrid tire

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

I used (and still use) tire liners. They're fairly hard and will resist most punctures. Another
thing to try is slime-filled tubes. I used both liners and tubes in Arizona, but I constantly ran
over cacti needles. One detriment to liners is that a puncture that comes through the side of the
tire won't be intercepted. Generally, glass and such won't do this, but cacti needles will.

--
Bob ctviggen at rcn dot com

[email hidden] (Michael) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

You can search in this group and rec.bicycles.tech on Armadillos. You will find a a variety of
opinions. The most common complaint is that the ride is too harsh. They are also not the lightest
tire around.

In 1999 Specialized came out with a new Armadillo design which was a dramatic improvement over the
previous ones. Prior to that, they didn't seem much more puncture proof than a lot of other tires.
Plus they wore out after only 1K miles or so.

The new ones can be distinguished from the old ones by the red sidewalls (the old ones were yellow).

I use them all the time, but I put in 6K-10K miles / year. I have literally put 8K miles on one set
without a single puncture. I don't care if I run over glass or not. On my competition bike I use
cheap Michelan tires with tire liners. I occasionally get punctures but not too often. However I do
avoid sharp objects in the road with that bike.

Anyhow, hope this helps. You can order them straight from Specialized:
specialized.comSBCEqSection.jspOpen ↗

Tom

(Michael) said:

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

Specialised Crossroads seem to be pretty close to armour plated, but they are rather heavy and you
need Presta valves to keep them at a pressure which keeps the rolling resistance low. But they are
very good tyres, and have sufficient tread to resist broken glass; they are about the only tyres
I've used of which I could say this.

Guy
===
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work. Apologies.

I'll second that. The old armadillos weren't that good, but I've got a couple K on a red set and not
a single flat. I'm also using tire liners though. I figure at 230lbs I need a little more
insurance-LOTS of glass in the area. I'm actually VERY pleasantly suprised at how much better the
newer tires are.

Dan

Thomas Reynolds said:

[email hidden] (Michael) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

You can search in this group and rec.bicycles.tech on Armadillos. You will find a a variety of
opinions. The most common complaint is that the ride is too harsh. They are also not the lightest
tire around.

In 1999 Specialized came out with a new Armadillo design which was a dramatic improvement over the
previous ones. Prior to that, they didn't seem much more puncture proof than a lot of other tires.
Plus they wore out after only 1K miles or so.

The new ones can be distinguished from the old ones by the red sidewalls (the old ones were
yellow).

I use them all the time, but I put in 6K-10K miles / year. I have literally put 8K miles on one
set without a single puncture. I don't care if I run over glass or not. On my competition bike I
use cheap Michelan tires with tire liners. I occasionally get punctures but not too often. However
I do avoid sharp objects in the road with that bike.

Anyhow, hope this helps. You can order them straight from Specialized:
specialized.comSBCEqSection.jspOpen ↗

Tom

Amadillos are bombproof BUT thay roll like [censored].The Armadillos have a super thick sidewall which I
think affects how they roll. Look for a kevlar BELTED tire. Not as bombproof as Amadillos, but they
roll much better while still offering a degree of protection.

Michael said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

Bald Headed John Kane said:

Amadillos are bombproof BUT thay roll like [censored].The Armadillos have a =

super thick

Quoted message said:

sidewall which I think affects how they roll. Look for a kevlar BELTED tire. Not as bombproof as
Amadillos, but they roll much better while still offering a degree of protection.=20

I've just recently had a couple of punctures in Armadillos, both were caused by glass. It's hard
to say for sure but I suspect the liners = would be more effective. I believe that I will go back
to liners.

LB

Quoted message said:

Michael said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over =

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

glass, but it happens...
=20
Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo =

tires.=20

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm not sure what her tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess =

700x38.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

=20
Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for =

new

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

tires.
=20
Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

Bald Headed John Kane said:

Amadillos are bombproof BUT thay roll like [censored].The Armadillos have a super thick sidewall which I
think affects how they roll. Look for a kevlar BELTED tire. Not as bombproof as Amadillos, but
they roll much better while still offering a degree of protection.

Just because they have a kevlar belt does not make a decent puncture resistant tire. Michelin Axial
Kevlar is the worst tire I've used. Everything I've used has been more flat resistant.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g Grand Master Turing once dreamed that he
was a machine. When he awoke he exclaimed: "I don't know whether I am Turing dreaming that I am a
machine, or a machine dreaming that I am Turing!" -- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

[email hidden] (Michael) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

I was getting frequent glass flats with Conti Super Sport tires, found that Hutchinson
Globetrotter 700*28's rode well and were much less flat-prone until the tread wore away.
Currently using Vredstein "Perfect" 700*32, which seemed bulletproof for the first 5000 km (until
the tread wore down) except for wet glass, which also cut through a Mr Tuffy before I got the
Vredsteins. Up to 7000 km, had a few flats, one from a piece of wire.

I believe they're available in larger sizes, but I really hate how they feel, and plan to try
Panaracer Pasela Tourguards next. Probably 700*32, although they're available in 35 and
possibly wider.

Quoted message said:

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

You might search www.deja.com for "mr tuffy" or "tire liners" in this group. Some people like
them. I found that they chewed through several tubes, and finally the tire casing, even after I
had tapered the overlapping ends as described in the newsgroup. And a chunk of glass went right
through on one rainy day (wet glass cuts very well). It was pouring, and I didn't realize they
were replacing the windows in an apartment building I rode past. When I say CHUNK of glass, I
mean CHUNK of glass. :-(

Quoted message said:

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

Michael said:

My mother rides a Cannondale Hybrid and gets occasional flats due to broken glass on the bike
trails she uses. She tries not to ride over the glass, but it happens...

Her LBS recommends either tire liners or new Specialized Armadillo tires. I'm not sure what her
tire size is (I'll find out) but I'd guess 700x38.

Are the tire liners effective? They're only $12 compared to $60 for new tires.

Any other tires or techniques that'll help against glass?

Bikes simply run lighter rubber than cars do. Cyclists go places cars don't - including running at
the gritty edge of the roadway where the glass and metals are. You're going to experience flats now
and then. The most practical 700c tires I've used to date are Cheng Shin 700 x 35 on my hybrid. The
front is still going strong and looks like it has tons of wear left in it after about 12,000 miles.
I cut the rear on a piece of metal while riding on a railway right of way (I'm hard on tires). The
point is, that tire was well used but not ready to retire by any means. The replacement tire has
worn so quickly that I am going to order a set of the original Cheng Shin's shortly. I bet you can
do better than $60.00 USD a pair too. Best regards, Bernie