Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Gator skin tires

For those of you who use them, do you put them mostly on the rear wheel,and use some other tire for the front?

I have two on order right now, for front & back.

i have two, front and back. they're great. kinda expensive tho but pretty beefy.

who did you order them from ,how much ea. ?

yep. both.

who did you order them from ,how much ea. ?

i got them at my LBS. i think they retail for 60 each. i have the ultra gator skins.

http://www.hedgehog.co.nz/index.php?mode=display_product&id=786

i didnt order from that site but i found that to verify the price. i always get a deal since i'm tight with my LBS so i think i got them both for 60.

They list for $34.95 US at Nashbar.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=1126&sku=1632&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

They list for $34.95 US at Nashbar.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=1126&sku=1632&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

yeah, those are them. maybe i got ripped off! ;0

poor gators.

poor gators.

i hear they taste like chicken

The best tires I have ever used in reguards to puncture resistance, durablility, and miles (over 3000 miles) before I rotated the front to the back. Well worth every dollar.

what color is the sidewall (black)???

First street ride on new road bike last season I blew the sidewall out on the rear and got an UltraGatorSkin to replace it. I did get another flat (a large staple) but hey, kevlar can't stop everything. I probably have about 500+ miles on it with no problems otherwise.

Seems expensive, though - I think I paid about 35 at my LBS (might be wrong about that).

The sidewall is black.

Odd thing - I noticed in a chart in Performance catalog that max psi is supposed to be 90 for these tires. Mine are usually 115-120. Looks like other Kevlar belted tires are rated lower as well - but I don't understand why.

The sidewall is a darker brown. Personally I had a lousy experience with the gators. Chunks of tire missing, puncture flats through the sidewalls and in the end I had a 5mm gash in the thread section that quickly expanded to 1.5 inches. Pricey too. Not impressed at all.

If you want bombproof go with 28mm Vittoria randonneurs $23 at the LBS. If you want a nicer ride and still great durability go for Vittoria Rubinos with the wirebead. Come in cool colors too. $23 at the LBS. Seems like a flimsier tire but so far I've had great luck with them.

i just picked 3 more pieces of glass out of my 25's while cleaning my bike....25's front & rear...though i will swap out for a 28 in the rear soon....but then again the 25's seem to be performing great....an i have to grab a set for the ladies' bike....

i said it in another thread and i will say it here, gators' are one of the best tires i have rode in the wet , and we have been having quite a bit of that here lately.

Guess I had two Monday Gators.

Guess I had two Monday Gators.

what size did you have? where they 25's or 28's? and what psi were you using? but then again you do tend to skid alot where i do not....hhhmmmm....

used 25s and inflated to recommended pressure. I think that was 125psi. Don't skid that much really.

hey 46x17, where did you get the randonneurs?

after trying out gatorskins, i much much prefer my Vittoria Rubinos...

Freewheel on Hayes.

Be advised though, the randonneurs ride kind of tankish (that is why I prefer the rubinos). Tough as hell though. Makes gators look very sissyish.

I currently have 700x23c ultra gators on my daily ride. They seem to be holding up pretty well compared to the craptastic Panaracer and Soma tires I had on it before. I never had a problem with Armadillos, but the Gatorskins feel like they have much less rolling resistance, and they feel more surefooted in the rain that we've been experiencing here lately. I have had three flats on them, one was very suspicious front flat, which happened on the train home from work, the suspicious part being that every other bike on the rack (three others) mine was on also got a flat, and the flat looked like someone had pushed a needle through the top of the tire, very uniform across all the bikes that were affected. The other two flats happened simultaneously on tuesday as I was riding home through the pouring rain and happened upon a rain-hidden car-killer pothole which resulted in two instant pinch flats and slightly bent deep-v sidewalls :mad: Doesn't seem fair to blame any of those flats on the tires, so I'm still happy with them. My skidding hasn't gotten the best of them yet, so we'll see....

Yes, definitely less rolling resistance than the armadillos. I liked the gator's ride too. Not bad at all. But I sure got a lot of flats and then they just started falling appart. Could have been a bad batch. Currently superstoked on the rubinos. Very nice ride and much tougher than they look.

