These have densest rubber I've used so far, which includes Michelin, Vredestein, etc. The caveat they have stiff sidewalls, consequently little flex for long rides over rough farm roads here in rural Colorado. Any tire's nemesis here must include the abundant goatheads and foxtails, and these tires along with Stan's sealant have made for 10 months without a flat. I've used 7X23 Gatorskins too harsh a ride here. 7X25's run them at 90psi. Great mileage to be expected.
A favorite tire the Vredestein Grand Fondo has forgiving sidewall, corners great, rolls fast, but is more easily punctured by the above mentioned. I ran these with 2 oz Stan's in each tire, made it through winter (off season for goatheads etc) without a flat! Now back to Conti's for growing season. Highly recommended.
FYI, I ride around 7000yr, all year, been riding since the 70s, raced for 8 yrs.
You give up some speed for reliability. I ride in the Southwest and besides the regular glass and debris we have all kinds of thorns. Gator skins make riding more trouble free and fun
I use them for roadfitness riding. Smooth riding. A couple hundred miles with no flats. In the past, I always used Maxxis Detonator tires but thought I'd try these due to the great reviews. Happy with both brands. Went from 23's to 25's. The jury is still out but if it continues the way it is I'll probably stick with the gatorskins.
Continental tires are always excellent but I found the Gators a bit hard to fit on the wheels. That being said, they last a long time and I don't have many flats with them despite riding on pretty bad roads.
I use to flat on a regular basis where I ride havent had a flat in three yrs with gator skins.
Gatorskins last about 2000 to 2500 miles on my bike. In that distance I seldom get flats. The one negative I have is the rubber begins to de-laminate from the belting near end of life.
eat your spinach before installing
These tires are great in all weather conditions, but most importantly, they're very flat resistant. So they are pretty impervious to all the junk you encounter on the side of the road when you're commuting. Probably not the best tire for race-style road riding, but an excellent commuter tire.
Was a bike messenger for ten years....Gatorskins hold up and never get flats!
Good everyday tire, lucky to have never had a flat with these!
Have started using gator skins about 7 years ago and never looked back. Since using them on San Francisco and Bay Area roads they have weathered the street debris and other road issues better than most other tires. It's important to use good inner tubes because the cheep inner tubes fail long before the tires need to be replaced. Buy again? You bet!
Only tires I will ride with.
Ive used these tires for almost 5 years now. This is only my second pair. Not sure on how many miles. But I do ride 40 to 50 miles a week. Only one flat on these tires. I ride with 110psi in the rear and 100 psi in the front I highly recommend.
Great price, outstanding performance, highly recommended
The best road tire Ive ever ridden.
Two seasons with no flats.
Great tire,very reasonable price,easy to deal with.
I am not a pro, but these tires seem to be very resilient and great riding tires. They are somewhat difficult for an amateur to install, but he many videos on the subject will allow you to finish. They are much quieter than my previous OEM tires.
Have used these on our tandem for years and they have been bullet proof.
We run 85 PSI and its a perfect ride
Not a race or hill climb tire, but it does exactly what it should for training & touring. It resists flats, rolls beautifully smooth & tracks perfectly. wear should be exceptional, with 115 miles on them, the front still has the little bit of excess down the middle... I can rub it off with my hand at this point but think I will get 3,000-4,000 miles on this set if I rotate every 500 miles. I suspect they may be heavier than my old Michelin Pro Race Service Course, but I could not take those out on rural highways without flatting. My eyes aren't perfect, & I installed the front with directional arrow in wrong direction. I'm leaving it until I flat because I think it couldn't matter since it is 80% slick. Looking at the tread, I think they got the arrows wrong, anyway... guaranteed you can't tell the difference on the road. Wonderful buy on a tough, great-performing tire for training & touring... perfect for me, I would even race them in a half or full Ironman event.
Wanted to try some lighter and narrower tires on my Surly LHT touring bike. Off with the reliable, heavy Schwalbe Marathon Plus and on with the Gatorskins, which I've always used on my Road bike (23's). Great results - speed and comfort as well. Highly recommend Gatorskins!
