Specialized Turbo Armadillo: Big wheel keeps on turnin'
Written: May 28 '02 (Updated Mar 03 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Long Lasting, Durable, Inexpensive
Cons: Most shops carry them, but not all
The Bottom Line: For a great dependable tire, engineered to minimize flats, I would always recommend Armadillos.
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| DoubleCoog's Full Review: Specialized Turbo Armadillo |
At 250 lbs when geared up with a fully loaded Camel-bak Hog, and at 80+ miles per day, I was H-E-"double hockey sticks" on my tires. I should have stuck with my bike shops' advice, but gearing up while crossing the country. I sometimes had to take what I could get.
As many of you know, in the summer of 1998 I bicycled from Seattle to DC as part of the biggest cross country ride ever.
My first pair of Armadillos, 700 x 26's served me well during my training, and did not yet need replacing even though they had logged more than 1,500 miles during training. After a couple days in the mountains, and tiring of the extra wide tires, I switched to 700 x 23's. These tires served me well for over 2,000 miles.
When the end was near, I bought an expensive Michelin foldable from a fellow rider. After three days, there were visible signs of wear; I bought some Conti 3000's from a tech who was at our camp, 1,000 miles later, they were worn through. I was not going to be able to last the final 3-400 miles without new tires. Finally I came to my senses and hitched a ride to a shop that carried the Specialized Armadillos. The sad part is, at $26-$35, they are far less expensive than the Contis and Michelins that lasted less than half as long!
For a great dependable tire, engineered to minimize flats, I would always recommend Armadillos. If you need to ride on questionable surfaces on your road bike, don't even try it on slicks....
Learn from my experience, the Armadillos will outlast them all.
Stats:
Specialized Turbo Sport Armadillo The Turbo Sport with patented bead to bead Armadillo casing
New Turbo tread pattern
Wire bead only
Sizes:
700x20c 370 grams
700x23c 390 grams
700x26c 400 grams
700x28c 420 grams
27x1-1/4 400 grams
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
DoubleCoog
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Location: South Padre Island,TX
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