Recommendations for a Puncture Proof Kevlar belted tire



JTE83

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Jan 28, 2004
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Hello everyone – I’m a serious road biker with 4 road bikes – an Ultegra Kestrel Talon, a Dura Ace Cervelo Soloist Team, a 105 Giant TCR Aero 2, and an Ultegra Giant OCR 1. Well, I’m looking for a good pair of puncture proof Kevlar belted tires for my commuter bike – the OCR 1. I prefer 700 x 25c tires for that bike.

My OCR 1 tires right now are the Michelin Dynamic 700 X 25c tires with Spinskins Touring Kevlar belt inner lining. Sadly, the Spinskins don’t work in preventing all flats and I have gotten two flats while using them! And when I repaired my flat tire I found that the Spinskin liner bunched up along one part of the wheel so that part of the tire / tube combination was exposed to flats.

I really had bad luck lately as I have had 3 flats within the last month. I guess only tires with an inner built in Kevlar belt will work. I guess there are Schwalbe and Specialized tires with Kevlar belts. But my impression of the Specialized Armadillo tires are that they are slow.

Does anyone have recommendations for Kevlar belted puncture proof tires? Have you used them for long miles and did they prevent flats? Most of all, are they fast or slow tires ? E.g., do they have a lot of rolling friction that slows you down?
 
try a product called panaracer flat away. Its a ballistic kevlar belt that goes inside the tire very light and tough. Stay away from Spinskins though from what I hear they're ****.

If weight isn't an issue try Mr Tuffys they work quite well also. They're reusable whereas the flataways aren't really.

One other thing, max out the tire pressure, especially on the back since thats where you'll get 90% of your flats. And use a tire with a high thread count, TPI. I highly recommend Veloflex tires.
 
JTE83 said:
Hello everyone – I’m a serious road biker with 4 road bikes – an Ultegra Kestrel Talon, a Dura Ace Cervelo Soloist Team, a 105 Giant TCR Aero 2, and an Ultegra Giant OCR 1. Well, I’m looking for a good pair of puncture proof Kevlar belted tires for my commuter bike – the OCR 1. I prefer 700 x 25c tires for that bike.

My OCR 1 tires right now are the Michelin Dynamic 700 X 25c tires with Spinskins Touring Kevlar belt inner lining. Sadly, the Spinskins don’t work in preventing all flats and I have gotten two flats while using them! And when I repaired my flat tire I found that the Spinskin liner bunched up along one part of the wheel so that part of the tire / tube combination was exposed to flats.

I really had bad luck lately as I have had 3 flats within the last month. I guess only tires with an inner built in Kevlar belt will work. I guess there are Schwalbe and Specialized tires with Kevlar belts. But my impression of the Specialized Armadillo tires are that they are slow.

Does anyone have recommendations for Kevlar belted puncture proof tires? Have you used them for long miles and did they prevent flats? Most of all, are they fast or slow tires ? E.g., do they have a lot of rolling friction that slows you down?
I've never had a puncture with Conti Gp 3000s (7000 miles), so would recommend them. Believe they are 5 ply, 430 tpi, but don't know if they use kevlar. For something a little heavier, the Conti Four Season or Gatorskin should be good.

Also, would advice to stay away from the max rated pressure on any tire if you want to avoid cuts and punctures. Depending on your weight, for 25 mm tires, 90-100 psi should be plenty....grip, ride, tire life, puncture and rolling resistance all improve when you run the right tire pressure.
 
Specialized Armadillos, available in 23 and 25, virtually indestructable. Just picked some up for $1.50 a piece (yes, that is right, it's an excess inventory place).
 
Mr_Potatohead said:
try a product called panaracer flat away. Its a ballistic kevlar belt that goes inside the tire very light and tough. Stay away from Spinskins though from what I hear they're ****.

If weight isn't an issue try Mr Tuffys they work quite well also. They're reusable whereas the flataways aren't really.

One other thing, max out the tire pressure, especially on the back since thats where you'll get 90% of your flats. And use a tire with a high thread count, TPI. I highly recommend Veloflex tires.

I'm staying away from all inserts now. My Spinskins Touring work terrible and they always bunch up along oneside of the wheel. I guess other inserts will do them same. So a kevlar belted tire is my only option. And I do pump up my pressure to the max.

My Specialized Armadillos on my MTB bike feel slow. Or maybe it's just that MTBs are slow. I have a 2003 Cannondale F600 MTB with only 80 miles. That's how much I like riding it compared to 1777.6 miles on my training road bike, a 2002 Giant TCR Aero 2.

Actually I have had only one pinch flat from using the Vredestein Ricorso tires. Never a flat from a puncture yet with these tires.

