gregjones

Yeah, I have to use a tire jack to get 25s on the first time, but its not an issue after a few rides.

ItsJustMe

I just bought a 700x28 gatorskin and it went on easily with no tools.

Shimagnolo

I ran 28mm Gatorskins on Velocity Synergy rims for 10 years, and never had an issue mounting them.
(More recently I switched to Schwalbe Ones on that bike only because I hated the poor wet traction of the Gatorskins.)

e0richt

yup, I used to mess up a lot of tubes because of them.... I finally would install them without a tube which would stretch them a bit, then re-install with a tube.

rekmeyata

I had a bear of time with Specialized Armadillo All Condition tires, so when I first bought them I put them in the car with the windows up in 90 or degree heat (I lived in the Mojave Desert area of California at the time), then every hour I would go and pull the tire with my feet and arms to stretch them then put them back in the car for another hour, after they sat in there for about 4 hours I would take them out and immediately put them on, they seem to go on better hot than cold even though they were wire beaded, but I still had to use my VAR tool to get the last one or two inches on whereas the tire irons were incapable of doing that. If I didn't do all that heat and stretching crap not sure if I could have gotten them when they were new without damaging something, before I did the heat thing I broke 4 Pedro tire irons and was afraid I was going to break my VAR. Fortunately flats with those tires were non existent so the only time I had to take them off and put them back on is when they wore out and had to buy new ones.

I've heard some people put their tires in the oven, that's great but I had free heat available.

Spoonrobot 

Thread title/content left me disappointed.

tarwheel 

I share your dislike for Gatorskins. I've got a set of 25s with lots of tread left on them that I took off my bike because I hated them so much. First, they were extremely hard to install, and mine are the folding version. I actually broke a tire lever trying to put them on my rims, and ended up taking them to a bike shop to install -- something I have never done before or since then. On top of that problem, Gatorskins ride terribly. They felt like I was riding on hard rubber tires with no tubes and I could feel every bump. Their only saving grace is that they last a long time, but that is actually a disadvantage because you have to suffer with them for such a long time if you want to get your money's worth.

MVclyde

This has been my experience as well. I only ever use one lever to remove the tire. Sometimes I need the lever to pop it onto the rim, but most of the time I just use my hands.

rekmeyata

Going on real easy isn't a good thing.

acidfast7

I had some 23-622 Gatonskins and I found their durability poop. I also found them easier to mount than Schwalbe Marathons.