Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to REVIEWS
review
Tyres
Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite 700x23c tyreSpecialized All Condition Armadillo Elite 700x23c tyre

Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite 700x23c tyre

8
by Shaun Audane
UPDATED Thu, Oct 15, 2015 04:24

First Published Aug 11, 2010

8
£29.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Super fast, dependable all conditions tyre for training/commuting or just riding a lot
Weight: 
262g
Contact: 
www.specialized.com
How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

If I was only allowed one tyre for year round use Specialized’s all condition Armadillo Elite would be top of my list for year-round training/spirited road duties thanks to its enviable blend of minimal rolling resistance, durability and puncture protection. However, the ride’s a little harsh and there’s a definite knack to getting them on board-especially if blistered thumbs and broken tyre levers are to be avoided.

Construction is very much tried and tested as opposed to exotic- we’ve 120tpi casings coupled with 70a tread rubber for speed and agility and 60a sidewalls for dependable cornering. Feedback suggests members of the ninety-kilo club turning massive mileages have no problems with sidewall woes although running a bottle dynamo in this context might tip the balance and the absence of reflectives is a small but missed opportunity on training tyres.

From the outset they feel markedly narrower than their 23mm profiles suggest-especially run at their 125psi limit, riding and tweaking suggests that 115 is optimum - (quite often not the same thing as maximum when it comes to tyres), delivering a smoother ride without impairing performance. Sudden cloudbursts following an intensive dry spell leave behind a treacherous, oily film on the road surface but the Armadillo Elites took this all in their stride, whether swooping full-pelt along rural roads with additional helpings of dung and diesel or cantering through town.

Greasy man-hole covers, opening car doors, traffic cone slaloms and even the expectant mother and her brood stepping off the kerb straight into our path couldn’t ruin their pin sharp handling. Efficient water channelling grooves are undoubtedly central to this but while repeated riding through shards of broken glass wasn’t responsible for the one and only puncture in two weeks and two hundred and eighty miles, the tread will harbours silt and other road debris conducive to the dreaded hiss.

Verdict

Super fast, dependable all conditions tyre for training/commuting or just riding a lot

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite 700x23c tyre

Size tested: 23mm

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

"Our All Condition Armadillo Elite road tire does absolutely everything well, making it one of the best, lightweight, multi-condition, puncture resistant tires available anywhere."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

•120 TPI casing

•Bead: Aramid

•Center Compound: 70a

•Shoulder Compound: 60a

•Dual Radius Tread (DRT) design for low rolling resistance and great cornering

•PSI: 115-

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Should last a few seasons.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10

262g each

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

Generally good but can feel slightly harsh.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

There's no doubt Specialized know their stuff when it comes to tyres and the All Condition Armadillio Elite are no exception. They roll surprisingly fast, if a little harsh but even winding descents and greasy lanes inspired confidence and speeds close to thirty mph. They feel equally dependable in the urban jungle characterised by man-hole covers, shards of glass, unpredictable traffic and errant pedestrians. However, relective sidewalls would've been nice touches for the depths of winter.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Dependable all-weather road tyre with low rolling resistance.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Stubbon fitting- killed my beloved speed lever!

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 1m 81  Weight: 70 kilos

I usually ride: Rough Stuff Tourer Based around 4130 Univega mtb Frameset  My best bike is: 1955 Holdsworth Road Path and several others including cross & traditional road

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, commuting, touring, fixed/singlespeed, mtb,

Specialized All Condition Armadillo Elite
all condition tyre
Specialized
Specialized Armadillo
road tyres
Shaun Audane

Shaun Audane is a freelance writer/product tester with over twenty-eight years riding experience, the last twelve (120,000 miles) spent putting bikes and kit through their paces for a variety of publications. Previous generations of his family worked at manufacturing's sharp end, thus Shaun can weld, has a sound understanding of frame building practice and a preference for steel or titanium framesets.
Citing Richard Ballantine and an Au pair as his earliest cycling influences, he is presently writing a cycling book with particular focus upon women, families and disabled audiences (Having been a registered care manager and coached children at Herne Hill Velodrome in earlier careers)

Latest Comments