bikelovers

Hello,
I am considering a set of Compass tires but i have never used them before, i know the Gatorskin is pretty good , I used 700x23 version before.

If you have used both Compass and Continental 700x32, please give me your opinion in term of ride quality.

Thank you very much.

Aubergine 

I have the Compass Grand Bois Cypres tires on two bikes, and they are the best-riding clinchers I have ever used. The only tires that are better are silk sewups.

antokelly

heard great things about compass if i could afford them

fietsbob

Sole source Vs International Distribution IMO is the big difference .. Continental is Better for availability.

Aubergine 

It's not like one needs to worry about spare parts for tires.

fietsbob

Touring, I Bring spare Tires .. the big Cuts, and Sidewall blowouts will never be in a convenient location, on the Road .

above^ in Seattle, is the only place you can get Compass tires, Locally, so convenient for Him.

Not so for antokelly in Ireland..

Aubergine 

My point is, simply, that on the road on a tour you don't need to go find the same tires.

Her, not him. And I ordered them on line, just like everyone else has to do.

I like Gatorskins for their toughness, and I put them on my bike down in Long Beach because of the caltrops. but ride quality? No comparison to the Compass tires.

staehpj1

My impression is that they are entirely different types of tires. The gatorskin is a hybrid of a performance tire and a flat proof tire. My understanding is that the Stampede Pass is more of a pure performance tire. Can someone more familiar with both either acknowledge or correct that statement.

I have been very happy with gatorskins, but would love the more sew up like ride of the Compass tires. My concern is that they would flat more often and maybe be more subject to more catastrophic failure as well. At some point I may bike the bullet and give the Compass tires a try. I really love the lively feeling ride of a supple sidewall.

Tourist in MSN

Are these going on a loaded touring bike (this is the touring forum) or are they for riding an unladen bike?

bikemig 

Durability matters on a tire as does weight and there are trade-offs between the 2. How a tire "feels," on the other hand, reminds me of hi-fi addicts arguing over their gear and how it sounds. Nothing wrong with that as long as you're willing to pay for the placebo effect.

fietsbob

The Brevet riders that Flock to The Paris Brest Paris 90 hour ride in France is Compass Jan's Niche, then the proper kit, is a Handlebar bag only..

antokelly

Ah i wouldn't worry to much Bob about the tire ,a top quality tire will last years (well kinda) and they will give a quality ride, when i changed from schwalble marathon plus to supreams the difference was unreal .at the moment i ride conti gator hardshell very good tire but if i could change to compass i would in a heartbeat.

fietsbob

Panasonic Factory is where they are made Riv Bike and Near by SF Merry Sales Imports use them too..

a Pasela will probably give you 9o% of the Caché without so much Cash ..

antokelly

is santa coming to your house tonight.

staehpj1

I don't think it is all the placebo effect. If you can't feel the difference between racing sew ups and marathon pluses you just aren't paying attention. The difference between very stiff and very supple sidewalls is pretty pronounced. If we are talking subtle differences between similar tires you have a point. I don't know if the difference between Gatorskins and Compass models is enough to be noticeable or not, but I am curious enough to want to know. It may wind up being a waste of money if they either are too prone to flats or don't ride much different.

bikemig 

I'm sorry but this is a kind of a duh difference (sew ups versus schwalbe marathon tires). If tires are the same weight (or close to it), then you can argue about the feel if you like. I won't disagree.

Edit: the difference in weight is right around 35 grams per tire (gatorskin folding at 325 grams, compass standard 290) with the compass running $57 per tire and the conti coming in at $36 per tire from chain reaction,

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u...e/rp-prod18800

fietsbob

I'll Be Meeting Krampus at the Pub tonight .. for a few, Saturnalia, pints

Aubergine 

My first set of Compass tires replaced a set of Gatorskins on my Stevenson touring bike. They simply transformed the ride.

antokelly

are u playing the mando. few scoops and a few tunes .

antokelly

great when that happens.

shelbyfv

I have no experience with the two tires you asked about. Nevertheless, I'll chime in. I rode Gatorskins in various sizes for years. The largest and most recent was the 28. I then tried the 28 Panaracer Gravelking which is a smooth, 120 tpi tire, despite the name. The ride is so much better. Smoother on chip seal and feels more secure in corners and on descents. Same bike, a Gunnar Sport. I don't think there is any placebo effect, the Panaracers are $25 vs about $30 for Gatorskins. The Compass tires, also made by Panasonic I think, reportedly flat fairly easily. Jan H seems to feel the occasional flat is worth it for the improved ride. I think another factor is whether you ride in a group or alone. If you ride alone and don't mind fixing flats, AOK. If you ride with a group, you have an obligation, IMO, to not delay the group with an inordinate number of flats.

fietsbob

Have a Boxing Day get together with friends may be some music making then.

fietsbob

Ride to where ? I liked BENELUX and Ireland & Scotland ..

Wasn't ultralight gram counting, The mass of the gear made the ride pretty smooth, as It was ..

Tourist in MSN

It is not so much the weight, if the tire casing is stiff it robs your energy as you ride. I do not claim to have any expertise in tires so I am not going to try to discuss things like thread counts or anything like that. But I can say that I have some tires that have a lot of rolling resistance and others that roll with much less effort. That is where the supple casings come in. You typically think of knobby tires as being slow, but I even have some knobby 57mm wide tires that roll very nicely because they have a very supple casing.

And there are tradeoffs, some tires puncture much easier than others. Some friends of mine did the southern tier this past spring with vehicle support to haul their gear. One guy that used a racing bike with skinny tires had up to 7 punctures a day, whereas one guy that had more robust touring tires that were 35mm wide had a total of 4 punctures the entire trip.

I hate tubular tires because they are such a pain to change. But, they do roll really nice. When I was in college and had flat tubulars, I could not afford to buy a new tire for each flat. They were a huge pain in the rear to repair, but if you wanted to ride you had to put up with the hassles.

catgita

I have used both back to back. The differences are NOT subtle.

Both are fast rolling tires (even BQ tests say so). This is like comparing an oak tree to a palm tree. One is strong and stiff, but will snap in a storm. The other will flex and bend, and survive unharmed. The oak is hard to drive a nail into, while the palm penetrates easily. Both can be called tough, in their own way.

The Compass tires ride very smoothly, erasing road texture and absorbing surprisingly large shocks. The Gatorskins are extremely harsh riding, and buzzy. The Gators casing feels stiff, hard and crackly in hand. Compass feel soft, like new unwashed denim.

The bike I tried them both on was extremely stiff aluminum, where riding the Gators left my hands and backside feeling like I just whacked a steel post with a baseball bat. No exaggeration. They were so bad, I immediately ordered the Compass tires and swapped them the day they arrived.

I have never had any problems or significant damage to a Compass tire in 15,000 miles using various sizes. Can't say that about any other tire I have used as much. I get about 3000-3500 miles on a rear tire.

Gators will probably be less efficient at lower pressures, but the Compass will be just as fast at any pressure. With Compass, avoiding flats requires lower pressures, so favor larger sizes.

Compass tires are made by Panaracer, as are Paselas, as are many of the OEM tires on the new class of adventure bikes. Don't believe the assumptions that these are not up to hard riding. But punctures and cost per mile basis are very valid concerns.