The Ultimate training tire!

woodstar said:

Totally agree! Armadillos are brilliant. In fact I had to bin one the other day due to an 8inch tear down a sidewall. Can't complain though, it was 5 years old, done about 12,000 miles and not punctured once!

To add another story to this. It's all I train on. I can't stand the flats. Same for a training buddy.... But I digress. My training buddy and I had just finished up a 200k brevet. His rear tire had been getting soft for the last couple of miles but we made it in. As we were loading the bikes he was commenting that he hadn't had a flat on 2 years on the same set of tires. I commented 12,000 miles on a set of tires with no flats. And then that the tires weren't supposed to go that far. As I was saying that I looked at his rear tire. It was down to the cords on the whole tire.

They are the only tire I know I never have to worry about a flat on.

TiMan said:

For those that are interested ...the absolute "toughest" training tire for the road is the Specialized Armadillo. It is pretty much bomb proof but it weighs about 375 grams and has a somewhat "hard" feel. It is ideal for the larger rider...guys 185 and up.

I put Specialized Armadillos on my Cannondale F600 mtn bike and they made my bike SLOWER. If fact, I don't like riding my F600 and rather ride my 3 road bikes instead.

Are there Armadillo road tires also? Do these tires feel slow (do they make you slow)? I'm very happy with my Vredestein Ricorsos and these tires don't feel slow.

JTE83 said:

I put Specialized Armadillos on my Cannondale F600 mtn bike and they made my bike SLOWER. If fact, I don't like riding my F600 and rather ride my 3 road bikes instead.

Are there Armadillo road tires also? Do these tires feel slow (do they make you slow)? I'm very happy with my Vredestein Ricorsos and these tires don't feel slow.

No they don't make your bike slow bro......the 700 X 23 road tires are a little heavy at 375 grams each but that sure the heck doesn't make your bike slower. They actually roll pretty darn good and have a pretty small contact patch.
They "feel" kind of "hard", compaired to high end light weight soft rubbered road tires, but the difference isn't that much really. I use the foldable Gatorskins as I noticed almost NO DIFFERENCE at all between my racing tires and the gators.....and I hate flats...and I hate buying new tires every month.

Thing is if you use the expensive racing tires to train with you are going to wear them out each month and get way more flats too.

I know some very good road racers that use armadillos in training. One of my buddies is a VERY good Cat 1 racers and he uses them. He always smiles and makes a comment to me when he see guys training with top end racing tires...then he kicks their butts in tough group rides he he he.
He puts on light weight racing tires for races and actually likes the fact that his training tires are on the heavy side.
He kicks my butt even when he uses one of his older all steel bikes with armadillos 🙂

TiMan said:

No they don't make your bike slow bro......the 700 X 23 road tires are a little heavy at 375 grams each but that sure the heck doesn't make your bike slower. They actually roll pretty darn good and have a pretty small contact patch.
They "feel" kind of "hard", compaired to high end light weight soft rubbered road tires, but the difference isn't that much really. I use the foldable Gatorskins as I noticed almost NO DIFFERENCE at all between my racing tires and the gators.....and I hate flats...and I hate buying new tires every month.

Thing is if you use the expensive racing tires to train with you are going to wear them out each month and get way more flats too.

I know some very good road racers that use armadillos in training. One of my buddies is a VERY good Cat 1 racers and he uses them. He always smiles and makes a comment to me when he see guys training with top end racing tires...then he kicks their butts in tough group rides he he he.
He puts on light weight racing tires for races and actually likes the fact that his training tires are on the heavy side.
He kicks my butt even when he uses one of his older all steel bikes with armadillos 🙂

Everyone doesn't need Armadillo's. A 375 gram tire is may be OK for training, but it's more than I want to haul around. Believe you would be able to feel the difference between a set of 375 gram tires and a set of 225 gram ones like the GP3000.

No point in having a lightweight roadrace bike if you're going to stick heavy touring tires on it. Ride, acceleration and rolling resistance all suffer. That's why Specialized and all the other big guys make a whole line of tires of course.

