Continental Gatorskin Road Tyre Review - BikeRadar

Love Gatorskins - tried a few other "durable" road tyres but keep coming back to the Gators. 25c work better for me but then I'm heavier than your average cyclist.

Got a puncture on the second day of owning them which was a knock to my confidence in them, but seeing as they're just about the only part of my bike to survive a recent run in with a car, they gotta be doing something right.

I've had these on my road/commuter bike for about 4 months and they are very tough. Exactly what I was looking for. I didn't have any particular trouble getting them on some Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels.

I've had the 23c's on my road bike for the past 18 months and never had a puncture in 3,000 miles. You cant really fault that. I have only changed them recently because they were starting to get a bit thin.

I'm on my second pair of Gatorskins now. I run them all year round as I hate punctures. I would recommend them to any cyclist. As the main review says they're a bit of a tight fit on the wheel rim, aside from that no problems.

The sidewalls are indeed so weak that I've had two go BANG while the bike was sitting in my shed. I never inflated them to anything other than the manufacturer's recommended pressure. And I've never had the same problem with Vredesteins or Schwalbes, nor Continental's sturdier 'cross tyres.

Yep, been running these for 4 or is it 5 years. London commute, training, audax, the occasional sportive. Seem to spend a lot of times on tow paths on them too. Like meanredspider I run 25cc as I am a little heavy and they are that bit plusher for Audax. Not the most supple but for big miles reliability and enough speed and feel to get by with, they're great. I tried a whole bunch of cheaper tyres recently as I was trying to save money - they are in the attic and I coughed up for the wired versions of the gators, again. Bliss. The only thing I would try that's come onto the market are duranos cause I like Schwable. The only tyres I worry obsessively about now are on the MTB...

I ran these a couple of winters ago. I found them easy to fit, fairly puncture resistant and durable. However they were a little slippery in the wet compared to some other tyres I've used. I prefer Schalbe & Michelin tyres personally - especailly the Michelin krylion carbons; they have better puncture resistant & perform better in the wet. Gator skins aren't bad though.

no doubting gator skins credentials, but if you can afford them or get a good price I can strongly recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, excellent commuter tyre so far, almost daily commute for last three months no punctures yet.

If you take a look at tests done by the German Mags you will see that in fact the sidewalls are a lot tougher than most.

They use real data rather than hear say to test the tyres actual performance. Blades and needles are applied to the sidewall and tread of the tyre at set speeds and pressures until the tyre punctures.