Which tyre for commuting?

Cycling through a city every day on a commute really puts your tyres under pressure. Hilarity aside, the debris and general poor condition of the roads is one of the worst things a cyclist has to deal with. That suddenly lumpen feeling that your back tyre is deflating with every stroke is followed invariably by the realisation you left your spare tube at home. Then it'll start raining.

I've personally spent too much of my wage in our own store buying inner tubes. Far too much. After struggling in on yet another flat tyre I decided to buy myself a pair of all conditions Armadillo's from Specialized.

Aside from an improved tread (with the obligatory slight increase in resistance), the tyres felt pretty standard. I simply don't get the miles in that allows you to talk in depth about tyre differences.

But I do cycle fifteen miles a day through some of the most crap ridden roads around. After two months of having fitted the Armadillos I've not had a puncture. Not one. Thats down from an average of 2-3 a month.

As a commuter who is invariably already late for work by the time he gets a puncture I couldn't recommend them highly enough.