I bought this tire for my gravel bike. I have been using the Goodyear Contender tire (40mm) which has been great, but wanted something a little smoother as my tread would wear out anyway. Since I use my bike 90% of the time for commuting on mostly paved roads and bumpy bike trails, it didn't make sense to have a tire with treads. This has been a great choice, as it can run over anything but also picks up the speed of my bike and has less rolling resistance (almost as quick as my road bike with 28mm tires). I have also used it on gravel roads during weekends and it does a good job and you can fly on the roads. However, I wouldn't recommend it for climbing steep terrain on loose material. That said I did climb some steeper gradients on gravel and it was fine. Works great in the rain. Good tire!
On pure ride and value alone, these would rate at least 4.5 stars but I'm taking 1.5 off for the difficulty in installation. Without a doubt, these are the most difficult tires to mount I've ever used. I broke 2 tire levers trying to get them on and all the usual tricks like soapy water failed. I ended up paying my LBS to get it done--since I had to get new levers anyway. Plus, I'm at the age where sometimes you just want to throw money at a problem to make it go away :) Gratifyingly, the mechanic told me he had a rough time with them as well so I don't feel quite so dumb now.
But once on, they're pretty nice--soaks up bumps really well. I can't speak to how well they'll handle real gravel--got them for my regular commuter bike--but so far, the grip and handling seem good. I've just got my fingers crossed I can get by without having to take them off any time soon.
I live in downtown Las Vegas, and there's a lot of debris in these streets. I used to get a puncture flat almost every ride (I was on Schwalbe Marathons). I hated it, made me want to stop cycling. I wanted the absolute best puncture protection, and the Continental Gator Hardshell tire delivered. Since installing these, I haven't had any flat tires (7 rides so far). I got the 32mm width, 70psi helps avoid punctures too. Some say these tires don't have good road feel since they're thicker and heavier. I say a tire that holds air feels better than one that doesn't.
This is the first TLR bike tire in a 700/30 I have used. My previous tires were Continental 5000 700/28 clinchers used with Victoria latex tubes. This is a superb way to go if you want to run clinchers. I was hoping for two things with the switch of brands and type of tire. One was a more supple ride and the second was fewer flat tires. I had read a review of the Pirelli at "In the Know Cycling" and decided to give them a try. I have put 1100 miles on the tires so far with no flats. It is really hard to say if the ride is more supple, but perhaps it is just because of the lower air pressure I use with the larger size tire. The tires, both varieties, are mounted to wheels with a 25mm inside width. The Conti's were run at 60psi and the pirelli's at 55 psi. The surprise to me has been how well the Pirelli's carve through a turn. There isn't need of any mid course correcting as you descend. The Pirelli is heavier than the Conti, but the speed is identical over the same course. I would think the Pirelli would out wear the Conti because of the extra rubber in the tire. The Pirelli is about 55 grams heavier mounted with Stans no tubes than the smaller Conti and latex tube. Finally, how were they to mount, well this was my first effort mounting a TLR and it wasn't a problem because I have an air compressor. If you don't have a compressor then I would get the tire hot in the summer sun and then mount. Or if it is cold, put a tube in the tire, inflate the tube and let it set for a day or two and I think they would be very easily mounted at that point. Time will tell if these tires wear as well as I hope, but in the meantime I have been very pleased with them!
