25mm Gator Hardshell vs. 28mm 4Season
 

I love the flat protection of my 25mm Gator Hardshells, but not a fan of the way they ride. Not to mention, they are slow.

I'm curious if I bump up to a 28mm 4season (or GP 4000) would I improve the ride, performance and have similar flat protection due to the increased tire size?

This would be on a 23mm wide ride if that matters.

Has anyone tried this?

Conti 4-Seasons tires have tremendous flat protection. I've sometimes run them all way down to the cords without getting any flats. Yes, a 28mm 4-Seasons with a lower air pressure will give you a smoother ride than a 25mm Gatorskin.

I did just that - 25mm Hardshell to 28mm GP-4000sII
 

As the title says, I did that upgrade about 6 months ago on my Synapse.

I was stunned at how much of an improvement there was. Most of my other 'upgrades' have been meh, but the GP4000s gripped better, rode nicer, and increased my average speed by about 1mph (ish). Nothing against the Hardshell, they served a valuable purpose, but the difference in the GP4000 28s was really noticeable - even to a numbskull like me. Oh, the flat resistance has been pretty good too (only one flat since installed).

Do it! :thumb:

They wear quicker, but are a better riding tire.

Having experience with Gatorskins, 4 Seasons and GP 4000s II I can say you pretty much get what you might expect. Better ride comes at the expense of reduced flat protection..... The ride improvement is definitely there and you will feel the difference. The flat protection trade off is not that significant in my experience. Even the GP 4000s are fairly flat resistant. One area I ride is along the ocean and the pavement is often covered in tire shredding, shattered clam shells. (Gulls pick them up from the beach at low tide and drop them from above onto the pavement to open them). GP 4000s suffer some cuts but are still pretty flat resistant.

I would ditch the Gatorskins for one of the other two unless you ride in very flat prone conditions i.e. glass, goatherds etc

Gators do have better wear resistance if the matters.....

Be sure to research how wide a tire you can put on your rims before going to 28mm. For example, my Campagnolo Scirocco 35mm wheels recommend a tire width of 23-25mm.

Thanks for all the info. I have a set of 28mm 4 Season hanging in the garage. I think I have about 800 miles on my Hardshells right now.

I might swap them out and see how it goes. Thanks for all the info.

Depending on where you live you might consider the Gatorskins for winter months when there is extra debris on the road and the 4 Seasons for the rest of the year. I live in California and do something similar: I run 4 Seasons in the winter months and switch over to the GP4000sIIs once rainy season stops. I do find that the 4 Seasons feel a lot nicer than Gatorskins while providing impressive flat protection.

Here is an incredible price on one of my favorite tires Continental Grand Prix GT Folding Tyre Twinpack - Folding Tyres - Ribble Cycles They are 25s but measure over 28 on my Pacenti 23mm wide rims. Usually they are a good buy at about $30 something, same as the GP4000sII. IME they ride similarly but are less prone to cuts, my gripe with the GP4000sII.

I purchased 4 GP4S's two weeks ago for $39 ea., 28mm folding.

They are now back up to $64

I've used 23, 25 and now 28 mm versions of these. They tend to go 3000 or so before the tread is gone. I once went 2 seasons with no flats.

Also look at the Michelin PRO4 Endurance: http://www.bicyclerollingresistance....urance-v2-2015

The 700x25 PRO4 is about 28mm wide, be sure you have room for a slightly larger tire than the 700x25 Gatorskin