Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
spoken like someone who doesnt go down enough hills. a gatorskin can be killed in an afternoon, ive seen it done. a lot of people use the vitorria randoneurs in the rear. i can make a gatorskin last about 2.5-3 months by being conservative, but its not as much fun
that said, i am a big fan of the gatorskins, they ride really nicely for a tire with such flat protection
i think it all depends on weight, i clock in at about 155-160 pounds and had an armadillo last me a good 6 months (it's still lying in the basement and hasn't gotten down to the threads), and i learned to skid on this tire and would literally just bike in front of my house for an hour doing skids over and over to get the technique at different speeds, or just skid at every intersection just for one, or just down entire hills with my weight really far over the bars. everyone on here talks about how armadillos don't last worth ****.
gear ratio could also determine it, because i have 19 skid spots right now as well as before, whereas a friend ran 48x16 (the worst gear ratio ever by the way, if you skid) and skidded through a decent michelin tire in about 3 days.
you can't even tell i've been skidding on my gatorskins right now, and when i'm downtown it's skips pretty much every block, skids down hills if it's hectic.
but yeah, after learning skips i rely on them instead of backpedaling for most of my braking, only skid when i really feel like it or the situation demands a skid instead of a skid (not often if you get good at skipping).