jyl

I have decided I like the quasi tan wall look of these Gatorskins. They look just like vintage gum wall tires, after the gum walls have gotten dark and filthy from wet road schmutz.

My LBS has tubes with removable cores. What do you think about using those and charging the tube with an ounce of Stan's No Tubes or similar?

PaulRivers

I've never done that, because from what I've read sealant will autoseal some punctures, but make other larger punctures that it doesn't seal a nightmare to fix on the road. Not saying I have personal experience - just what I've read.

trailmix

I doubt you will need that with Gatorskins, they are pretty tough tires. IMO a good choice for commuting.

jsdavis

I ride Schwalbe Marathon Supremes on my city bike. It's 700x40 and weighs 500g which is super light. Nice tire but expensive and the smallest size is 28mm - these are touring tires after all.

My road bike runs Schwalbe Durano which I understand are very comparable to Gatorskin. No reflective sidewalls on the Duranos and folding bead mounts up easily. I have 2000 miles or so on the set and they still look ok. I read somewhere Schwalbe claims 10 000 km for these tires.

spare_wheel

works great! i stopped using sealant on my clinchers because i flat very rarely (i almost never ride frap)

jyl

Well, the rear Gatorskin got a flat after barely a week in service. That's irritating. Standing on a dark street corner working my mini-pump at 5 am and then it started to rain. I have to go down to the bike parking today to patch the tube. Maybe it is just bad luck and the tires will go a year without another flat. But I think I will put some sealant in the tubes after all. I ride to work every day and my tolerance for getting to work late with dirty hands is not high. I am okay with 2-3 flats a year, but get to 5-6 as I was doing before, and I'm unhappy.

trailmix

Do you know what caused the flat? Just curious.

jyl

Not yet, will look when I fix the flat later today.

Tundra_Man 

The last couple tires I've bought for my commuters have been Continental Tour Rides. They seem to be a good balance between performance and price. Got a couple thousand miles on the rear of one of my bikes and it still has good tread left. Only have about 250 miles on the tire on my other commuter but it's performing well on that bike too.

trailmix

If you don't mind, let us know what you find.
I commuted on 23mm gators for the last two years and had 3 flats in 8000 miles. One from a roofing nail, one from piece of wire and one pinch because of underinflation due to a faulty gauge.

SlowJoeCrow

Since I'm also in the market for new rubber, can you suggest a good 700x32C option? I'm currently thinking Gatorskin or Panaracer T-Serv.

fatdad

Another recommendation for the Continental GP 4 Seasons, but I recommended going up to 28mm size if you have the clearance. If you have to commute on city streets or really any roads that are not in good shape, the 28mm will add some comfort without adding in any significant way to rolling resistance. I weigh 160 lbs., wear a pack that adds another 5-7 lbs. and the bike itself is around 21 lbs., and I inflate the rear to 80 psi and the front to 75 psi. I don't get pinch flats at that pressure but I do get a pretty comfortable ride.

I purchased mine this summer after flatting a couple of times using another brand, they have roughly 1200 miles on them, I have yet to flat and they are showing minimal wear. I ride on some pretty beat up urban roads around the Boston area and the tires have so far proven to be very durable. I've found them very easy to mount, something well worth considering as a commuter.

As for price, if you go into your LBS, expect to spend $125-$150 for a pair, but they can be found on Amazon for example for around $90-$95 per pair.

trailmix

Both are good tires, depends on what you value more. The TServ seems to get the edge in traction(especially when wet) but the Gatorskin will last longer. If you frequently ride in the rain I would pick the TServ, mostly dry then Gatorskins. One more note, 700x32 TServs measured 31.5mm wide while the Gatorskins measure 29.5mm wide on the same rims(Mavic M236).

Riveting

+1 for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus.

Last fall, I bought a pair of 700x32 to replace some slightly knobby, worn out Kenda's. What a HUGE difference they made in the comfort of the ride, and I actually gained about 1-2 MPH, probably because they have a much slicker tread, and less rolling resistance. But they are heavy, 850g EACH. I've put 2100 miles on them so far, and they still look almost brand new, and haven't had a flat yet (knock on melamine covered particle board).

jyl

Small triangular piece of glass, penetrated the thickest part of the tread at roughly the center of the tire. Tube was pierced such that it would go soft after a mile, not right away. Maybe sealant would have stopped that.

sauerwald

I commute on Schwalbe Marathon Plus's 700C25s - they don't meet all of your points, but a fair #
They wear like iron - I tend to get over 15000 miles on a set of tires, and rarely have a flat during the life of the tire.
They roll pretty well
They are not bad in the wet so long as they still have some decent tread on them (first 12,000 miles or so)
They have reflective side walls

As far as the bad goes, they are very hard to mount.
My LBS has to special order them for me - but since you are in Portland, you can probably find them off the rack!
They are not cheap, unless you consider per mile costs.

trailmix

I'm surprised, I probably picked enough glass out of my Gators to make a six-pack but they never made it through. Guess I didn't meet the right piece of glass. Not that it would have made a difference but what tubes do you use?

jyl

Not sure, whatever my LBS carries. Rubena? Your basic cheap butyl tube. Been patched 4x before, which probably doesn't matter.

I don't know how long the piece of glass had been in there. Perhaps if I inspected my tires regularly it would help. But this time of year, it is usually dark and raining when I ride, so my motivation to fuss with a dirty, wet bike is low.

noglider 

@Riveting and @sauerwald write amazing endorsements for the Marathon Plus. I guess I should try the, one day. Maybe I can get over the weight.

trailmix

I hear you, my commuter gets pretty neglected in the colder months as well. I usually take a quick look at my tires when it is on the stand for whatever reason. Inevitably, I will pick out 8-10 bits of glass that are imbeded in the rubber.

trailmix

I don't think I get enough flats to justify the extra weight-might be worth it for some though.

Northwestrider

Any Schwalbe tire with the name Marathon before it.

spare_wheel

A tire that handles well in the wet should have no tread and a rubber that can maintain grip while cornering (e.g. a soft rubber or two compound carcass).

noglider 

It's not just the flat protection that interests me. In fact, I don't care about that much, odd as that may seem. But 15,000 miles from the Marathon Plus amazes me, and it does end up being a good value. The downside of a long lasting tire is that I can't change tires as frequently and see what different tires are like. Half joking there.

79pmooney

I read your post and thought "Paselas" before I got that far. Not reflecting and average for traction in the wet. But decent rolling and few flats. They have served me well over the winters of Portland. I run 28s on my winter geared and fixed bikes, changing to CX tires when ice/snow hits. My old Mooney has 32s on it, allowing me to ride gravel in style. 25s on my good fixie. I rode 55 miles yesterday on those 25s with 92 psi front, 96 rear on wet roads. Felt really good.

My good wet road tires are Vittoria Open Paves, great grip but quite prone to cuts. (I glue dacron sailcloth casing patches on with the old "bad" contant cement. Makes for permanent repairs that last the life of the tire. Still, when I don't need the performance or grip, I ride the Paselas and save a lot of hassle.)

Ben