Recently, I rode Continental Gatorskins (700 x 32 with folding bead) on a fully loaded touring bike from San Diego to Boston. About 300 miles of the trip were on crushed limestone bike paths, with a few miles of coarse gravel. The Gatorskins turned out to be an excellent choice. They performed superbly. I started out with a pair of new Gatorskins on the bike, and one new spare. Then I rotated the three tires so that each one had approximately equal wear. During the entire 3,500 mile trip, I had only one flat, which was due to a typical piece of wire from a disintegrated truck tire, picked up on an interstate, in a rain storm. At the end of the trip, all three tires were in good condition, with many miles left in them. The Gatorskins are reasonably light, with good puncture resistance and resistance to cuts. They provide a comfortable ride and good traction. In addition to this tour, I have used the Gatorskins for urban commuting, for years. These tires deliver amazing performance at a reasonable price.
I have ridden this on a touring bike I use for commuting and a pure road bike I also use for commuting in Washington state (all seasons) and in Guam (only get one season) for the last two years. At 120 miles a week I have never gotten a flat. At 200 pounds and growing, thanks Corona, I'm not exactly a light weight. On one of my first rides on this tire I hit a bottle that exploded cutting my leg with glass. This tire couldn't have cared less. Without these I wouldn't commute here in Guam with all the drivers forcing me off the road where I have run over all manner of things including pieces of brake rotor, wheel weights, broken glass, and even dead animals. Weight isn't my greatest concern. Getting to work on time is. Buy these tires if this is your goal.
I buy all tires for the family so my experiences are more than what I alone acquired. One of my sons moved to an inner city area with lots of glass and started getting flats regularly. Gatorskins solved the problem. One flat in two years. Another son moved to an area with lots of sharp rocks and thorns. He was also plagued with flats. Again, Gatorskins solved the problem. They are impossible to mount with cheap tire irons but that is their only downside. Maybe foldables are easier - I've only used wire bead. At one point I looked around because I thought another efficient tire with similar ratings would be less expensive. Couldn't find anything better than the Continental Gatorskin. This is the longest lasting most flat resistant tire available unless you buy a heavy cumbersome touring tire with a lot of tread. Personally I ride over glass and rocks and only had one flat, even though the tread is squared off. They ride smooth and I've never had a problem on wet surfaces.
Stiff tyre to put on the rim. I found starting at the valve and working around the tyre seemed easier. No snakebite flats because I inflate the tube a little.
I ride mostly road in Calif upper desert, about 75-100 mi per week. Lots of sticker weeds and small sharp rocks like shards of glass. Very resistant to those hazards. Just two days ago I pulled a sticker weed from the sidewall on the front Gatorskin. It was in a ways but no flat when I pulled it out.
I like the little divots to indicate when to replace them. I had a blow out once on the rear Gator. Took it to the shop and it was swapped out for a new one. Conti guarantees their tyre. The tyre was defective.
This site has excellent prices for this tyre. It may weigh a little bit, but I feel more confident on my rides which are sometimes out on lonely deserted paved roads. Very hot, arid climate doesn't seem to affect the rubber.
I have a couple thousand miles into a set of 32mm and though they are starting to wear a bit square the wear indicators would seem to indicate i have another 2K left at least. The two flats so far were both wire from delaminated truck steel belted tires that would flat almost any bike tire. I have ridden these extensively on gravel roads as well without issue. So, for toughness I rate these tires 5 stars for a sub 300 gram 32mm tire. If you want bulletproof then take the weight penalty and run Schwalbe Marathons.
Ride quality though is just average. Not bad but not great either. They felt better when new but are now starting to feel a little squirrley when cornering probably from the way they are wearing - nothing terrible, but just average.
I am reluctant to change tires because these have proven themselves out on the road to be trustworthy and get you through rides. And, when buying on sale, the price is very competitive.
Replaced worn out Conti Ultra Sport III. Rolling resistance higher than Ultra Sport. Noticed a 1 mph drop in average speed over 10 mile daily course that I ride, but I expected this. Otherwise happy with the tire so far. Seems durable and holds pressure well. Good lateral grip going around corners and cul-de-sacs.
This is the most difficult tire to mount - compared to my experience with other Continental tires previously. it took all of my patience and 30+ minutes per tire to get them on. Extremely stiff and tight tire bead.
Expensive, but time will tell if the durability enhances value. I ride 2000+ miles a year, so I won't know for a while about cost/longevity trade off. I expect it to be good.
Really works great on the road and rail trail.
Use them on my two road bikes.
I was introduced to Gatorskins by a fellow cyclist. I formerly bought the cheapest tires and ended up paying more ultimately in flats and reduced cycling time. They are now my go to tire.
Gatorskins are worth the extra price for the promised reliability and sturdiness.
I'm hard on my tires and hope they will live up to their reputation.
We ride a tandem with 700x32 and have run these until the dots are gone never have had a flat
Training rides, city, suburb, good roads but lots of puncture/cut material. Gatorskins roll very nicely and corner well. High pressure makes for fast acceleration. Cuts are not a problem but thorns, metal wire and other hazards will flat your Gatorskins. This is not unusual even with quality tires like those from Continental but kind of refutes Continental's claim that materials and design in Gatorskins give superior protection from flats. In nearly 1000 miles I've had 3 flats, one from a thorn and two from wire shards (like from a wire brush) that worked their way past Gatorskin's "protections'. Overall I recommend Continental Gatorskins despite my luck on the road versus any other rider's luck with road hazards.
I got these when they went on sale, and I bought more than I needed at the time because they were on sale. The purchase was vetted by years of using these tires. If I put these on my bike (I'm in the Northeast US and I get in about 4-5k miles/season) I don't get flats. Period. If I use other tires (and I did- one season) it doesn't go well. The year I didn't use CGS, I ended up with 7 flats and had to purchase two [cheap] tires. You get what you pay for. I'll be using these Gatorskins again next year. I won't use anything else.
I ride 2-3 times a week on a paved bike trail it is generally closed to traffic. I chose these tires because I need durability and reliability for long rides while training for full distance Iron Man races. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a flat tire while using these tires over the course of three Iron Man training seasons. They are a bit heavier and thicker than standard racing tires, however the durability and reliability are more important to me. Highly recommend !!
Bombproof. No flats for you!!
Yes, they are hard to mount. Yes, they are a little heavy. However, you will not get flats and they ride and grip very well. I am a fan.
I've been using these tires for years, and they never let me down. I'm over 4k miles this season, and they're still in great shape. I'm 5' 10" and 165. They grip the road well and you can count on them on turns. The only thing that might be a bit of a disadvantage is seating the wire-bead tires on my rim-brake Aksium wheels. Other than that, these tires are basically bomb-proof. I've bought other tires and have gone through ridiculous money spent on tubes. As soon as you put these on, you stop shelling out money. TCO is an important factor for me, in this regard. You pay a little more for these tires, but they'll pay off in the long run.
Tough and smooth riding. Perfect for crummy NJ roads
As older stubborn cyclist I am reluctant to move to tubeless from tubes, and really why when I run Gatorskins. For me I haven't had any punctures in 2800km with them and I travel on all kinds of surfaces. Not the fastest nor the most comfortable tire, but for me there is no better training tire.
I use these tires in Eastern Washington. Most of our rural roads are chip seals. These tires wear better than most on chip seals. A bit heavy for racing but very reliable and durable for training.
After 52,022 miles in 11 years this is the only tire I will ride with. Here in Texas, we have a lot of things that cause flats. Gatorskins have made my rides almost flat free.