I think I will try the armadillos. I commute to work 12 miles each way, 4-5 times a week about 7 months out of the year. Plus training and charity rides. Flats suck, but are really bad at 5:30 a.m. on the way to work !!! Really starts the day off bad!! So the tires maybe alittle on the heavy side, but with the comments everybody posted the durability will be appreciated.

warrior1 said:

I think I will try the armadillos. I commute to work 12 miles each way, 4-5 times a week about 7 months out of the year. Plus training and charity rides. Flats suck, but are really bad at 5:30 a.m. on the way to work !!! Really starts the day off bad!! So the tires maybe alittle on the heavy side, but with the comments everybody posted the durability will be appreciated.

Surely the ultimate training tyre has to be the double-sided Vittoria.
That's right; you can flip it over and use the other side! :eek:

http://www.cbike.com/vittoria_revolution_tires.htm

bit expensive🙁

O.K. Those are pretty cool. Does anyone know how these perform? Do they last,how's the ride, and the puncture resistance?

531Aussie said:

Surely the ultimate training tyre has to be the double-sided Vittoria.
That's right; you can flip it over and use the other side! :eek:

cbike.comvittoria revolution tires.htmOpen ↗

bit expensive🙁

TiMan said:

Now Conti has gone one better.....they now offer their Gator Skins in "folding", at 220 grams! No other training tire even comes close in flat protection, durabilty, ride quality and weight!

Used them today in a race...loved them.

😄

Conti advertises the 4 Seasons as their wet weather/bad road racing tire. Its listed at 220grams and has reinforcement under the tread and around the sidewalls. I use them as my winter tires. What's the difference between them and the folding gatorskin, which is listed at the same weight, and I suspect has very similar reinforcement?

palewin said:

Conti advertises the 4 Seasons as their wet weather/bad road racing tire. Its listed at 220grams and has reinforcement under the tread and around the sidewalls. I use them as my winter tires. What's the difference between them and the folding gatorskin, which is listed at the same weight, and I suspect has very similar reinforcement?

I think they are very similar tires but the rubber on the gators is tougher and longer lasting. Excellent tires though and my second choice for a great trainer that can be raced on ...just lke the foldable gators.

dhk said:

Everyone doesn't need Armadillo's. A 375 gram tire is may be OK for training, but it's more than I want to haul around. Believe you would be able to feel the difference between a set of 375 gram tires and a set of 225 gram ones like the GP3000.

No point in having a lightweight roadrace bike if you're going to stick heavy touring tires on it. Ride, acceleration and rolling resistance all suffer. That's why Specialized and all the other big guys make a whole line of tires of course.

Some very good riders would disagee with you bro....they like the heavy tire for training....they get used to the rotational weight and then when they put the light weight racing tires on look out!
I know of two Jelly Belly riders(pro's) that use only 350 gram Schwalbe wire bead tires for training even though they could get much better for free! They want a heavy tire and one that doesn't flat easily while training.

How much do the Specialized Armadillo road tires cost at the cheapest price?
What colors do they have or are they just all black? What sizes do they come in? A Google search does not provide any links to where you can buy them online.

How good is the traction on wet roads?

You probably don't have to go with Armadillos if you use Kevlar tire liner inserts in a tire.

TiMan said:

Some very good riders would disagee with you bro....they like the heavy tire for training....they get used to the rotational weight and then when they put the light weight racing tires on look out!
I know of two Jelly Belly riders(pro's) that use only 350 gram Schwalbe wire bead tires for training even though they could get much better for free! They want a heavy tire and one that doesn't flat easily while training.

Agree it makes sense to use a durable tire for training and club rides, rather than Supersonics or another 150 gram race tire. And, you certainly should run the tires you need for durability on the roads you ride.

Back in the early 90's when I did local crits, I ran Michelin slicks and did have flats with them. No luck with the Pro Race last year either; got a cut through the cord within 200 miles and had to junk the tire.

