MAK

Yes, I know that there are a ton of tire threads to search but I'm hoping that a direct question will give me some direct answers. It's also after midnight and I'm too tired to do research.

Right now I'm running Armadillos on my Felt road bike and they have been wonderful in terms of being flatproof. Over 2500 miles and no flats except for spoke tape problems which aren't the tires fault. Everything I've read on the forums tells me that the ride and rolling resistance (speed) are very poor for the Armadillos. One or two threads have even described them as "anchors". Since I have nothing to compare them to, I ask your advice...

Which tires offer the best balance between comfort, speed and durability?

I'm a recreational rider (a shrinking clyde) and do between 75 and 150 mile a week with no racing. I fully expect that my weekly miles will be increasing as I'm hooked and love being on the bike. I'm doing BRAG in June (Bike Ride Across Georgia) and expect to do one or two centuries in July and August.

Thank you in advance.

Bob Dopolina 

Continental Ultra Gatorskins. Similar in function (flat protection and sidewall cuts) to the armadillos but a more compliant and lighter tire.

40x14

General advice is this: you'd do well to get a nice set of "racing" tires, but in a slightly wide profile, like 23mm or 25mm profile or 23/25 combo front/rear. The better tires just ride better. If you're doing 100 miles a week - you and your bike deserve a bit of quality rubber. There are lots of good tires out there that you can research, I'm sure others will chime in.

mrchristian

I would stick with your armadillos if you are just building up a high mileage base. If you are not racing there is going to be a negligible difference due to weight assuming they are the regular 700x23/25 tires. Changing a punctured tube is going to take much longer than the .2 mph average you loose from the extra weight! I use some nasty Kenda wire bead tires that work great and wear like iron.

For your long ride you could experiment with some nicer race quality tires such as Michelin Pro2. Ride with them for a couple of rides before the ride so you know how they feel, though. These kinds of tires usually use softer compounds that wear very very quickly though, so i'd save them for special events. There are a ton of high quality tires out there, so just go to a shop and check them out and make sure you get some with Kevlar beads (folding tires), otherwise it won't feel like much of an upgrade. Buying nice rubber gets addictive.

daoswald

The Specialized Armadillo All Condition tires may be a little on the heavy side. They were definitely a road-oriented upgrade for my hybrid that had been rolling on semi-knobbies before.

If you're looking for better performance, while still maintaining the kevlar belt, try the Armadillo Elite tires. They're a lot lighter than the standard Armadillos, higher thread count, etc.

unbelievably

I would recommend diving into a set of Michelin, Pro2Race.
Don't be shy about not being a racer.
With these tires you will definitely notice a difference
in the way the bike rides, feels and handles...

Cyclist0383

+1

The GatorSkin is a great tire.

unbelievably

Gatorskins ride like pizza cutters.
I'd go for Krylion Carbon over Gatorskins.
Although I have not ridden the Krylion Carbon,
I have had the Gatorskins...
Sure,great! No flats...
but you will also loose confidence in any and all situation pertaining to road cycling.

dtadpole

Racking up some great miles on my Krylion Carbons. Sweet riding,fast, no-flats yet.

humboldt'sroads

Vittoria Rubino Pro's. By far the best feel I've gotten out of tires, having used other Vittoria's, Michelin's, Continental's, Bontrager's with and without kevlar, etc... They're light, foldable, and reasonably priced. I ride on some BAD roads with potholes and long stretches of gravel with no problem. I'm not sure how long they'll last though - I only got about 1000 out of my Rubino Slick's, but never got a flat with them on the same $h!tty roads. I'm actually not sold on the kevlar thing. I know I can't logically argue that they're not more puncture resistant, they pretty much have to be - I've just never had it be much of a problem with other tires and they feel to me less grippy.

Mazaev

Meh.. tired of getting flats with the Krylions here. Every two weeks at least, both front and back, without much mileage on them. They're also not very good in the rain. I think I'll be trying the GatorSkins.

+1 to the Michelin Pro2's though. I had an Armadillo in the back with a Bontrager tire in the front on my road bike when I first tried them. I vividly remember being quite amazed at how much better my bike felt with the Pro2's (haven't used anything else since). They roll much better and have really great road feel. Not the most flat resistant tires out there, but they're far from "flat prone". I've done quite a few very long rides without any issues. I've been able to get about 2000 miles out of them; more in the front.

