Sharpshin

Flatted out for the third time in a month on my otherwise great 26" x 2" Serfa Drifter back tire, this last time right through the kevlar in the tire AND the extra kelvar tire strip I put in. The bike is an '88 steel rigid-fork Rockhopper.

Problem is I've been extending my commute up to 20 miles one way, through generally harsh lower-income area with lots of glas, nails and assorted roadside debris. The front tire looks good, the rear tire shows some serious cuts and gouges clear down to the kevlar band in the tread. Gonna stick with the front for the nice ride quality it gives, need a new rear.

IIRC Specialized Armadillos have a rep for bulletproof contruction albeit at the cost of a harsher ride.

Three I'm considering, all 26" x 1.95";

Specialized Hemisphere Armadillo (max pressure 65psi)
Specialized Borough Armadillo (max pressure 65psi)
Specialized Crossroad Armadillo (max pressure 80psi)

I'm doing these long commutes to to prep for a tour next summer on this same bike/tires.

All input on these or any other tires appreciated.

Mike

alan s 

Run away as fast as you can from any tire that has the word Armadillo in it. IMHO, the worst tires I have ever used. Look at Schwalbe products. Marathon Supreme is my favorite.

fietsbob

Schwalbe is the brand of the tire maker, themselves, Specialized just badges stuff others make for them.

Continental , Nokian, also run manufacturing facilities .. Panasonic too.

droy45

Its not your tires. Those are very good with the Kevlar and the extra Kevlar strip. So, the area your in is the problem, I don't really have an answer for that but I would hate to ride in an area with that much debris. I feel so fortunate to have basically clean roads.

Andy_K 

For a 20+ mile commute I'd definitely want the Marathon Supremes that Alan recommended. I've got a 700x35 set on my main commuter and I'm expecting delivery today of a set of 26x1.6 for my Long Haul Trucker. I've had very good success with this tire -- two flats in 3000+ miles and both of those were wood screws that went straight into the tire.

On the other hand, your conditions sound very bad. I might be tempted to bite the bullet and mount a set of Marathon Plus in those conditions.

Sharpshin

Thanks for the replies all...

FWIW I just ordered a 26" x 2.0" Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour to see how it does...

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_ti...thon_plus_tour

Point taken though... might be ANY tire has its limits.

I'm still leaning towards dual-purpose-type treads for the short stretches I'm off of paved surfaces.

My concern was that, on a tour, with more hours spent on the bike my flats would multiply accordingly.

Might be though that I'm riding through exceptionally rough conditions.

Mike

buzzbee

I had good luck with Armadillo and also Schwalbe Marathons.
If I were doing your route, I would use what I use now; extra thick thorn resistant tubes with slime (as well as Kevlar belted tires).
They are heavy, but I seem to get a lot of miles without a flat.

A lot of mtn bike tires use soft rubber for traction, these wear out fast as well as catch and keep some obstacles more than hard rubber tires (like Schwalbe) IMO.
With my 30 to 35 mi/day commute, I do not want to fix flats, especially in certain neighborhoods.
But no setup is fully bulletproof against things on the road.

Sharpshin

I was wondering if this was the case with the Serfa Drifters, they employ a "negative" tread like the Town and Countries do wherein instead of tread blocks the tread is cut away to create edges for traction in the dirt. I have notices that center tread in the wider parts of the thicker tread areas is where objects seem to penetrate.

Exactly.

I did order a couple of Schawlbe's $16 tubes (as opposed to their $8 regulars), prob'ly thicker I'd expect.

Mike

fietsbob

Continental Travel Contact is a slick with a edge row of knobbyness.

It's their adventure touring past the end of the paved roads, tire.

Sharpshin

Just took delivery of that 26" x 2.0" Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour....

My gosh, thickest tire through the treads than any tire I've seen, look like it would work on a motorcycle. It weighs a hefty 1,100grams, about half again as heavy as Schwalbe's own Big Apple in that size (710 grams). Aggressive tread blocks, but in a quick trial it rolled smooth and at least as quiet as the Serfa Drifter on the front.

This might just be the ultimate urban warrior tire, and if I were going to tour off of the grid around the world, this would be the tire I'd choose.

Mike