Originally Posted by
ColinL
This is intuitive, but my 25mm Continental GP 4 Seasons completely disagree with you. This is one of the toughest tires made, yet it rides great and soaks up bumps like few other tires its size. (It rolls like wet mud, though.
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However, it's also one of the most costly tires you can buy. Cost is likely the reason the Gatorskin rides a lot worse than the GP 4 Season.
I haven't tried them, but I guess it depends on your frame of reference. I think it's unlikely that their speed or ride quality is really on par with a true performance tire like a Michelin Pro, an Open Corsa, or a Diamante Pro. But, maybe they hit the right compromise for many riders.
As I've suggested, I prefer to simply buy the fastest street oriented tires available and fix the flats when they occur, since I get so few even on my racy tires.