What is the general opinion of 30 TPI tires? My new Giant hybrid bike has has those when I looked them up. I was thinking to sweeten my ride get my 28 gatorskins which are 180 tpi if I recall correctly. I know my dealer has them for 37.50 Black Friday Sale. Or is TPI one of those things that you can't really notice?

What people are generally looking for when they suggest higher thread counts is a softer, more supple casing. TPI can be an indication of a better tire simply because cheap tires don't pay for more threads. But it is not a reliable measure nor a basis to make a choice. You can get a high thread count by having more layers of thick fabric, or fewer layers of very tightly woven fine threads that also result in a stiffer casing. A moderate thread count of 60 can be far more supple than one at 180 depending on other variables.

The Gatorskin is a decent and fast rolling tire with a rather harsh ride. It feels harsh and crackly in your hand with a moderately stiff tread. Others feel like miniature car tires (to be avoided). A really supple tire feels soft and floppy in both the side walls and the tread, regardless of thread count. This you can feel, in a big way, both in comfort and speed.

I don't think I agree with Catgita; TPi is great indicator of tire performance in my experience, though one does need to be sure you're comparing apples to apples, e.g. Conti's 330tpi casing).

Personally, I can feel ride quality differences in road tires, and would not use 30tpi if I could reasonably avoid it. I won't go under 120tpi for any of my bikes anymore. But then, I push my tires pretty hard, and expect them to perform.

I do agree the Gatorskins are probably not exemplars of high thread count goodness, just based on their reputation and my experience with Contis in general; I've not had a set I liked, anyway.

Not everyone will notice or appreciate hi TPI, but you owe it to yourself to try.

What are you trying to accomplish?

If you are looking for a better ride, better road holding and lower rolling resistance, you want a tire with a high thread count. All that you will be losing is puncture resistance. They're also more expensive.

If your highest priority is puncture resistance, you want thick stiff caseings.

Tire manufacturers generally offer several selections for you to choose from so you don't have to go all one way or the other.

I imagine if the thread size per cord is larger the number per inch is less .

I have a couple Suomi-Nokia utility tires , made to wear long..
in the winter they also retain the studs well too

Toured British Isles on a stud less [A10] pair for 10 months, they still look like new.

I do have 120 TPI tires on my Sirrus, just never tried the high end stuff and curious. Its not cheap at all. 50 bucks is about the average for nice tires, I mean I paid 65 bucks for car tires. Its not a cheap upgrade.

Higher the thread count the better the tire rolls.

Like rounding off a square.

I swapped the 30 TPI 28mm tires on my Giant for 120 TPI 23mm Rubino Pro Slicks today. Much improved road feel and ease of speed. Looking back 30 TPI tires felt like iron now. Stuck with the Vittoria brand, I think they rival any brand out there for cheap.

Hey, that's cool! Some of the improved feel is probably due to the narrower, more "athletic," 23s vs 28, but still, it all adds up, and if it got you what you were after, then congratulations are in order!