Ive ridden with these for over 11 years. Only had 2 sidewall failures. Typically, I get up to 1000 miles on the rear and up to 4000 miles on the front before I change them out. The foldable tires go on and off of the rims much easier than the wire beads. I use them on all of my bikes.
I have no issues with this tire. They track well on all road surface types and grip the road well. Earlier this year I was caught in a rain storm (two inches in one hour) they held their grip on the road until I could find shelter.
I DO A LOT OF BIKE TOURING AND LONG ENDURANCE RIDES AND GATORSKINS GIVE ME THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. THEIR REALLY STRONG YET LIGHT ENOUGH FOR GROUP RIDES WITH MY FRIENDS. I'M A 300 MILE A WEEK RIDER SO RACING TIRES AREN'T AN OPTION BECAUSE OF THE LOW FLAT PROTECTION AND LOW SERVICE LIFE. I RAN GATORSKINS ALL LAST YEAR AND ALL THIS YEAR AND I ONLY GOT ONE FLAT WHICH IN ALL HONESTY I CAN'T BLAME ON THE TIRE. I WAS RIDING DOWN THE HIGHWAY ON THE SHOULDER AND RAN OVER SOME WICKED METAL RE-BAR THING THAT FELL OFF A SEMI. I SAW IT BUT DIDN'T BOTHER GOING AROUND IT. IT PUT A BIG SLICE IN THE TIRE BUT ONLY A PIN-HEAD METAL SPIKE GOT THROUGH. THEY'RE MY GO TO SKINNY TIRE FOR THE FOR SEEABLE FUTURE. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A GATORSKIN 35C IN THE FUTURE THOUGH FOR GRAVEL RIDES.
Just passed 5000 miles with a set of Gatorskins. Got a slight flat spot at about 2700 miles, so I flipped back to front. Had one flat so far, a steel belt shard after a Houston rain. I weigh about 205. My training rides are 40 miles, just came in from a 50 miles ride with club from bike shop. I inflate to 90 psi on front, 100 psi rear wheel. I'm sure I could go at least another 1500 miles on these, but a couple of months ago I bought some Four Season on half price sale. I know Gatorskins are a little heavier, a little stiffer, but they are exactly what I wanted.
I was getting flats on a weekly basis so I started shopping for tires. Since I got these about 6 weeks ago, I have ridden probably 600 miles without a flat. They handle well enough as far as I can tell, although I live in the desert so I can't comment on how well they handle in the rain.
I commute to work year round in Wisconsin. My round trip is 26 miles. Mostly on paved bike paths. Getting a flat, especially in winter, is a real hastle on the way to work. I have used these tires for about 7 years. I haven't found a tire that combines the flat protection and rolling for anywhere near the price of the Gatorskins. They are a little heavy but you have to expect that with a tire that rarely goes flat.
I live in Colorado and don't ride anything but Gatorskins. First most roads here are pretty rough and these are the only tires that I have found that hold up to the pounding I give them. Second I ride Mt. Evans every year, descending at 40 mph on the very rough road with shear drop offs, I wouldn't trust anything else with my life. I get a good 6000 mile year out of these tires. About the only thing that they can't stop are goat heads (puncture vine thorns.)
I replaced the stock Bontragers on my 2010 Trek FX 7.5 with these Gatorskins and they're freakin' awesome! I love the handling on turns and am not afraid to plow through the occasional stretch of gravel. They were pretty easy to put on, even for a relative noob mechanic like me. The price wasn't the cheapest but you get what you pay for. Time will tell how well they hold up in the long run, but for now, I'm very happy with them.
About three years ago I went from 23 mm to 25 mm tires and got Gatorskins. Since then, on two different road bikes I have ridden two sets of them somewhere between 5000 and 7500 miles and had zero flats. The pair on my main bike was quite worn down, I bought a new set and they sat in my garage until about three weeks ago when I went through three big holes in about a mile and a half (and yelled at the guys I was riding with for not telling me they were coming up) and finally got a rear flat. Put the new ones on and i expect another three years of flat free riding. I ran them at about 100psi for the first two years. For about a year now i have substantially reduced the pressure i use and I run at 70-80 PSI with no discernible loss of speed (though the people I ride with might say I have no discernible speed to begin with so there is nothing to lose!!) Anyway, I obviously really like my Gatorskins!
This tire is the perfect balance between performance and durability. I use them on my bike-to-work ride so they get a lot of miles. You can still get a flat but its way more rare than other tires Ive used. I highly recommend them.
I put these tires on my Canondale hybrid. They replaced a pair of Avocet Cross tires that were 700x38. The Gatorskins are 700x35. It is a pleasure to ride these tires because they are less rolling resistance and they grip quite well on pavement and also stand up to dirt and gravel. To be fair, I must state that I also replaced the old rims. New tires, new rims right? They went on quite easily and my favorite part is when I roll my bike out of the garage for a ride, the tires squeak on the cement like a finger against a taught balloon. They also look nice on the bike which is a light blue frame, tan leather seat and black rims. I've only got about a hundred miles on them so far and I know I'll be rolling down the road for several more judging by many other cyclists who use them.
I have always been extremely satisfied with Continental tires. This particular style (Gatorskin) is such a great tire. I just completed around 1000 miles in two weeks circling my home state, Montana on a solo tour. Many of the roads had a lot of debris. In addition, I found myself on numerous sections of gravel roads. I had absolutely no issues or flats which is saying something considering some of the roads I was on. While these tires wouldn't be my choice for road racing and such, touring, training rides, and durability are where they shine.
We ride a tandem and average 6K miles per year on Gatorskin 28C tires. Besides significantly improving the ride and handling of our tandem, we've had only one flat for the last four pairs of these tires (and that was due to a broken bottle in the middle of the road on a fast downhill). We get about 2k miles per tire, which is incredible for our 290 lb combined rider weight. We will continue to mount these durable and supple tires as long as Continental keeps making them.
