providencebikes

hi , i bought a pair of 32mm gatorskin tires in the winter time , the tires have been exposed to all the winter weather snow rain and salt , i was wondering if anyone that rides gatorskins has had premature wear , i have had 3 flats in less than a month , i have picked upp glass , in the tires and one piece of glass that was embedded in the tire made it way through and cut a hole in the tire , i always thought these tires where tougher than that but this is my first pair so im not sure what to expect , and are there any other options for a clincher road tire like the gatorskin please suggest below....

evan326

They are a lot tougher, but everything has its limits.

Andrew R Stewart 

Agree that if there's air in the tire it will get out. I was on a club ride a couple of weekends ago. We got rained on for about 10 minutes and continued on wet roads till they dried out. Three of us got flats. Two were on what I consider to be protected tires. A Gatorskin and a Bontrager AW1. Mine was on a Michelin so no surprised there. All three tires were fairly young without much tread were or UV exposure. All three has shark tooth tiny bits of glass in the casings. Andy

maddog34

tire wear is not your issue... people that throw bottles and crap out along roads is your issue.

you can get tire LINERS that will reduce the number of flats you experience, but they add quite a bit of weight to the tire, so expect a less responsive ride.

also, tire PRESSURE effects how easily a piece of glass or thorn gets into your tires... a lower pressure may help, since the tire will tend to conform over the glass/thorn, rather than lletting it into the rubber... just my personal experience talking there... others may propose their own theories as to pressure/flats. And if the pressure is too low you may PINCH flat the tire, so a fine balance is called for.

johnny99

Tires are a tradeoff. If you want better flat protection than a Gatorskin, you will get much worse ride quality. If your problem is glass slowly working its way through the rubber, my advice is to inspect your rubber more frequently and pull out the debris before is cut through. With a tough tire like a Gatorskin, glass chips may take several days to cut through the rubber so you have lots of time to dig them out.

lvolpe

I agree that is it is not so much the tire's fault as the road conditions that you ride on. The gatorskins should give you more than adequate protection.

Doug64

Winter, and wet weather is hard on tires; not due to deterioration of tire, but due to glass and other debris tends to stick to the tire and becomes imbedded. We rode across the U.S. on gatorskins, and did not have an unusually high amount of punctures, except in goat head country.

Commuting one winter, I had 5 punctures in 5 days. It was a little frustrating.

FBinNY 

You have to separate the issues of wear or age from punctures, because there's no connection, except maybe when near the end of life where the tread is thinner.

Flats, ie. punctures or glass cuts are a question of luck, which may be made better or worse by where you ride and the effects of rain (some, including myself, believe rain increases the odds of a flat, but many don't).

Just like when in Vegas, luck can run in streaks, ie. no flats for a year, then 3 in a month.

So, fix your flats, and light a candle to the god of bike tires and be ready for whatever comes.

providencebikes

thanks for the responses , they have been pretty good , and i should inspect my tires more , i need to get better at maintenance would the gator skin hard shell be a better option , i put a piece of gorilla tape over the spot that the glass cut through lol , hope it holds for a while ...