Heavy tires and wheels may make sense for someone training with a slower group. Some of our best riders here come out on touring bikes with fenders just to even the score a bit. One ex-racer likes to ride his old steel Merckx most of the time. When he shows up on his Seven, I know he's planning to kick serious butt....I just stay out of the way then.

TiMan said:

Now Conti has gone one better.....they now offer their Gator Skins in "folding", at 220 grams! No other training tire even comes close in flat protection, durabilty, ride quality and weight!

Used them today in a race...loved them.

😄

Have you by any chance weighted them yourself? My experience with Conti's are that the weight info on their web-site is super optimistic, I've had GP-3000 (700x23 and 700x20C variety) come in at 10% above the weight that Conti claims! Would be interesting to know (sample size 1 😄), if the Gators are closer to spec's!

JTE83 said:

How much do the Specialized Armadillo road tires cost at the cheapest price?
What colors do they have or are they just all black? What sizes do they come in? A Google search does not provide any links to where you can buy them online.

How good is the traction on wet roads?

You probably don't have to go with Armadillos if you use Kevlar tire liner inserts in a tire.

I bought a pair from the LBS in October for £14.99 each and i still have them on now after about 700 miles in wet and snow and ice and i still have'nt puctured yet. Best winter/training tire i've bought. The rear has a large gash in the side wall but still no problems with them, they will probably do for next year.

The cornering in wet is probably net the best but the rest of the time they are fine.

toa said:

Have you by any chance weighted them yourself? My experience with Conti's are that the weight info on their web-site is super optimistic, I've had GP-3000 (700x23 and 700x20C variety) come in at 10% above the weight that Conti claims! Would be interesting to know (sample size 1 😄), if the Gators are closer to spec's!

Good point....no I have not weighed the foldable gators but the guys from "Weight Weenies have.

Here are some quotes from "Weight Weenies".

GP 3000(20mm).....claimed weight 185 grams....actual weight 191.5>>>that's +3.5%

GP 3000 (23mm)....claimed 210....actual 226.6>>>+6%

Attacks (22mm)....claimed 190...actual 187.5>>>-1.32%

Ultra 3000 (23mm) claimed 270...actual 255>>>-5.56%

Ultra Gatorskins (23) foldable claimed 220...actual 217>>>-1.36%

Ultra Gatorskins (23) wire bead...claimed 280..actual 275>>>-1.79%

4 training i use conti 4 seasons and "pro line antiplatt" inserts which narrows down punctures to a minimum during winter training.

TiMan said:

Good point....no I have not weighed the foldable gators but the guys from "Weight Weenies have.

Here are some quotes from "Weight Weenies".

GP 3000(20mm).....claimed weight 185 grams....actual weight 191.5>>>that's +3.5%

GP 3000 (23mm)....claimed 210....actual 226.6>>>+6%

Attacks (22mm)....claimed 190...actual 187.5>>>-1.32%

Ultra 3000 (23mm) claimed 270...actual 255>>>-5.56%

Ultra Gatorskins (23) foldable claimed 220...actual 217>>>-1.36%

Ultra Gatorskins (23) wire bead...claimed 280..actual 275>>>-1.79%

Surprised to see the 23mm folding Gatorskins are that light...less that the GP3000s. Just put a new GP3000 on my (analog) kitchen scale, and it read 230 grams (yes, I took it out of the box). Another urban myth shattered.

If I was having a problem with punctures or cuts, would certainly try the Gatorskins, Armadillos or other heavier tire.

dhk said:

Surprised to see the 23mm folding Gatorskins are that light...less that the GP3000s. Just put a new GP3000 on my (analog) kitchen scale, and it read 230 grams (yes, I took it out of the box). Another urban myth shattered.

That sucks....bigtime IMO 😠

Timan: Thanks for the "Weight weenies" reference!

I felt like I could feel the extra weight of the Armadillos quite a bit, didn't seem to slow me down though and if it makes me pick up some steam when I switch it up to a lightweight combo, then I'm all about it. Especially if I can get some serious life out of them!