Ive been a mountain biking for over ten years and have just recently taken to the streets. Since I am not yet racing my road bike, I was looking for training tires. Based on the limited reviews I read, I had narrowed my select down to two tires, The Michelin Krylion Carbon Tire and the Continental Gator Hardshell.
After finding numerous reviews bashing the Michelin tire for poor quality after moving its manufacturing site to Asia, the decision was made. Now I live in Northern New Jersey where the roads are anything but tire friendly. Between road patch work of uneven surfaces, large amount of debris on the shoulders, and lots of pot holes, you constantly need to be on your guard.
With that said, though I have only 50 miles on my new set of tires, I have the confidence that they can handle all of the road conditions that I will come across. I am satisfied with my purchase and will continue to update this review as I add on the miles.
Finally gave up on lightweight race tires poor rural roads and debris flats. The Gator Hardshells ride and handle much like a GP4000, but with vastly improved flat protection. I've dug bits of glass and other junk out of the tread, but nothing's made it through so far. They're fairly light, and relatively easy to mount. Unless Conti comes up with something even better, this is now my go-to tire.
