Carbon forks, what's the benefit ?

[Roadrider48]

I changed the stock Kenda tyres on my TDF to Specialized all condition armadillo's. £60 the pair. No problems atall, even punctures for the best part of 6 months so far.

 

[ianrauk]

I changed the stock Kenda tyres on my TDF to Specialized all condition armadillo's. £60 the pair. No problems atall, even punctures for the best part of 6 months so far.

Spesh Armadillo's are very good tyres, however using them is like riding through treacle compared to Durano Plus'. And once the Armadillo's start to reach the end of their life, they go off very quickly with the top layer of tyre de-laminating from the puncture belt. I used to get a years commuting out of them but since changed to the Durano's.

 

[User6179]

I changed the stock Kenda tyres on my TDF to Specialized all condition armadillo's. £60 the pair. No problems atall, even punctures for the best part of 6 months so far.

I was on my 5th armadillo tyre before I got my first puncture on them , bullet proof but don't last that long , 1500 miles just on back tyre was all I was getting

 

[Roadrider48]

Spesh Armadillo's are very good tyres, however using them is like riding through treacle compared to Durano Plus'. And once the Armadillo's start to reach the end of their life, they go off very quickly with the top layer of tyre de-laminating from the puncture belt. I used to get a years commuting out of them but since changed to the Durano's.

Thanks Ian, I'll bare that in mind. Evans recommended them to me btw.

 

[Roadrider48]

I was on my 5th armadillo tyre before I got my first puncture on them , bullet proof but don't last that long , 1500 miles just on back tyre was all I was getting

That's good to know mate. Like I said to Ian, I'll keep it in mind for the next tyres I buy.

 

[User6179]

That's good to know mate. Like I said to Ian, I'll keep it in mind for the next tyres I buy.

I still use them in the winter, they are slow but compared to my other winter tyres ( Marathon tour plus) they are lighter and quicker, only thing is with armadillos or worse with marathons is you have to work so much harder than your m8 to maintain the same speed as him if he is on a racier tyre.

 

[Roadrider48]

I still use them in the winter, they are slow but compared to my other winter tyres ( Marathon tour plus) they are lighter and quicker, only thing is with armadillos or worse with marathons is you have to work so much harder than your m8 to maintain the same speed as him if he is on a racier tyre.

I have noticed that they are a bit slow, even compared to the Kenda stock ones, But am a bit reluctant to buy new right now, seeing as they're not that old as well. Plus I'm thinking of buying a better bike in the not too distant future as well. Not that there is much wrong with the TDF IMO. Just fancy something a bit better geared. The bears are a bit heavy going at the best of times. And I'm not a novice either. But as I said, it's not a bad bike and I wouldn't moan if I kept it. So we'll see.

 

[Roadrider48]

Ha ha...."bears" my bike has 16 bears!

 

[david k]

If the stock tires are still on the Carrera tdf then I would upgrade those first. I upgraded the stock tires on my vanquish and it made a big difference in terms of shock absorbing and better rolling. I have Mitchelin Pro race at the moment. Not my tire of choice but they were all I had at the time and they are fine for now. Next time I shall go for Continental 4000s or Gatorskins when I have the cash.
Once your tires are sorted then you can think about upgrading wheels. Then, if you wish, think about carbon forks. You may find that after the tire and wheel upgrades you may not need to consider a fork upgrade.

my vanquish had continental ultrasports which i thought were quite good apart from poor puncture protection. Just changed to rubinos but havent tried them yet