Specialized All Condition Sport Road Tire

I do most of my training on Maxxis Refuse tires because I have found them to be the most puncture resistant tires I have ever used. However, my normal training wheels are out of action right now so I have been using a set of Vuelta aluminum clinchers that are usually relegated to wheel-truck duty. But like any good bench player, when the time to go into the game arrives, they have to be ready...

These wheels are equipped with a set of Specialized All Condition Sport tires.

The tires are inexpensive, but have a nice feel to them when you pick them up. They are very supple for training tires and have a nice looking tread as well. The tires mount very easily which I think is extremely important for training tires. It is not a fun experience to stand at the side of the road in the rain or cold and wrestle a tire onto a rim after fixing a flat. For race wheels I am okay with the tighter fit and I installed these on a set of Fulcrum Racing 1's which are notoriously difficult to install tires on. The Specialized tires went on with no problem.


The tires have a decent feel and I never felt that they would not hold well while cornering - granted, I never pushed them like I would in a race. I also rode the wheels a few times in the rain and again the traction was more than adequate.

Where I really have an issue with these tires is puncture resistance. I went through 3 tires in a matter of 2 weeks with a total of 5 flats. In 3 of these instances, there were large punctures in the center of the tread. Two of these flats were in dry conditions and one with pretty heavy rains on the road. It appears that each of the punctures were caused by gravel.

I understand the damage sharp pieces of gravel can do to tires, but I typically see this in soft compound, light-weight racing tires and not something that is obviously intended to be a training/sport/touring tire. The tires are 50% heavier than a race tire, but I have no idea where that weight is going because there is noting in the tread preventing punctures.

I wish I could speak to the durability of the tires from a wear perspective, but I have been unable to get more than 400 miles out of any one of these tires so long-term testing is not in the cards.

I get that Specialized makes the Armadillo for serous puncture resistance, but these tires should be much better than they are. These really could be nice, inexpensive training tires, but instead they have no value for me as I do not trust them. I can't recommend these tires for any serous cyclist.