Armadillos or Gatorskins

Vélo

Which are better Specialized Armadillos or Continental Gatorskins?

Or is here anything better than these for puncture prevention for commuting and cycles at weekends.

Hungrycol

I use gatorskins (700x25) on my commuter without any problems. The best p***ture prevention I have found is to keep your tyres at the correct pressure.

Ciaran500

Are the gators as slippy as the armadillo's in the wet?

penexpers

The gatorskins have better grip but the armadillos have better puncture resistance.

Raam

As a long time user of Armadillos, I can verify that they are very puncture resistant, however, they are as slow as... well, as slow as a very slow thing.
I've never had an issue with them in the rain, but I don't be flying around the corners. Others have reported issues with that.
I have recently bought some Gatorskins and have them on two bikes now. I find them to be very good so far. I did a four day event and only punctured because I smacked into a pothole. They are definitely faster than the Armadillos. I haven't used them as long though.

Dirk Gently

Raam wrote: »

only punctured because I smacked into a pothole. They are definitely faster than the Armadillos. I haven't used them as long though.

Same here, used armadillos for over a year, never a puncture. Recently changed to Gatorskins and have gotten 2 flats so far (both due to hitting potholes). I'm pretty sure I've had bigger bangs on the armadillos though without any problems. The size might have something to do with it though. My armadillos where 28's and my gators are 23's. Maybe the pinch flats are more to do with the size rathar than the type of tyre

Either way, armadillos are bomb proof but the gators are much much faster. I'm thinking about maybe putting a 28 on the back and a 23 on the front though. Not sure which brand to go with but I still have the two 23 gators on at the moment. I don't want to give up on the speed just yet. My armadillos are on standby in the shed though and if I get another pinch flat on the gators I'll be back to armadillos.

Can anyone confirm if 23's are more likely to pinch on potholes than 28's. I always have my tyres fully inflated using a track pump so under inflation isn't the problem.

EDIT: Update,

Got another flat on the way home today so I've just fitted armadillos back on again instead. My old 700 x 28 armadillo on the back and a 700 x 23 all condition armadillo on the front. I don't think I'll be using the continentals again tbh. I'll gladly sacrifice a bit of rolling resistance for the peace of mind the armadillos give.

blorg

Armadillos are bombproof but slippy and slow. Really bombproof though, I got 20,000km on one. They are the best choice for a relaxed commuter, fit and forget.

Gatorskins handle a lot better (almost as good as a race tyre) while having good protection but they are not as puncture resistant. They are not slippy in the wet, no.

I started with Armadillos but moved to Gatorskins and don't regret it (despite puncturing in the Mick Byrne last Sunday on one.)

Zorba

I've been using Conti Gp4 seasons for the past while, i've done probably 15,000km on 2 sets of them and only got 2 puntures, one was from hitting a rock on the road with my back wheel, would've punctured anything ! And their still on my bike, i expect another few thousand km outta them.

rogerb

One reason why Armadillos are so puncture resistent is that they are very rigid tyres. That means they're hard to fit onto the wheel and give quite a harsh ride, because when you hit a bump instead of the tyre flexing - and possibly giving you a pinch flat - you just bounce into the air. (I think this is why people are reporting that they started getting punctures hitting potholes when they switched from Armadillos to something else.) It also means they are heavy and don't handle well.

I used them for a year without any punctures and then got two in the space of two weeks (both caused by broken glass). Maybe the tyres were worn at that stage (but I was nowhere near blorg's 20,000 K). No tyre will protect you from punctures completely. Based on my experience, I don't think I'd use them again: I'd use Gatorskins if I was looking for a puncture resistant tyre.

blorg

In fairness my rear Armadillo was pretty worn at that stage and I had at least two years on it; I've posted it before but it's probably worth another for the shock value. Amazingly still puncture-free:



I had punctured once on the previous rear Armadillo, at the end of it's life (maybe a bit less mileage but think I had it for 3/4 years at that point without a puncture.)

I now use Gatorskins on my commuter (I think I'd put them on my tourer too) but use regular race tyres on my road bike; have a spare Gatorskin on my road bike now only as I had a blowout on the previous tyre (Schwalbe Stelvio.)

My experience is you are far more likely to puncture on the rear so if you are mixing it up put the stronger tyre on there.