Spesh Armadillo Tyres

J_Anderson

Hi there,

Anyone else finding the current crop of Spesh Armadillo's (ones with the motorbike style tread and raised cornering edges) a tad slippy in the wet? I'm using 700x25 on my fixed and they feel rather sketchy on wet roads! They seem fine in full on rain and grip really well in the dry but it's that transistion phase in between that they really struggle with. Still - never get a p*nct*re with them so aren't all bad - only tyre I've ever found that can withstand a London commute!

Gussio

I've run mine in a bit now and they are OK, but when they were new I had the same concerns about grip in the wet. It made me very wary of fast corners, not to mention painted lines and manhole covers.

Can't agree about the resistence to punctures - I have had around 5 of the blighters in the 6mths since I put the armadillos on. This is much more than when previously running on Conti tourers. To be fair, the offending items of road detritus have generally been substantial pieces of glass (remains from Christmas celebrations?) that nothing would resist. Hopefully it has just been a spate of bad luck.

tardington

Gussio wrote:

I've run mine in a bit now and they are OK, but when they were new I had the same concerns about grip in the wet. It made me very wary of fast corners, not to mention painted lines and manhole covers.

Can't agree about the resistence to punctures - I have had around 5 of the blighters in the 6mths since I put the armadillos on. This is much more than when previously running on Conti tourers. To be fair, the offending items of road detritus have generally been substantial pieces of glass (remains from Christmas celebrations?) that nothing would resist. Hopefully it has just been a spate of bad luck.

Have to agree with the 'newness' thing - I've got a brand new one on my front wheel, and it looks almost shiny! Also, with the new ones, the grip has a sudden 'stop' poing halfway up the sidewall - not sure I'm too happy with that.

As for punctures, mine have been pretty good, but big bits of glass have caused the few I've had. Only had them in the dark, when couldn't see to avoid the smashed bottles as well... :?

J_Anderson

I've been running mine since the summer and think there has been a bit of a drop off in grip just in the past couple of weeks. As I have a fixed wheel the wear rate on the rear especially is quite high but it's more like the sudden stop point described above that's scaring me. :shock:

sdjones2

Not found them slippery when wet, and happy to lean them into mini-roundabouts (reasonably new tramac). Running 700x23s too at 100 psi, so skinny might be expected to go suddenly and washout.

HOWEVER - punctures! WOW - these things cannot resist temptation. Glass especially pierces these tyres, and I expect a puncture a week. Had I not just shelled out £30 on a pair (with the reassurance from the LBS about their resistance) I would think twice about using them. Not impressed.

prj45

tardie wrote:

Gussio wrote:

Have to agree with the 'newness' thing - I've got a brand new one on my front wheel, and it looks almost shiny! Also, with the new ones, the grip has a sudden 'stop' poing halfway up the sidewall - not sure I'm too happy with that.

What, it goes smooth?

This is a good thing; tread patterns on cycle tyres are more than useless, and actually reduce grip on the road surface, less rubber in contact you see.

This is why formula one drivers prefer perfectly smooth tyres (although they have problems in the wet, but we don't).

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#tread

alfablue

I use Specialized All Conditions Pro's, they are superior to the armadillos, dual compound rubber, more tpi, kevlar bead. No punctures in 2 years of use, they grip fine. Available in 26 and 700c, can inflate to 125psi.

richardast

After 4 punctures in 2 days in my Conti Ultra Gatorskins, back when the 5hitty weather started in October, I switched to 700x28 All Condition Armadillos on my commuting road bike.
SInce then, no problems with grip or punctures.
I've also got 26x1.95 Specialized Hemisphere Armadillos on my MTB for commuting when it's especially frosty, icy or snowing. No problems there either, so far.

If I had to recommend a tyre, it would be Armadillos.