What is your rate of getting flats on the Michelin pros?
Zero flats so far with about 120 miles logged. I did however have a pice of glass that went all the way through but it must have been rolling up to my car or something after the race as it didn’t puncture my inner tube.
Even if you did get a puncture it would take 2-3+ in a single ironman distance race before you would start to lose time over using heavy puncture resistent tires.
anybody got a good place to get these?
You guys just made my day.
I have been rolling on specialized tricross OEM 32mm tires and will be getting either a tri-bike or at least new wheels and tires for this summer to see how fast I can really go.
I can go 17mph sitting semi-upright for 2 hours on my current setup. I could possibly go at that speed for longer with proper hydration and fuel. This means that good tires and more aero position should get me in the 20+mph club.
Probably the usual places like:
www.performancebike.com
www.biketiresdirect.com
.
I have ~5000 miles on my Armadillos with no flats at all. Slow, but who cares…
I have been using the armadillo elites for awhile now, I really like them, they don’t feel so slow like some training tires and they are very flat resistant, there are tons of goat heads here in NM that poke right through any tire, even the ultra gatorskins, re-treads etc, the armadillos seem to be the best yet.
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I never minded the weight or slowness of the Armadillo Flintstone tire, but the ride is terrible. I think I would just as soon ride one of those solid tires that came out and failed a few years ago. You only get so many hours to enjoy your bike in a lifetime, why would you want to do it on crappy riding tires? There are plenty of gatorskin,kevlar, hardcase, and reinforced tires that have a decent ride and pretty good at the flat proof. I did have a nail go clear thru the rubber and out the other side above the belt on an armadillo once. The only way I figured out I had a problem was the clack clack sound of the nail hitting the chainstay every revolution.
I switched from the regular Armadilo to the Elite Aramdillos about a year ago. I still have had zero flats but it’s a faster tire for sure.
I switch over to Bontrager’s Race Lite Hardcase a couple months ago. Basically the same as the Gatorskins and Armadillo. I got a 25 front and 28 rear. These things are definately slow. My first real ride with them was this fiarly hilly 3:30 ride with my buddy I normally spank. Not that day. He got some confidence out of the deal and wouldnt believe me when I tried to blame it on the tire.
That is what I am saying, the armadillo elites are REALLY nice, the regular ones, even though they are great for flat protection, just don’t feel good. I really liked the ultra gatorskins (folding) and went through about 4 pairs of them and always got around 3k out of them (granted they were super worn by that point) but when I went to get a new pair, the armadillo elites were the same price and I had recently read that Danny Chew (of RAAM fame) put around 11k on a sed of armadillo elites, I decided to try them out and I LOVE them, I will get another pair when the time comes.
The Armadillos are definitely slow. About 20-40W depending on rider weight and speed. Switch wheels or tires with your buddy if he doesn’t believe you. The Elites weren’t really any faster.
They ride like freaking garden hoses, corner for crap and are really slow. In the cold they get like rocks and mounting them can be a pain. I use them in the winter here because they dump slag on the roads, so we get lots of flats. Gatorskins gave me a lot of sidewall cuts, but they ride a lot nicer. I tried the bontrager hardcase this winter, they were a nice tire also.
I use these for training and have been really impressed with them. I have to say they ride pretty smooth in my opinion and until now, I never really thought about or really noticed much difference between them and any other tire. I train on Shimano 550 wheels which are already a tad heavy.
Now that I think about it: I have a 40 mile bike loop that I used for all my bricks prior to a HIM last year. The last ride I did was a race setup simulation (Zipps ans aero helment) and I took 10 mins off my normal bike time. I knew the wheels and helmet helped and I did feel A TON faster. At the time, I was thinking those elements helped a little, but I was really going faster because my taper was kicking in and the conditions were good that day.
Ohh well, train heavy…race light right!
Armadillos are great and the only training tire I ride on the rear. I buy a cheap wire bead front tire for training. I’ve had a huge staple go right through the tire and no flat. They’re crazy flat proof…so much so that I worry about my tube failing from old age inside.
They’re heavy and slow but it’s just training and it’s all about effort. It’s interesting to hear about people’s wattage differences. The only problem is trying to find a local dealer in DC area. I also run an armadillo on the trainer and it’s holding out well.
I see no reason to train on any other tire unless you want to change flats.
I had some Conti Gatorskins from about 2004/5 or so. I loved them and they almost never flatted. I wore those tires out and then got some 2006/7 Conti Gatorskins. Those were such a bitch to get on and off the wheel. I bought some 'Dillos a few months ago and returned them because they were just too difficult to get on and off the wheel. I don’t want to spend 20 minutes on the side of the road trying to get the tire on the rim when I could be riding. I decided to just keep using my racing tires (Vredestein Fortezza TriComp) and replace them about 3 times every 2 years. I haven’t had too many flats with them and they seem to last awhile as well. Also, when I had training tires and racing tires, when I switched them out it felt like I gained 1mph+ just from using different tires. If someone has any tricks on how to get the Armadillos on and off the rims easier, I might be willing to try them out again.
I find all this not very surprising. I’ve never ridden with the armadillos, but I did pick one up in the store. It was clear right away - this thing is going to be slow, but it won’t flat.
if i raced more often, i could see using tires like this as a ‘drag suit.’ but for now i’m a lot more into having fun training than going fast at a race.
for all you old brits out there…
I LIKE ARMADILLOS