How about Hutchison Excel tires? Are they any good?
 
capwater said:
Specialized Armadillos, available in 23 and 25, virtually indestructable. Just picked some up for $1.50 a piece (yes, that is right, it's an excess inventory place).

Where did you get these.... online ???
Please inform :D ;)
 
Adam-from-SLO said:
Where did you get these.... online ???
Please inform :D ;)

Excess inventory place run by Overnite Trucking company, local Richmond, VA. Also picked up some Specialized FatBoy mtb slicks .... $1.15 ea! i was there Thursday and they had about 30 each 23 and 25s.

Email me at [email protected] Might be able to work something out for you if I can figure how to ship a wire bead tire....
 
capwater said:
Specialized Armadillos, available in 23 and 25, virtually indestructable. Just picked some up for $1.50 a piece (yes, that is right, it's an excess inventory place).
That is what I have, I ride in NYC, and so far I have had no punctures.
I hope that I don't jinx myself. :)
 
capwater said:
Specialized Armadillos, available in 23 and 25, virtually indestructable. Just picked some up for $1.50 a piece (yes, that is right, it's an excess inventory place).
C'mon man, you can't hold out on us like that! I've checked Nashbar and Performance. Not there. Where are they? :(
 
capwater said:
Excess inventory place run by Overnite Trucking company, local Richmond, VA. Also picked up some Specialized FatBoy mtb slicks .... $1.15 ea! i was there Thursday and they had about 30 each 23 and 25s.

Email me at [email protected] Might be able to work something out for you if I can figure how to ship a wire bead tire....
Ok just saw this. Nevermind.

I would have bought all of them if I'd seen a deal like that. They'd make great gifts for my cycling friends ... if i had any that it. :(
 
I like the Vittoria Open Corsa range

KS, KX, CX

All very durable and a nice ride too.

Great value for money too imo.

Of course I am biased as we sell them from www.bicyclerubber.com

But, having had the chance to look closely at pretty much every tyre out there, I really do like these the best and use them myself

Cheers
 
Here's my two cents' worth.

I bought 23cx700 Armadillo tyres for my commuting hybrid bike a couple of weeks ago; before I was using some Michelin ones (Pro Race http://two-wheels.michelin.com/2w/front/TyreGuide) with a green Kevlar liner in.

The Pro Race tyres had great grip, but were punctured easily without the liner. They lasted around 5000 miles, but by that point you could see holes everywhere. I inflated the tyres to around 8 bar. Even with the Kevlar, there was the occasional puncture (but some were due to me not keeping the band over the middle of the tyre).

I think the Armadillos weigh less than the Michelins+Kevlar, and the bike seems quicker (but that could be because you have to inflate Armadillos to around 8-8.5 bar). The person in the shop said if you underinflate them the softer walls perish as the harder middle bit flexes. Having said that, if there were a world without broken glass and nails, the Pro Races would be perfect. Hmmm, maybe the clue is in the name.

I think the grip on the Armadillos is considerably less than the Michelins (or at least there is less feedback from the tyres, so I don't fancy pushing them), as the Armadillo compound is so hard. This and the high inflation pressure leads to a harsh ride. And braking is not very good. But on tyres that skinny it isn't exactly easy to stop quickly without locking up.

I'd best finish now before you all get too bored...
 
dhk said:
I've never had a puncture with Conti Gp 3000s (7000 miles), so would recommend them. Believe they are 5 ply, 430 tpi, but don't know if they use kevlar. For something a little heavier, the Conti Four Season or Gatorskin should be good.

Also, would advice to stay away from the max rated pressure on any tire if you want to avoid cuts and punctures. Depending on your weight, for 25 mm tires, 90-100 psi should be plenty....grip, ride, tire life, puncture and rolling resistance all improve when you run the right tire pressure.

I'll second the Conti GP 3000 and tire pressure recommendations. I've never had a flat in 4 years of riding on them at 100-105 psi on my road bike.

I've also had good results with the Specialized Armadillos on my tandem. Haven't had a flat with them, though I don't have as many miles on them as on my road bike.
 
JTE83 said:
Hello everyone – I’m a serious road biker with 4 road bikes – an Ultegra Kestrel Talon, a Dura Ace Cervelo Soloist Team, a 105 Giant TCR Aero 2, and an Ultegra Giant OCR 1. Well, I’m looking for a good pair of puncture proof Kevlar belted tires for my commuter bike – the OCR 1. I prefer 700 x 25c tires for that bike.

My OCR 1 tires right now are the Michelin Dynamic 700 X 25c tires with Spinskins Touring Kevlar belt inner lining. Sadly, the Spinskins don’t work in preventing all flats and I have gotten two flats while using them! And when I repaired my flat tire I found that the Spinskin liner bunched up along one part of the wheel so that part of the tire / tube combination was exposed to flats.

