I like to have a fresh set of tires every year when I do the Seattle to Portland ride. This was my 35th year and I have used Gators for many of them.
They have been flawless and it's one more thing I don't have to worry about when I ride from Seattle.
I leave them on for training the following year, them change out again. However there would be no problem leaving them on for several years I'm sure.
I now have a lot of spares.
On our Tandem we were riding on 28mm Gatorskins'. Because of their puncture resistance we had not had any punctures. This year, for comfort, I switched to another brands 32mm supple tire. After getting 2 punctures with the supple tires, I switched back to Gatorskins' size 32mm and have not had any issues. As you can expect with 32mm tires, they ride smooth and have the Gatorskin protection. I figure the weight of us on the Tandem is over 330 lbs. Yet I can get a 2000 mile season out of a set of Gatorskins.
I was using another brand that claimed they were bulletproof, but after 3 flats in a week I'd had enough. Tried out the black edition gatorskins and not only did they give me confidence, but they look great on my bike. Tough as nails
People tell me they're heavy and slow, but then they're bumming tubes off me when their tubeless setup fails, lol. I'll keep riding my Gatorskins, thank you very much. They last 4000 miles or more and very few flats in that time.
Like fixing flats on the side of the road? If so, don't buy these tires! This is my 3rd or 4th set, and the puncture resistance is 10/10!
I have tried SO many different tires over the years and keep coming back to Gatorskins because they last. So much longer than other tires and they are very flat resistant. If you are a weight weenie they probably aren't for you because they are a little bit heavier but if if you like to mount'em and forget 'em, these are awesome!
I've used this tire on my tandem bike for years and had great service. However I had an incident recently that shook my confidence. I installed this tire on the rear of my tandem and put only a few hundred miles on it before the sidewall blew out at the bead. The casing tore without being damaged by road debris. I am currently working with Continental to resolve the issue and they are being very responsive. It's a relatively expensive tire and touted for having strong sidewalls so I was surprised at this. Nothing is perfect and maybe this was just an outlier. I'm still using them on my tandem and regular road bike.
The Gatorskin has been my go-to for as long as I can remember. Defeats the road rubble like no other, with performance attributes for every weather condition, and the capabilities of most riders, with the possible exception serious racers.
There were several complaints about Gatorskins not having a full width flatproof tread belt. I considered this and despite the fact that I've had VERY little problems with Gatorskins, I tried the flat proof tires from the major manufacturers. Well, the very first time out on a Vittoria armored tire I got a flat. Then I replacement innertube somehow got a pinch or something and exploded knocking the tire off of the rim. Luckily a group came along and had a spare CO2 cartridge. I made sure that it was a spare because I wouldn't want to have this happen to anyone else.
Now
I've used gatorskins on my tandem bike for years with good results. I rode on a mix of gravel and paved roads without any major damage to either tread or carcass. I decided to use them on my road bike after a series of flats with another tire. So far they have been very reliable, handled well and returned good mileage. My rear tire is about worn out so I am ordering a replacement. They are reasonably priced too. This will probably be my go-to tire from now on. I ride about 600 miles per month.
Great performance with Continental. I have used this brand for years with minimal flats and good grip for a safe ride.
I'm a triathlete, and when I train, I go far. I need a dependable tire, at all times. So far, these tires have been great. No flats, shedding debris left and right. Hopefully they keep up that way.
I don't have any controlled scientific studies to support my opinion. But, over the years I've found these tires to be sturdy with very good grip in the rain. I even take them on gravel sometimes. I very, very rarely flat (I hope I didn't jinx anything). Due to frame limitations, I run 700x25.
Training tire good protection from flats but hard to mount.
I've come to expect easy, prompt service and quality products. I got both this time. Many thanks.
I have used these tires for over 10 years, and they've been great. I haven't had a flat tire for at least 5 years.
Durable and reliable. Have used Continental tires for many years. My biggest issue is the threads that start to develop as the tire wears. If I'm not paying attention the threads can get wound around the cassette.
I run these things on my road bike all the time now, because there's a lotta glass on the roads and paths (Portland, Or) these days. These things are heavier than race or training tires, yes they are, but I do like getting about 80% fewer flats. I stretched a pair of these to 4000 miles once, not one flat, but that was in Europe where there's far less glass & crap on the bikeways. I usually retire them at about 2000 miles, which is about 3 times longer than the training tires I used to use.
Gatorskins are the way, 28mm on my 2002 steel road bike. 3600 hundred miles year round on my previous pair with only about five flats. These tires deflect everything thrown at them, glass, and more glass in the bike lanes, minor gravel, wet streets, and then more glass, and road debris. This recent pair is my fifth set.
I and my riding friends have used Gatorskins for many years. When I saw the black version was cheaper, I compared the price and that fact that it was just the same as the regular Gatorskin but cheaper, I ordered a set. I have not been disappointed.