Jynx

jupiter422

I like my Vittoria Corsa CX (Tubulars) but I have also ridden the clinchers and have had good experience with them. They ride beautifully and the Clinchers with a latex tube can come almost to the level of the tubulars in ride quality.

I don't like Michelins
I do like Gatorskins (I have a set of the tubulars and they ride well, although not nearly as well as the Corsas)

In general, Vittoria and Continental have certainly served be better than any other brands in the last 100k miles.

MAK

Thanks for your responses. The Pro 2s and/or Gatorskins sound like what I'm looking for.

merlinextraligh

+3 for the Gator Skins. They'll be a better ride, and less roling resistence than the Armadillos, and still give better than average flat protection.

meeshu

I've used Specialized All Condition Armadillo, Continental Ultra Gator Skin, and Michelin Pro2 Race tires.

The Armadillo tires are slow, but provide excellent puncture resistance.
The Gator Skin tires are a bit faster, and provide very good puncture protection.
The Pro2 Race tires are much faster, but provide only moderate puncture protection.

I'm also looking at trying some Continental Grand Prix 4000 and Vittoria Rubino Pro tires. These tires are supposed to be quite fast with puncture protection a bit better than the Pro2 Race tire I believe.

slvoid

Solid tires.. custom tuned to 190psi road feel. You'll lose your fillings but you'll never flat either.

That said, while it could be where you're riding, it could also be where on the road you're riding. I've put a couple thousand miles through NYC and all over on my fixed gear with nothing but a pair of half used specialized s-works (the ultra thin race ones) tires on it and only had 1 or 2 flats that I can remember. The rubber still looked fine when I sold it. Only difference between me and some of my friends is that I try to stay in the middle of the lane where the car tires are because those areas are usually clear of debris.

Beaker

That was me last year - switching out to Armadillo's from semi-knobby's. Hard ride though.

Now on my Roubaix, I recently got Pro3 Race's from PBK - very nice tires, and according to the blurb better puncture resistance than Pro2 Race's.

Fat Boy

If you're running Armadillos and are OK with it, don't get a Pro2Race, Conti, Vitt or similar. It'll ruin you and you'll never want to get off them.

I'm just sayin'.......

StanSeven

Unless you are commuting in debris covered road surfaces, you won't get flats if you wear glasses and look for debris. I rarely flat and I use Conti 4000 S which I highly recommend. Another good tire is Michelon Pro 3's. Skip the 2's.

Do a Google serach and you'll find either tire for $35 or so. Figure an average of 3500 miles per tire (2000 -2500 rear and 4500 - 5000 miles front), and the price is very small.

Plus you go faster and corner better than what you are riding now.

40x14

The Gatorskins are also a very heavy tire, imo, even if the weight is light. I wouldn't hesitate to race on the 4000 tires and I have - but the 23c Gatorskins feel a little sluggish to me.

If you want to try something a little different while staying with continental, the conti grand prix series are great. I have a set of "4 season" tires in 25c that I rode for two(!) winters all over salt, debris, glass, and more and never flatted (knock on wood some of that is surely luck). The 4000 and black chili tires are probably just as nice but a little racier.

If buying older "open corsa CX" tires on fleabay, beware. The first generation of those tires flatted like diet cola - but the newer corsa CX seem pretty great.

Banzai

As a long time Marathon fan...when I buy my "go fast" bike this month I intend to try Schwalbe Ultremo tires. They look promising, and I've been 100% happy with the Marathons on my commuter.

I used to be an Armadillo rider before I discovered Marathons. I hope the Ultremos serve me as well in the capacity of a speed tire.

Bontrager

Whatever you decide ProBikeKit has tires for cheap.

chipcom 

For training and recreation, you can't beat the Gatorskins.
For racing, GP4000, ProRace2/3 or Ultremo.

Triguy

2 tires that have decent all around characteristics...

Bontrager Select (surprisingly low rolling resistance, $17 a tire), not sure about durability but Bonty markets them as a training tire so I'm guessing it's decent. Considering the price they gotta be worth a shot right?

Continental GP 4000s. They have redone the rubber compound and it seems to have actually made a difference in the tires rolling characteristics.