rob!

IIRC a lot of the problems were with wire bead Gatorskins having sidewall issues due to the bead, but none of the problems existed on folding tires.

I have a folding 700x25 Gatorskin in the rear and have gone 750-800 miles with not a single flat *crosses fingers*.

RamahX

I had great success with the Michelin Erilium. A good bike mech told me his circle used them over the Gators, as the Gators suffer in performance. Have a different bike now with the Conti Ultra Sports so far so good, but if they start popping I'm switching back to the Eriliums.

urbanknight

Oh I understand completely. I just figured I'd give you any relevant information for whatever you may want it for. I figure it boils down to luck. In a real world, people have different experiences because no two situations can be 100% the same. Still, I'm inclined to favor what my experience tells me and someone else might favor the opposite experience. It is interesting to compare notes, though.

ft_critical

Used Pro race, hutchison fusion, lithion and GP4000. The Gatorskin and GP4000 are far superior in grip especially in the wet. I have punctured them, but some objects are just going to do that. I run 110psi as recommended. No sidewall issues at all. I run a combo of gator on the rear and GP4000 front on the training bike and this I great Tyres. See German Tour magazine tyre review

dantsai

I'm running 90 front, 100 rear, 145 pounds

urbanknight

Oh, fwiw when I say I get more flats on the Gatorskins over the P2R, I mean I'm at 3 per year as opposed to 1 or 2. What bothers me, though, is that 2 of the 3 flats were in the sidewall (no damage to the sidewall, but that's where the tube was leaking) and less than a month after buying the tire.

shuffles

I've got 2564 miles on my folding Gatorskins with no flats yet. They seem to have lost a little grip, especially in the wet. But in the dry, they're just fine. I run them at 120PSI and I weigh 203 plus bike and accessories at 21 lbs.

There is certainly nothing wrong with the sidewalls on my pair.

That said, I think I'll go with the GP4 Four Seasons next for improved wet weather traction.

Fat Boy

My experience with the Seca RS is really favorable as well. I did get a couple flats, but compared with anything else, it was far and away the best. The only reason I've gone to the Seca Survivor tire is because there seems to be way more crap on the road this time of year and it's strictly for training. I'm lazy and hate changing flats on a ride, so this is an effort to bring the rate of flats down even further. Sometime in the spring I'll switch back over to the RS, which I've ridden many miles on and even raced on. For my money, these are some of the best tires on the road.

Eclectus

I got gatorskins for one bike, and my son had two pinch flats. I'm not incompetent in mounting or inflating tires.

I really like the GP 4000s. I got a wire-puncture at ca. 2800 mi, the tread-wear indicator divots were almost invisible so I knew I was courting problems. I reordered same (except the new ones have the Chili compound, first ones lacked). These are great tires. I ride in goathead thorn country.

For you AZ folks you have to deal with Cholla cactus, which is really a tire-flattener, but that's mostly offroad. I don't know if even Specialized Armadillo MTB tires can block those thorns. I got a nail puncture in my MTB Armadillo last summer, which actually was no problem, until I stupidly decided to remove it thinking it couldn't be down into my tube, because my tire still felt solid, whoosh, oops, then discovered I didn't have my spare tube. It was 103 degrees, and I was 4 miles from home on a 30 mile ride. Crap! Fortunately, I was with a riding partner (my beautiful spouse, who had a tube, but Schrader valve, I needed Presta) who trudged on and came back to drive me home.

mr.smith.pdx

I have had great luck with Armadillos. I have had exactly one flat in a year and that was something with the valve. I couldn't find a hole anywhere (not even in the sink), but the tire would deflate over night.

I have pulled some big pieces of glass out that never reached the tube. I would recommend them to anyone. (Unless you have my wife's net97 super narrow rims that any tires are practically impossible to mount)

Of course, there are no cacti here in Portland, OR.

Racer Ex 

4500+ miles on a very square set of 28c Ultras. One pinch flat. Square. Otherwise fine.

lambo_vt

Maybe your son is not good at keeping pressure in his tires?

tj90

Can someone post pics of the sidewall threads coming out? Ive have a stray thread or two but nothing where the sidewall became fuzzy! The gatorskin is not a rubber sidewall probably to save weight. Anyway, Ive had very good luck with wirebead 28Cs on my fixed gear - they last until the belt under the rubber is showing (>3000 miles or 12 months of commuting). Ive started riding them on my road bike (23C and 120 psi and noticed that they were wearing at a fast rate. I read good arguments to back off the pressure and increase tire width. So I bought wire and kevlar bead 25c tires and run them at 95 psi and 100 psi (F & B respectively) and they seem to be doing a good job. I have about 300 miles on them and I can still see the center molding line on the rear. I think the trick to long wear is the widest tire you can stand and not maxing psi to reduce the amount of "flatheading'. I never had sidewall blowouts, but my main experience is with the wirebead 28Cs. I hope the 25C is a good comprimise between weight, comfort and longevity since the 23Cs wore as fast as any other tire....

Brian Ratliff

120psi for 23mm tires is very high unless you are time trialing or at the track. 105-110psi is much better.

tj90

Your right - I was doing that before being enlightened on the 41!

nahh

I run at 95-105psi on my 26x1 (don't ask about that tire size. my wheels are strange.) and haven't had a problem. They were really pricey, but I used my loyal customer/employee discount and got them for about $10 off each.

the sidewalls are fine still, and I've run through snow and ice and wheel-sucking gravel roads with them.

I won't use anything else for reliability/performance mixed.

Fat Boy

Don't you know that a 28 is way too big and you can't get proper training done on a tire that's too big?

For the record, I think I had 4 flats on my Seca RS's in about 3500 miles. One of them was a nail I picked up over a train track that probably would have put a hole in a car tire, so I almost don't count it. The last one was on a square tire with bits of cords showing here and there. It's kinda a 1/2-counter as well. So I count them as about one flat every 1000 miles. Pretty good reliability in my book, especially for a $30 tire.

v70cat

What about 2010 Vittoria Open Pave EVO CG Tire?

or

Vittoria Open Corsa Evo Cx Road Tire

tj90

I was looking at buying the pave cause the unique 24mm width. However, I found out the gatorskin 25c is really a 24mm (according to my calipers) and a whole lot cheaper.

Basil Moss

The stuff that comes loose on Gatorskins isn't the structural sidewall, it's the special cut and puncture proofing fabric they layer it with. Don't worry, just stick the stray threads back down with a latex glue like Copydex, same as you do with cotton tubs if they get fluffy. Gatroskins are great, but you must understand they are a training tyre. With care, you should be able to get huge mileage out of them with not too many punctures. They are cheap. They won't be the best grip on corners, nor will they roll as fast as a race tyre.

FWIW, I now get wire bead Gators, because they are cheaper. No difference whatsoever except weight, which I don't really care about on training rides. The idea that having a kevlar bead is going to make the sidewalls tougher is laughable.

mustang1

3000 miles on gators, only changed them coz I got new wheels and figured might as well get new tires/tubes/tape too. Used for commuting.

Ps: I think the ride quality sucks. I wanted to try another tire but my LBS (ok, chain store, ugh) doesn't have anything else appropriate.