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Specialized
Fast Trak Armadillo Elite Tire
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Average Rating
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3.44/5
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# of Reviews
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9
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MSRP
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$ 45.00
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Weight
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Description:The world’s fastest mountain bike race tire now gains the world’s best puncture-resistant technology. The Fast Trak has proven itself on the World Cup XC circuit time and time again, and our new lightweight Armadillo Elite armored casing fends off nearly all punctures while adding less than 2 ounces to this already lightweight tire.
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Submitted by
derek
a
from Aztec, nm
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Alien | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Will probably wear good and durable side walls | | Weaknesses: | unpredictable feel. hard to tell when at edge of traction. | | Similar Products Used: | adrenaline, mutano raptor | | Bike Setup: | stumpy expert | | Bottom Line: | heavy for low volume tire and not impressed with traction in rock gardens, sand, or anything other than hard pack, even then not great. very unpredictable in corners and not at all confidence inspiring. going to switch to something else. adrenaline much better all around tire but not made any more. liked mutano raptor in rear (belive it or not) | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matthew Keller
a Weekend Warrior
from Mesa, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Flagstaff Nordic Center | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | Global Cycles | | Strengths: | Supposed to be thorn proof. The goat heads around here are driving me crazy. | | Weaknesses: | Slips on my bikes rims no matter how hard I make the tires. This renders them useless because they keep ripping out the valve stem about 10 minutes after I start riding. I have never had this problem before. My rims are designed for Presta valves. I don't know if that is relevant or not. | | Similar Products Used: | None. | | Bike Setup: | Trek 930 circa 1994. | | Bottom Line: | These tires were a real disappointment for me. Were they slipping because they had the kevlar instead of the wire bead? I have no idea. They also slipped on my wifes trek 930 as well and she had different wheels. I wasted so much time and energy monkeying around with these things. Hoping to get a refund tomorrow. Fingers crossed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will Jones
a Weekend Warrior
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Hulls Gulch | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Georges Mountain Cycle | | Strengths: | Wow! Very smooth ride! Excellent bump absorption. Banshee cornering! Not one flat from either tire in over 4 months! Quiet ride! Cost effective, the money you spend on these tires, you will definately save on tubes, gunk and time! Get them! | | Weaknesses: | Price. I scratched my head and walked around the showroom for nearly 20 minutes before I dropped almost $90 bucks to take these home. | | Similar Products Used: | Tons of other tires, strips, gunk and goo. | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Hard Rock Sport | | Bottom Line: | I bit the bullet and bought these tires because I was having too many flats. I was so sick of constantly changing tubes. Sure, I filled the old tires/tubes with goo and the goo worked. But I had these slow leaks and sudden flats all the time. I hated not knowing if my tires would truely hold. I bought the Armadillo Fast Tracks not because of grip, traction, or rolling resistance. I got them because they STOP flats. Guess what, I got grip, traction, low rolling resistance, and quiet smooth ride right along with the flat free confidence. NO flats since I got these tires. I've saved so much time and cash since I got them. I value my time and cost of flat repair. So I gave them the highest value. Like an investment, their true value is paid back over time. These tires Rock and Roll! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Hampson
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Menai | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$49.00 | | Purchased At: | Chain Reaction Cronulla | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance, predictable grip, dual compound | | Weaknesses: | Some effort required to get them to run true. Tread struggles to hook up on some loose rocky climbs but this the trade off for speed. | | Similar Products Used: | Also considered Maxxis Crossmark but went the Fast track as read some reviews about average cornering performance? | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Specialized S-works Epic | | Bottom Line: | Just fitted a set and I am impressed with the speed & cornering performance over typical Aussie dry hard pack trails. Also like having the extra puncture resistance protection. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Martens