I really had bad luck lately as I have had 3 flats within the last month. I guess only tires with an inner built in Kevlar belt will work. I guess there are Schwalbe and Specialized tires with Kevlar belts. But my impression of the Specialized Armadillo tires are that they are slow.

Does anyone have recommendations for Kevlar belted puncture proof tires? Have you used them for long miles and did they prevent flats? Most of all, are they fast or slow tires ? E.g., do they have a lot of rolling friction that slows you down?

For my commuter bikes, I have used either Specialized kevlar belted tires or Contis with similar results. Even without kevlar, Continentals are the most puncture resistant tires I've used in 15+ years of urban commuting with Michelin by far the most puncture prone.
 
I've had good luck in the past using the Continental GP 3000s. However so far this year I have been on Vittoria Rubino Pro tires. No flats so far. They are a very surprising good value.

Cheers!
 
dhk said:
Also, would advice to stay away from the max rated pressure on any tire if you want to avoid cuts and punctures. Depending on your weight, for 25 mm tires, 90-100 psi should be plenty....grip, ride, tire life, puncture and rolling resistance all improve when you run the right tire pressure.

I thought it was the other way around. I mean you should inlfate to max to reduce puncture and rolling resistance.

As it happens this is my first year on a road bike and glass has given me far too many punctures I've decided to get a puncture resistant tire.

So is it still the armadillo, Conti 4 Season that are the champs of that category? Any new advice on this (since this is an old thread).
 
Treky said:
I thought it was the other way around. I mean you should inlfate to max to reduce puncture and rolling resistance.

As it happens this is my first year on a road bike and glass has given me far too many punctures I've decided to get a puncture resistant tire.

So is it still the armadillo, Conti 4 Season that are the champs of that category? Any new advice on this (since this is an old thread).
I thought that too for many years, but when I got new Michelin Pro Race tires a few years ago, noticed they had an inflation range on the sidewall of 6-8 bar (87-116 psi)rather than just a max rating. This, plus some reading, convinced me to try the lower pressures. What I found was fewer flats, longer tire life, better ride and grip, faster descending, and a better, smoother ride....all good stuff.

Certainly too low a pressure will make pinch flats more likely, but depending on your weight and the width of tire, 95-105 psi should be plenty to prevent them. The reason high pressure results in more cuts and punctures is because at max rated pressure, the casing of the tire is under maximum stress, and the hard tire concentrates the pressure of sharp rocks because it isn't able to conform as well. That's my theory anyway.

Max pressure may be better on a smooth track or steel drum, but a tire at 90-100 psi will roll faster on most real-world road surfaces. Believe this is because the tire stays in contact with the road and absorbs the road noise better rather than putting all that energy into vertical motion that your body has to absorb.

It's still hard to convince people though. All I can say is try it yourself. See if you don't roll at least as fast. On big descents, believe you'll find you're faster and descend with more confidence because your tire is gripping the road rather than bouncing over it.

Sorry, don't know about the other tires you mention. I've only used the Conti 3000s for the last 12K miles. Since I've never had a cut through or puncture flat with them, have never looked for anything heavier.
 
A friend of mine and I have been using Maxxis Xenith Hors' Categorie tires for the past year, with extremely good results. I have had two flats in about 6000 miles, and my friend has not had any riding more than I do. We ride a lot on some pretty bad roads, and pretty much never flat. The price is pretty good, about $35 each at the lbs. They are not the top of the line Maxxis, but they are good tires. Here's the Maxxis link:
http://www.maxxis.com/products/bicycle/product_detail.asp?id=97
 
I would recommend Continental Grand Prix 4000

Conti GP 4000's are lightweight (205gms), supple, have lower rolling resistance, vectran protection strip( instead of kevlar), wear really well, tread wear indicators, performance tyre guarrantee (within 3 months of purchase) so if you cut them, just send them back (in Australia - need store receipt for proof of purchase) and pay 29.90 and get a totally new one and their cheap on Ebay as well.

With latex tubes, these have to be nearly the best ride, especially if you can get a new one each time, when you cut the casing on glass.
I've just had a 3 month old tyre (3000km) replaced with a totally new one.

Here are the reviews

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/a...AN=1106&SP=&v=1

http://www.roadcycling.com/news/article1395.shtml
 
Thank you all.

dhk, I've always felt that with the tires I have the rolling resistance is lower when I put in 120psi, the max for the Bontragers I have. But I'll keep an open mind about the tire pressure question. Like you said, may be I'll experiment. But first I am going to pick up a set of new tires with decent puncture resistance.
 

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