How do they compare? I’ve been riding the Conty Gatorskin on my rear tire for about 800 miles now and I’ve gotten two flats recently, so I’m thinking of replacing it with the Armadillo.
Anyone know how the durability and ride quality of the two compare? The Specialized Mondo that I have on the front is going on 2,000 miles with one flat (not bad in my opinion).
FWIW, I ride a 23mm tire at exactly 120psi and I weigh 191lbs.
Considering the roads I ride on, I’m not surprised I’ve flatted. Both times have been teeny weeny bits of glass (almost like a grain of sand, just a little bigger) that I’ve had to dig out of the tire. When the sun is coming up or setting, or when I’m riding with my headlamp, I see little glints of light reflecting all over the place, which I assume is glass or other sharpies in the road. I generally avoid riding through rough stuff when I can avoid it.
Gators are somewhat more comparable to a regular tire insofar that they are more pliable than the Amardillos. They have a somewhat rounder carcasse compared to the Amardillos and roll and corner way better (the 23s actually seem to be sized comparable to 25s from other manufacturers). Amardillos are like riding square bricks. At about 800miles I certainly would be thinking about replacing the rear. The Gators wear faster and offer less “flat resistance” than Amardillos for sure. But they are way better in wet conditions. There is always a tradeoff…
Prefer the Gatorskins. I ride mine at about a 100 to 110psi (I think they are supposed to be ridden at 80), but since I am an old fat guy…
Last January I was preparing for a trip to Japan. I went to a local shop and said “Give me a tire that won’t flat.” Out came a Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase. I threw that on my PT wheel and rode it trouble free in Japan. I put well over 2000-3000 miles on that tire alone in 2005 and I swear it looked as new as it did when I put it on. I only flatted twice. The first time was last month when I hit a nail or screw. Went through the circumference and out the side. I could hardly blame that one on the tire. I put a new tube in and it flatted a few days later due to the sidewall penetration. One tube lasted almost a full year. I’m 150, ride 23c, and pressurize to 100 psi.
I ride both the Continental Gatorskin and the Specialized Armadillo on diffrent bikes. I have had few flats with Gatorskins while none yet (after years of use) with Armadillo. The Gatorskin has a more supple feel while the Armadillo is tough. Also the Gatorskin profile is round and corners nicely while the profile of the Armadillo is triangular and corners quicker. Also in the rain the Armadillo feels a bit more slippery. For overall puncture protection I prefer the Armadillo, while for ride quality I prefer the Gatorskin. Also I think that the Armadillo is a little cheaper.
I had Gatorskins and they just seemed to be heavier and slower than regular tires but with real improvement in puncture resistance. I got way too many flats and tried Armadillos. Instead of 2-3 flats per week, I rode the rear tire to the casing w/o any flats (about 6500 mi).
The Armadillo, like other Specialized tires, has a different profile than other tires, supposedly for better cornering. It does help puncture resistance because the tread is so deep that many thorns give up before even hitting the puncture resistant belt. The tire also wears a lot better because it takes longer for the tire to become “square” and to wear away all the tread.
I had the Mondos on my bike and was flatting almost every ride last summer. Got sick of it and replaced them with Armadillos. The bike didn’t roll as smoothly (as expected), but I have not had a single flat since I put those tires on my bike! Knock on wood!