a Cross Country Rider
from Eldridge, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | $46 | | Strengths: | I bought these because I ride on single track at a local park with 3-4 others and one of us (or more) got a thorn induced flat every outing. I've used these for four months and they seem to do the trick. I have not noticed a difference (better or worse) than the stock Bontager Jones tires I replaced. | | Weaknesses: | Pricey? | | Similar Products Used: | This is the first puncture resistant tire I have tried. | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Gary Fisher Hi-Fi - close to stock. | | Bottom Line: | Pricey but good. If you ride in thorn infested areas this is for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David G
a Weekend Warrior
from Littleton, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Waterton Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Village | | Strengths: | Excellent grip, low rolling resistance, typical Specialized high pressure MTB tire (up to 80 psi), dual rubber compound, puncture resistant. | | Weaknesses: | The 26x2.20 tire is broader than I would normally choose, and the tire doesn't roll as perfectly true as most I have used. When the rim is trued especially carefully, I'd prefer the tire to come close as well and not exhibit the center tread pattern side-to-side sway several of these have shown. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized More Extreme | | Bike Setup: | Diamondback WCF (welded carbon fiber) | | Bottom Line: | I like the tire, overall, and am only disappointed in how hard I worked to get the rolling acceptably true and smooth. This tire serves nicely on the hard-pack and smooth surfaces I have used it on so far. Because of the high pressure the tire accepts, it doesn't give much rolling resistance and can eat up miles for the rider without draining one's energy unnecessarily. The tightly packed tread pattern of the Fast Trak series is reproduced in this version with just a bit more rubber (size) on the nobbys. There's no recognizable thumping, little vibration, and limited noise on pavement, because of the Fast Trak pattern which rolls and rides almost like a solid center beaded tire thanks to the number and placement of the nobbys. It may not seem aggressive enough for the most hard-core off road riders here in the Rockies, but this tire can serve well in a variety of conditions and pass for an exceptionally nice cross-country MTB tire. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rohan
a Cross Country Rider
from Cupertino, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | (per tire) | | Strengths: | EXTREMELY nice compared to my old kendas (2.1 i think dunno)
more specifically: I've only ridden these for one day. On my old Kendas, on a certain really thorny trail, I would get 1-5 punctures an hour... Very annoying. But on these new ones I went 2 and a half hours and [ab]used them like hell on the thorniest parts. Some of the thorns were sticking to the tires, but they were completely obliterated. Also hte feel of htese tires are very outstanding. These are very stable, and they absorb alot of the cracks and small rocks in the ground. They feel very comfortable. | | Weaknesses: | installation took to long cause im a newbie. | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda (2.1 i think) | | Bike Setup: | Ibex ignition 2 + armadillos | | Bottom Line: | Amazing tires, worth every penny imo (in my opninion).
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Dallas, TX ,USA
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$42.00 | | Strengths: | These tires rock compared to the junk that came on my tassajara. These things fly down the trail. I was getting flats every week with my old tires(I ride hard over rock gardens). I have had these for just under 3 months and I have not had a flat yet. They grip good and have made me a better rider in the turns. | | Weaknesses: | Kind of expensive. | | Similar Products Used: | IRC Mythos | | Bottom Line: | A great tire that will help you fly through the trails and lessen your chances of getting a flat. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aaron
a Cross Country Rider
from Bryan, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Lake Bryan - East Loop | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | Specialized.com | | Strengths: | Puncture resistent | | Weaknesses: | Diameter of tire bead is too small | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Crossroads Armadillo tires | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, mostly stock. | | Bottom Line: | The unusually small diameter of these tires (they seem about 1/8” too small) makes them rub up against the rim strip, which causes it to move quite a bit, and in turn, the tube rubs against the spoke nipples and gives you a flat from the INSIDE of the tube. I rode my Crossroads tires for 3 years and had 1 flat. I rode the Fast Traks for 2 days (20 miles) and had 4 flats. The tires are also a pain to mount due to the diameter of the tire bead. I could overlook the difficult mounting if they tires worked as advertised.
Bottom line: these tires gave me 4 flats in 2 days, no thorns needed. I’ll be returning these to Specialized ASAP.
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