Im Trying a different brand of tyre today.

[night cycler]

I am riding on Gator scins from today on the back wheel.

The Armadillos have been ok in respect of reducing punctures. Only had one since using them doing between 1200 to 1300 miles per year and mainly on the canal paths.

So the Armadillos have done the job in respect of the hard inner matterial, but the outer layer of the tyres have gone in holes in about 3 places. This is maybe normal where & tear. I could probably get a few more miles from them but it does not seem to be the right thing to do. Without knowing the exact time they were fitted, it is not possible to make any conclusion.

Has anyone got experience of using both of these tyre brands?

 

[AndyRM]

The Specialized Armadillo ones? Not my favourites, but pretty good when it comes to puncture protection.

If they're as worn as being able to see holes in them, I'd say it was time to have them replaced.

 

[HLaB]

Its a long time since I've had Specialized Amadillos or Gator Skins, IIRC the gators were slightly lighter, slightly grippier (although not the grippiest as all p'ture protection tyres in general aren't) and slightly more robust.

 

[AndyRM]

Ah, I hadn't seen your edit. Like @HLaB I preferred the Gatorskins for the same reasons.

This is a purely personal thing, but I don't like the lawsuits which Specialized have been in over the years against "the little guys" so tend to avoid their products.

 

[Mr Celine]

All specialized tyres that have been fitted as original equipment on bikes I've had failed in the same way, by delaminating. The armadillos were the worst. They developed a regular squelching noise which turned out to be caused by water between the tread and the carcass of the tyre. An accidental rear wheel skid ripped a large chunk of the tread off, resulting in me binning them.

Gatorskins, if inflated to the recommended pressure, are slightly more comfortable and just as puncture resistant as armadillos.
I discovered through laziness that when inflated at less than recommended pressure they become very comfortable and much gripper and this has never resulted in a snakebite.
My 28mm are inflated whenever I can be bothered to 70 psi rear 55 front rather than the recommended minimum 95.

They also last at least twice as long as armadillos.