Also the dented sidewalls are easy to bend back into shape. Look for some hard metal shims and put them on either side of the dent and then grab them with some vice grips, wrench or pliers and bend them back. Did this twice so far and with great success.

Cool, thanks for the tip!

Ques: i know 700x23 is narrower than 25's, but is it also shorter too? or are 25's taller than 23's

Yes, definitely less rolling resistance than the armadillos.

Ah, but the armadillos are so hard that you can ride them flat... if they ever flat ;)

BTW- what are these Rubinos you speak of? I have Vittoria Rubinos, but I presumke you are not referring to those (no one would ever accuse them of being tough).

Ah, but the armadillos are so hard that you can ride them flat... if they ever flat ;)

BTW- what are these Rubinos you speak of? I have Vittoria Rubinos, but I presumke you are not referring to those (no one would ever accuse them of being tough).

The vittoria randonneurs are just as tough if not tougher than the dillos.

About the Rubinos - Yes they are your standard wirebead rubino. Nothing real tough, but come with kevlar belt (PRB). As I said so far I had great luck with them and find them a nice compromise betw. durability and ride quality. If I have to patch a tube once a month because of riding them that would be totally worth it. What annoyes me are tires like the gators that claim to be all tough and burley and then I am still patching tubes AND dealing with an inferior ride quality. I might as well patch AND ride something nice.

I have riden gator skins on my daily ride for 4 years (not the same pair) and pay $29.95 at my LBS. Personally they are a great training tire for me. I have had extremely good luck. And if you pick out the foreign matter (glass and such) ever so often they hardly ever flat. They are a bit heavy at 280 grams (3=25's I think). They have recently started making these in a folding tire that weighs only 220 grams. I have a pair now and they are great so far.

i just swithched from vittoria to gator skins. they are smooth and have a thick layer of smooth rubber so they should last longer. i have seen them skid through in one jackass session, but that can be said for a cyclocross tire too. can't win!

I've had my gators for a bit now. I really like how they feel. They make me happy :D .

Oh, and the sidewalls are indeed a dark brown.

Ques: i know 700x23 is narrower than 25's, but is it also shorter too? or are 25's taller than 23's
I think it kind of depends on the tire - varies a little bit manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. But the height should be pretty much the same.

ok see all this non flat stuff....as i was walking past my bike on the way to my bedroom i noticed metal in the tread......

turns out a pretty nasty piece of metal, staple...whatever.....in my front tire...

I really like the gators as well, only 3 flats in 8 months, I think that's pretty good. Now I'm riding some yellow Vittoria Zaffiro's. Only had them for a couple of days but I like 'em..

I have an Ultra Gator Skin 700x23 on my rear and a Continental Sport 1000 on my front. Ride daily in DC and don't think I've had any flats on the rear since I got the tire last autumn. Yeah, none that I can remember. Thought the tire took a few days to break in but have been happy with it since. Sidewall on mine was closer to black than brown...maybe differs by production lots? City riding will make it black in no time. Paid around $34 at a lbs. I like the tire and think the Gator Skin is considerably lighter than the Armadillo - I know the GS is 280g at 700x23.

I have an Ultra Gator Skin 700x23 on my rear and a Continental Sport 1000 on my front. Ride daily in DC and don't think I've had any flats on the rear since I got the tire last autumn. Yeah, none that I can remember. Thought the tire took a few days to break in but have been happy with it since. Sidewall on mine was closer to black than brown...maybe differs by production lots? City riding will make it black in no time. Paid around $34 at a lbs. I like the tire and think the Gator Skin is considerably lighter than the Armadillo - I know the GS is 280g at 700x23.
You mention the break in period. I too have noticed that. They feel real slow or heavy for the first 100 miles or so when new. Hard to describe the feeling but I know what you mean. Have not experienced that with other tires only the GS's.

Also the folding model weighs 220 grams. Be warned they are a bear to get on a wheel. I have only been using them a few weeks. They seem ok at this point.

About the Rubinos - Yes they are your standard wirebead rubino. Nothing real tough, but come with kevlar belt (PRB). As I said so far I had great luck with them and find them a nice compromise betw. durability and ride quality.

