I realized that I was getting a lot of flats in my front tire, and it is usually the back. The other day when I was taking my upgraded bike (lots of XT/Deore parts) out for its first spin I got a flat on the first lap of the my regular training ground in Prospect Park. So when I went to put the spare tube in I checked the tire thoroughly and I could see a lot of embedded shards of glass so it was only a matter of time before I'd get yet another. This tire is a WTB Slickosaurus, and I also realized I've had it mounted on various wheels for 3-4 years already. OK, so it had to go.

So I went to REI where I have a $100 gift card and checked out their tire selection and saw they had Gatorskins in 26x1 1/8. These are actually a decimal sized 559 tire for MTB but they use the non-standard sizing and I don't know why. I put it on my bike, but it is 25 degrees outside and I'm not going out there.

Anyway, my question is, has anybody used these for commuting? They seem narrow and totally unsuitable but I bought it anyway. I use GP4000s on my road bikes, and I even have a supply of those from when they went on sale at PBK. I used Gators when I did my climb of Mt. Haleakala a few months ago (I made it up 6000' over 20 miles of nonstop climbing). They seemed like a decent choice for that, and that's what the rental bike had. But climbing a smooth road up Haleakala is not the same as riding the streets of NYC with a bag on a rack.

I guess I'll find out.