clydeosaur

Hi. I'm new to the road biking world. I recently picked up a Trek 1000 in stunning shape for 400 bucks. The only thing it needed was a set of tires (dry rot starting). I replace the tires with a set of Continental Kevlar Gatorskins. Put 30 miles on the tires Saturday , no probs. Today I'm 11 minutes into my ride and the rear tire receives a cut 3/8 inch wide immediately severing the tire & tube.

Are these decent tires? Any other reccomendations ? Or is it just a bad week for tires ?

Just curious.

Thanks

Kerian

If whatever you ran over cut up a gatorskin like that, it probably would have done a number on just about anything else as well.

I like Conti GP 4000S tires, but gatorskins would be a bit more durable than the gp4000s

PurpleFender

I ran a set of ultra gatorskins for 1400 miles before I wanted to try something different. I put red gp4000's on there and marvel at the amount of cuts the gp's pick up as opposed to the gators.

Goose5

My last weekend ride should have been a cyclocross course. Lots of sand, gravel, weeds, coyote poop, tarantulas, and various debris. My Gatorskins got me home. They feel like a logging truck tire, and I discovered today that they are a little fishy on wet roads. Would I buy another set? The jury is still out, but its nice not to get any flats. I had a rash of them last spring.

Matt2.8NJ

Gatorskins are a decent tire in terms of puncture resistance. However, IMO, they ride terribly, and my kidneys take a pulverizing over expansion joints and crap jersey backroads. If your top priority is not to have flats, they're decent insurance.

On my PowerTap wheel setup, I run Michelin Krylion Carbons, which IMO are a superior tire.

SoreFeet

Bad luck happens. Good tires often get bad reviews because of bad luck. The most durable tire would be a Specialized Armadillo but you can kiss the pneumatic effective of a tire and tube goodbye.

It's a trade off to have flat protection and a supple ride. I think the Gatorskin delivers the best of both worlds. It's no fun to buy new tires. I don't know about Gatorskin being a miracle tire but it works well.

acaurora

Just to echo what everyone's said so far, from my experience also - GatorSkins are great. I have had them for about 1K miles on my bike and have gotten only 4 flats, and they were goatheads on the sides. I also have tire liners, although I'm not sure really if they're necessary. You'll have to understand though that because of the puncture resistance the ride will be a little rougher than your normal average road tires, as well as it wont roll as easily. At least, for me compared to the Specialized Mondos that mine came with. Armadillos are very very VERY hard. Krylions I've never used.

wanders

If it had been any other tire, your rim would have been cut in half.

clydeosaur

Thanks guys. They seem decent. But I wanted to see other opinions. I guess buying 3 tires in 3 days bugged me - beginners' luck. Flat protection is my 1st priority, especially with my size (6'4 240 lbs). I'm definately enjoying the transition from hybrid to road bikes though!

PurpleFender

eh, somedays you just can't win. I had a recumbent trike with schwalbe marathon racers on it and had 3 flats in the same day, and it was raining, cold, and on a hill with the last one, 2 miles from the finish. And I had to walk to school uphill both ways. Anyways, gators are great tires, kinda rough, but my experience is they dont flat easily.

tkehler

Re: the pulverizing ride of the Gatorskins, I thought it was just my wheelset (they are on a Mavic wheelset about which a mechanic at my LBS said: 'they'll beat you up.') but I guess it is the tires.

I really prefer the Krylions too, and the GP4000s.

Scorer75

I run Gatorskins.

1. I put a brand new tire on my bike and shredded it within 3 miles. It's bad luck, nothing else.

2. Gatorskins are not a bad ride. Not nearly as good as some other tires, but durability, not comfort is their primary purpose. A fair trade-off in my opinion.

3. Top the poster who mentioned the Armadillos, are you talking about the new one's? I used Armadillo's for a while, then bought a new pair. The new compound was lighter, more comfortable, and horrible. I returned them to Specialized and haven't touched the replacement set they sent me.

Bottom line, Gatorskins are perfect if your primary concern is durability and the best of the flat resistant tires out there. My .02

mugatu

in five years of running them on my urban commuter and thrash bike, I've yet to flat

armadillos are good for puncture resistance too, but the sidewalls disintegrate much more quickly

clydeosaur

Well, I replaced the ruined one with another Gator. 100 miles so far, and they are working just fine. My main concern was avoiding getting flats. It's hard to find time to ride some days between work & family so I hate wasting my time on the side of the road fixing flats. These seem to do the job. The reaction I get is most of you feel the same way. Thanks.

RichinPeoria

Continental Grand Prix 4 Season ?