Yeah, the Rubinos are a pretty tough tire. Last set I had I put probably 4000 flat-free miles on. Very good ride quality for the price, too.

I ride a 48x16 (3 inch gear) brakeless so every time I skip or skid it's on the same part of the rear tire. I havn't rotated the wheel in about 3 months and despite the tire getting worn in that one place I havn't had any trouble with it. I'm actually pretty amazed that the gators have held up so well. I ride 25's on both the front and rear.

got an UltraGatorSkin to replace it. I did get another flat (a large staple) but hey, kevlar can't stop everything. I probably have about 500+ miles on it with no problems otherwise.

Same thing happened to me. never had any problems with these tires except for a huge staple. And I often pick out glass that I imagine would otherwise have punctured the tire. Even when I used to skid indiscriminately, they still lasted about five or six months. If one avoids skidding, I imagine they'll last much much longer. Oh, and I only use them on the back. My front is a vittoria rubino pro.

yeah, and I've never had a flat on the rubino pro... but the probably wouldn't hold up to skid wear

Also, does anyone know where I can get armadillos? As happy as I am with the gator skins, I'm curious to try an armadillo (this sounds very weird, kinda like a flying circus sketch)

Look for your local Specialized dealer. http://www.specialized.com/SBCDealerLoc.jsp?a=b

They'll have 'em.

any current deals on 700x28 folding gatorskins? do they make folding ones that large? thanks!

if youre a skidder i hear vittoria rubinos are great tires that last
some kid i know who has them who skids regularly have lasted him well over a month
and you can bring the price down with price smash
http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=69245&page=VITTORIA+RUBINO+PRO+ROAD+BIKE+TIRE

ah, hmm... not a bad idea, excellent price, though my interest in folding 28c gatorskins is because of these reasons: lightweight, durable on bad streets, maybe large enough for a little grip in the winter. i don't ever skid (so far).

I just switched to some Ultra Gators from my beloved Panacer Pasala Tour Guards.
I went from 28 to 23, so I obviously noticed the the rolling resistance. So far I'm digging them, the ride is smother than I was expecting from a 23 on the bumpy roads.

i got them at my LBS. i think they retail for 60 each. i have the ultra gator skins.

http://www.hedgehog.co.nz/index.php?mode=display_product&id=786

i didnt order from that site but i found that to verify the price. i always get a deal since i'm tight with my LBS so i think i got them both for 60.

Conti Ultra Gatorskins retail for $40 each, so you still got a good deal, but you "saved" $20 instead of $60. Grand Prix 4000 are $60 each.

EDIT: ...unless you got the folding version.

front and back. great tires. i ride 25s but think my next will be 23s.

any current deals on 700x28 folding gatorskins? do they make folding ones that large? thanks!

best place to get them right now might be Bike Biz. They don't have the Kevlar bead ones, but it's not like you'll be rollin through fields of shrapnel in Baghdad. $80 for a pair shipped to your door. 25c & 28c sizes too.

So far my favorite times for all around riding and skidding are Soma Everwears. Rando's are the most fun for skidding but sluggish. One of my bikes has a pair of Armadillos and I'm not too keen on them...it's a stiffer gear ratio than I'm used to and the bike is new and has a different, more aggressive and twitchy geometry but my skids really suck ass. It's hard to pin point the cause but but skidding I'm not digging the feel of the Armadillos but that might be the other factors.

I've had the same gatorskins on three different bikes - didn't like them on any of them, too stiff for me. But never had a problem until a ran over a tack one day. Tacks seem to be perfectly design to flat tires. What other device could sit straight up waiting for you to roll over it.

I had a 25 up front and 28 in back, which barely fit the 1st bike I tried. Surprisingly, the 28 measured the same width as the 25, using calipers, but it was a bit taller, if I remember right. I put them on my son's bike so he could thrash them around, worry-free.

I replaced them with 700x32 Conti-contacts on my ss, and I'm really loving those tires. Comfortable, and with some thread for hardpack, which I like. Heavier, probably slower starting up, but don't notice once I'm rolling, and maybe less responsive in hi-speed cornering, but I'm not doing that on my ss anyway. They also run narrower than advertised, like the gatorskins. These are real city tires - sure wish I had them in SF yesterday (took my geared bike instead).