Got a great price for tires and I always start the season with on my road bikes. I love the all black without the orange trim. I've only had one of the Gatorskins had a chunk taken out of it while riding. I was able to fill it with neoprene rubber and use it on my trainer and that's what I do when the tire starts to flatten out. Tough tires for me. I feel more confident in the Gatorskins as opposed to Gran Prix 5000 tires since I've seen a few blow out during an IM. I use to train and do Tri's and now it's for exercise, fun, and just to get out and away.
Mounted these on a Bushnell tandem last month and rode 500km with 12000ft of climbing in Morocco. Tires handle beautifully especially on descents. Only 20 minutes of showers to test road grip but all went well
Outstanding tires� I have ridden Continental tires for over 25 years.
The Gatorskins are an excellent tire for serious training, high mileage, and puncture resistance.
A little more work to mount but worth the effort
After riding Gatorskins on my road bike exclusively for the past seven years, I have had three sidewall blowouts so far this year. The last, which was yesterday, after only 280 miles of use. In each example, I could not find a specific cause. Up until yesterday, I had loved these tires. So I�ll be switching to another brand because I�m tired of being stranded miles from home.
I've used Gatorskins for several years. Since our city (Portland, OR) no longer seems to care to maintain its bikepaths and bikelanes, I need a tougher tire than the Rubino Pros I used to rely on. Only drawback with Gatorskins was that when they were brand new, they often didn't seat in the rims at first, causing unexpected blowouts a few minutes after inflation. Sometimes it took several attempts to get them to seat properly. These new black edition tires -- for whatever reason -- did not have that problem. I've installed several, all perfectly on the first go. They are hard to mount/dismount, especially when new and/or cold, so unless you have hands of Hercules, pack a couple tire levers in your repair kit.
I�ve been buying Gatorskins for awhile now and really like them. They are durable and well made. Knock on wood, I have not had any flats with these. These are the first Blackwall versions I�ve owned and they go well with my Cannondale Bad Boy Disc.
I replace my Bontrager R3 tires that are crazy speedy but often flat so tried Gatorskin and only one thing they feel like they are connected with magnet to the ground super safe hope flat would be less with them but only disadvantage is speed, they are totally lazy comparing with R3 if you can compare those two tires. Very happy with my purchase traded speed for comfort.
I am averaging about 3,000 miles on these tires riding on rough Montana roads. The tires are responsive and comfortable at the same time. Although you pay a little more up front, they last longer and give you a great value!
The Gatorskins offer good durability and reliability with reasonably good road feel. I don't race, so I am more concerned with avoiding flats when I might be 10 to 25 miles away from home or where my car is parked.
If you're a road bike rider used to lightweight all-season or racing tires, these will have a numb road feel initially. But the added protection will give you peace of mind in the fall-winter-early spring commutes or training rides, and without adding excessive weight or rolling resistance. Traction on wet pavement is excellent and puncture resistance is impressive if not bulletproof. These tires cost more, but they're worth the extra cost if you do a lot of riding and need a tough, reliable tire that performs extremely well in all conditions.
Hi - been riding on the Continental Gatorskin Black tires for the last three months after a piece of metal destroyed my 6-month old Vittoria Rubino Pro back tire. I liked the Vittoria, but felt they didn't "roll" as well as other brands that I've used.
The Continental Gatorskin Black's are amazing. There seems to be less resistance than the Vittoria, I like the tread, and the traction is very good, since I've been using these tires in the cold mixed with snow rain soaked Pacific Northwest. Like all of the other "million" reviews, buy with confidence. And like always, Bike Tire Direct is my go to vendor...
Thought these tires would be heavy and stiff but haven't found that to be the case. I love them. The ride is more supple than I thought and I find them comfortable to ride on...so much so that I think I'll be using them year round. So far no flats and I've gone through some really bad road debris. Fingers crossed that I don't get a flat because the one thing I don't like about them is that they are extremely difficult to get on and off the rim.
Mostly a road bike rider averaging 135 miles per week on the typical trash and glass strewn roads in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. My previous tire of choice was the Continental GP5000. If I lived outside of a big city I likely would have stayed with that tire. While the GP5000 had a slightly smoother ride and may have even been slightly faster (emphasis on slightly), I eventually became tired of getting flats. I would estimate that I easily get 60 to 70% fewer flats on the Gatorskins than on the GP5000. The evidence is anecdotal, but that's all got. I went with the black edition strictly based on appearance.
I got these for their resistance to blowouts. I read many reviews that rated them highly for that. I live and ride in Florida, so "cold" weather use is the low 40s. Thus far I've put 1,375 miles on these tires. The rear one is just showing signs of wear, but it looks only about 1/3 worn. So my estimate right now is 3,500-4,000 miles. Not bad.
These ride well and corner well in wet conditions. I've had no indication of slippage at all when the roads are wet. I do ride on some roads that have been sealed, and I've previously slid out on other tires when they were wet. These hold tight.
I've run over road glass, not on purpose, but the recycling truck near me dumps little piles of glass here and there and I've hit a few. The tires show no signs of being cut or punctured. Previous tires would have been flat on me.
I'm the type of rider that is very used to GP5000 (mounted on my campys wto 45)and after reading reviews about gatorskins tires I decided to click the button, this tires are tough!, I chose this tires for my winter/rough roads to prevent flats and they haven't disappointed me , I mounted them on a spare wheel set (bontrager aeolus 35)which was not difficult, they rolls good , they are not as fast as GP5000 but the intention is prevent flats and keep me training on winter.
Been running Continental Gatorskins for years. I feel like they provide excellent flat protection without sacrificing ride quality. I run them on road bikes, single speeds and gravel bikes for high mileage, commuter, on-road riding.
Great training tire, a bit heavy but worth the comfort and reliability.
I've been riding Gatorskins for about 5 years now. They are my "go to" tire. Let me say, I don't race. These are the best tires for daily riding, group rides and touring! I generally ride 4 days a week, 25 to 60 miles. I hate flats! While they do weigh a bit more the light weight tires, i'll take that any day or getting a flat! In our area we have a lot of "chip seal" roads and other road debris especially during and just after winter, these take it all in stride! Most riders in our group are using these as well! They are tough to put on.
Tire wear well and are an excellent choice for training especially for the value conscious rider.
I use these tires all winter long with no flats. My original set last me two winters
