Anyone know shops in London/ Cheapest online place that sells Continental Top Contact tyres, they look tough as nails wanna give em a go.

thanks

Conti can usually be found here..

similar to a top contact and a few quid cheaper is Schwalbe Marathoon Plus from ChainReaction

I have Conti on both rear wheels, both ace

I've been running those on my back up geared bike. So far the only puncture I've got was from a staple that unbelievably went in lengthways. Apart from that, I've been pleasantly surprised. I don't feel as confident as with my Armies, so I try to avoid glass, whereas with the Armies, I just crush the glass.

You've got a trike? SWEET!

In Denmark, or at least in Copenhagen, i find that all brands of tires can be found in bikeshop's skips.. Both my "mint" (when found) full red Vittoria Open Corsa CX and my new (when found) TriComp black/gold was found in skips.. along with new/almost new Schwalbe Ultremo's, Michelin Lithion's, Vittoria Zaffiro's/Rubino's and others, including a GatorSkin i for some reason put on my touringbike.. I get a flat everytime it rains on that one..

Got my Top Contacts from Chain reaction

£25 each. They've lasted two months so far (normal tyre lasts me three weeks to a month) and no punctures at all.

jesus! What do you do, eat them?

skid? normal rear tires on fixed gear lasts me around a month too... the TriComp seems to be holding out better than the Rubino's though..

Missing the Vredestein Fortezza Quattro Tricomp from the list:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/M...?ModelID=28611
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/3149

I have the normal Fortezza Tricomps on another bike and they've been excellent, fast and grip well wet and dry, corner excellently. The quattros (on my fixed) seem to ride pretty similar, except that these have full puncture protection, as opposed to a strip on the Tricomps (which is pretty effective anyway, I've not had a puncture on those either!). 230g and you can pick them up for under £20.

Courant

can i just mention that the stop-gap cheapo kenda koncept i put on while waiting for my bonti hardcases to turn up is still on there and going strong. must be over 2 months now i've skidded it almost square and still no sign of lining peeking though and i've not had a single flat. the hardcases are still hanging on the wall waiting for this thing to give up. whatever people reckoned about grip or lack thereof i've been pleasantly surprised with it's tuffness. who knew?

Updated prices, added new line and deleted some no longer produced products; added opinion on Slime Tyre Liners

I'm moving to Denmark.

Yup, skid and slow down. They're starting to show signs of wear now. Still no punctures (touch wood)

Can anybody tell me the difference between the all condition and the roubaix armadillos???

cheers.

Can I just say. Shittest tyres ever. These are what come on the Fuji Track as standard and they are absolutely terrible.

Ruined my top contact at the polo tournament, so I think I had almost three months on that tyre - pretty stoked that it lasted so long.

I was just asked privately about the differences between the Armadillo All Condition (that I use) and the Armadillo Roubaix that I observed (without use). This is my answer; it may help someone else in a choice between the two.

Good question _________, and until this past weekend I didn't know it. Funnily enough, I was in a bike shop on Sunday and had a good look at the structure of the Roubaix. The central rubber section is MUCH thicker than on the regular Armadillo. The sides seem not as robust, and there I guess is the weight saving over the Armadillo All Condition. The thickness of the central section would withstand normal bits of glass with ease, even without a kevlar belt beneath it.

So, in my opinion, the Roubaix may even be more difficult to puncture than the All Condition, due to the thickness of the central tread. The central tread is raised, and yet the tyre would be more supple, being a folding tyre, as opposed to rigid like the All Condition. Though more expensive, it appears worth it, if the ride is better, central tread is possibly more puncture resistant, and there is more grip (the rubber compund appears softer).

Hope that helps. And since it was such a good question, I hope you dont mind me posting the answer (not your identity) in the main thread.

-GA2G

I bought myself a set of Armadillo Roubaix's last night, havent had a chance to roll on them yet, but will keep this thread updated on my findings.

First Impressions... they are super slick. Wider than the All conditions being made 700x23/25 rather than the all-conds 700x23.

I'd be fucking shocked if anything went through this tire, although there have been reports of neolithic spear heads on london streets.

went through the armadillo pro's in a month.
all con's last longer
not sure about the Roubaix's tho. £30 each??????????

the old style armidillo i have on the rear of my polo bike is down to it's 6th layer almost all the way around and is virtually square, but is still going strong! woohoo

yep, from evans, same price as the all conditions. i was gonna go for the all conditions but the evans dude was raving about the roubaix's. He rides this ridiculous ratio like 46x13 or sommat.

that did sting, but hopefully i wont need another pair for fucking ages.

Vittoria Randonneurs claim to be almost completely puncture proof, smallest they come in are 28's though

Great until its cold and wet, then you realise that they have high plastic content and you face plant as your front wheel slips out from under you at the first drain you turn on... ....also ride quality? What ride quality? You don't get punctures on solid tyres either.....but you would ride them everyday would you?
Try Conti Top Touring, 85psi

first rule of armidillo club, never run them on the front ;)

if anyone has any old ones they want to get rid off, pass them my way!!

New tyres added. Recommendations given. Changeable due to forum consensus of course.

And, does anybody work in a cycle shop and can weigh the Specialized All Condition Pro "QuickStep"? I can only find one weight given for it anyway on the interweb. Verification needed.

I picked some big lumps out of my tyres today, they are 100% slick too so I'm looking to replace them both. I'm after some advice as what to get.

The bike is a fixed beater, it's ridden pretty hard in all weathers, every day. I'm used to 23mm 120psi tyres. I want a rear tyre that's pretty hard, skids, lasts, and has decent puncture protection, and a front tyre that grips ok even in the wet.

I was thinking a cheap Rubino on the front... but what for the back?

Miro

I'd say, go Rubhino Pro on both front and back, I had a pair that didn't puncture in over four years, I ended up taking them off after I noticed the rubber on the side wall was starting to dry out/rot.

Do the rear's skid/last well?

it's been quite a dry few months... ;-)

i ride rubino pros on my holdsworth and conti ultragatorskins on my merckx.

the rubino pros are great tires in the dry. also very hard wearing; took me about five months to go through the rear, brakeless. i never got a puncture on them. but they suck when it's wet; you can feel your bike sliding around.

the gatorskins are ridiculously grippy -- almost too grippy. i sometimes struggle to skid on them, so they're not ideal brakeless. i also got a puncture last week, but it was a piece of glass the size of a small machete.

i found gators are best on the front. on the back they judder under braking.

I'm running Schwalbe marathon plus on my Raleigh Record Sprint but not gone fixed yet so they ain't getting any serious abuse of the back yet, but had them bout 3 months now ( tempting the pissy sods law) no punctures yet phew....... but have to pack them full of air though to get the best of them .. :-)