Gatorskin tires- honeymoon is over
 

I used to love Continental Gatorskin tires for their puncture-resistance and their nice ride quality. I recommended them to all of my friends, despite the fact that they did have some drawbacks. But I assumed that all tires had those problem. Now that I've been riding gators for two years, I think I'm going to move on to another tire.

Pros-
Good puncture resistance (important living in tucson AZ)
Good ride quality

Cons-
Sidewall threads SUCK. After 300 miles the threads in the sidewalls will start coming off. I've got 1000 miles on my tires and they look like effing furballs. This is highly annoying and probably weakens the sidewalls too when you have to pull them off.
Sidewalls are WEAK! They get cut up really easily, even by the smallest items. The rubber on these tires is OK, but the sidewalls need some serious work.

Anyone have the same problems, esp. regarding those threads? Also, any suggestions for a high-puncture-resistance tire that isn't a Gator?

Thanks!

I've got about 2,000 miles on my Gatorskins and they're doing great - the rear seems to be around 50% worn, more or less. I even had to go through a pile of broken mirror glass on the road today; no big deal. I won't brag about the low number of flats I've had because I know I'll get 43 of the things tomorrow if I do.

What are you riding over that reaches all the way from the road surface to the sidewall?

If it means anything, I'm on 700x23 folding bead and me + bike is about 210 lb.

Yep, had the same problems with the few sets I've had. I've used the Specialized Armadillo Elite tire and had good experiences with it.

I haven't seen the sidewalls get torn apart, but I did get a sidewall blowout once by running over a rock at 25mph (the tire must have had thousands of miles on it).

I don't think the gatorskins are very grippy. I like that they don't puncture, but I feel safer turning on different tires.

I had one sidewall blowout on in July. I couldn't find Specialized Armadillos at any local shop so one recommended me the Continental. Less than 50 miles on it and the sidewall blows out. I took it back to the shop and they replacedit with a Trek Bontrager for free and those are working as good as the Armadillos. I had trouble with Continentals >15 years ago and quit using them. Never again.

Too much tire pressure.

Good ride? I can't imagine what a bad ride is like if the gators are a good ride. I switched to gp4000s and it's been much nicer.

I 2nd the Conti GP4000s recommendation. Contis with "natural" sidewalls seem to be prone to wear fastest there. Seems like they're susceptible to aging by UV exposure?

I've been enjoying my Continental GP 4 Seasons for the past 1700 miles (no flats but I haven't had a puncture flat in over 5 years using a multitude of tires, yes I'm bragging). They cost significantly more than the Gatorskins but mine look like new so far, aside from all the road salt currently coating the sidewalls. They don't ride as smooth as my Vredestein Fortezza TriComps but I didn't expect them to either. They do seem to roll a lot nicer than Specialized Armadillos which I used for many thousands of flat-free miles. Given the similar cost, I think I'll be sticking with the GP4S's for a while.

Agreed on the sidewalls sucking, and I get flats just as often as when I was running Pro 2 Race. I will probably go back to Michelin after these wear out. The treads wear faster, but the ride quality and cornering without any difference in puncture resistance are worth it.

The Continental 4-Seasons tire has the same puncture resistance as the Gatorskin plus a sturdier sidewall. Sometimes you can get a good deal on these from PBK.

I get a lot more flats with the Michelin Pro Race than with Gatorskin or 4-Seasons. Many times, I have run a Gatorskin or 4-Seasons all the way down to the cords without ever getting a flat. That has never happened with a Pro Race.

Mine are Ultra Gatorskins. Not sure about the other Gatorskins in the line-up or the 4-seasons (we only really have 2 seasons in CA: Summer, and Not-Quite-Summer)

I haven't very great luck with Gatorskins. I commute with them regularly on pretty dirty rodes (small rocks, sometimes glass). After around 1500-2000 miles, my tire got cut up badly enough that one day, during a 25-mile ride, I got 4 flats before I got home. I swapped it out for another spare gatorskin I had. We'll see how long this one lasts.

My experience with the folding Gatorskins duplicates the "furball" and sidewall blowout experiences above. However, switching to the steel bead Ultra Gatorskins and all that happens is that they need to be replaced every two years. BTW ... hi!

Has anyone tried Schwalbe Durano Plus Road Tire? I have Forte Kevlar on my bike now with zero flats (I am probably doomed now), I can't seem to wearout these tires. I would like to upgrade to a better tire too, size 700x25.

What pressures are those of you who are having bad experiences with Gatorskins running?

I have several sets of Contis including Gatorskins, GP4000's and 4-seasons. Many (if not all) have some sort of degradation to the sidewall near the bead. I occasionally see a thread dangling off the sidewall and I just cut them off. However, I rarely flat and have never had a sidewall failure.

I still buy Contis because they are cheap compared to the rest, and I've always had great luck with flat prevention. I do not over-inflate, either.

95 front, 105 rear. I weigh 160 lb and experiment with each new type of tire.

I've been trying these out. http://www.serfas.com/product_details.asp?ID=633 I don't have enough miles to really say anything definitive, but they seem to be pretty tough. I'll give some more info when I have more info, but after running their Seca RS tire for a while, I'm pretty sold on their products. FWIW, I think they may be made by CST, but not sure.

I'm not placing blame at all. I just find it odd that there seems to be one group of people who have great experiences with Gatorskins and another that has awful experiences.

100psi even, but I should have said more about the blowout - very hot 38C/100F and I came off a shallow sidewalk onto the road. Loud bang, and a straight 2cm rip down to the bead.

Interesting timing on this thread. I had my rear ultra gatorskin blow out while on my rollers tonight. It was more on the tread than the sidewall, so I assume it must have had a pretty good cut on it or something, then the added heat of the rollers.....boom. I'm glad it was raining tonight and decided to ride inside. The tire had over 2000 miles on it, but the tread still seemed pretty good.

+1 -- mysterious cut sidewall on an Ultra Gatorshin 700cx25. It was a sharp 1cm gash with the inner tube bulging out, on a virtually brand-new tire with maybe 50 miles, running about 125psi. No recollection of any event that could have cut the sidewall. I only noticed the problem on inspection at the top of a 7000 foot mtn ride, heh.

I went to the Seca RS in november,and havent had a flat since,before i used some forte tire with the red strips,i would get flats just looking at the bike,it was ridiculous.
I'm in so cal,so besides being sick this week,i've put some good mileage on the tires.