Continential Gater Skin tyre , any good ?

Seres

was thinkin on changin my tyres to the Gater skin for Gael Force West but i was just talkin to guy in a bike shop and he reckons they are not that great , he recommended victorias ? Gael force has a section of it on very gravelly pothole ridden surface , what are the best tyres to get , that arent too expensive ?

all adivce welcome , thanks

blorg

Gatorskins are OK. They are a cheap enough tyre that has decent puncture protection and durability while not being utterly awful with regard to ride quality (like Armadillos.)

For Gael Force you probably want the widest tyres that will fit on your bike, at least if it is a road bike- do you know what that is? What sort of bike? I would go with something like 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Racers if you could fit them, but you would not get these onto a road bike. Something in 700x28 if you are on a road bike and they will fit. You can get Gatorskins in this size.

Chips Lovell

Good advice from blorg there. In my experience they have the best puncture resistance for tyres that aren't pigs to ride on.

What Vittorias was he recommending?

Seres

blorg wrote: »

Gatorskins are OK. They are a cheap enough tyre that has decent puncture protection and durability while not being utterly awful with regard to ride quality (like Armadillos.)

For Gael Force you probably want the widest tyres that will fit on your bike, at least if it is a road bike- do you know what that is? What sort of bike? I would go with something like 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Racers if you could fit them, but you would not get these onto a road bike. Something in 700x28 if you are on a road bike and they will fit. You can get Gatorskins in this size.

have a road bike , use the 700x25c as replacement tubes , are the 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Racers expensive ? you recommend them over the gator skins for suitablity to Gael Force

el tonto wrote: »

Good advice from blorg there. In my experience they have the best puncture resistance for tyres that aren't pigs to ride on.

What Vittorias was he recommending?

he was saying anything from 15 euros up to €37 , which would be a bit pricey for me , whats your opinion on the €15 ones ?

thanks

Chips Lovell

Seres wrote: »

he was saying anything from 15 euros up to €37 , which would be a bit pricey for me , whats your opinion on the €15 ones ?

thanks

I don't know what models he was recommending based on the pricing. Vittoria do make some very race oriented tyres but they do have some tough models like the Randonneur. I've no experience of the latter though so I wouldn't be able to comment on them.

blorg

Seres wrote: »

have a road bike , use the 700x25c as replacement tubes , are the 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Racers expensive ? you recommend them over the gator skins for suitablity to Gael Force

Yes, I would recommend them over Gatorskins, but only because they are wider and so would work better on the gravel bit. They are the nicest rolling 700x35s I have used. You wouldn't get them on to a standard road bike. Road tyres generally only go up to 700x28c. You could go with the Gatorskins although there are nicer tyres, Schwalbe Durano (formerly Stelvio) and Ultremo are both available in this size and would be nicer tyres to ride. Personally I have not found Gatorskins to be substantially better in puncture resistance than the likes of these but they are cheaper and possibly a touch more durable.

Urbs

I did gael force last year using gator skins, didn't have any problem. The same tires have been on my bike ever since and they're still goin strong.

Seres

thanks, appreciate the advice

Seres

Urbs wrote: »

I did gael force last year using gator skins, didn't have any problem. The same tires have been on my bike ever since and they're still goin strong.

they have changed the bike route , now have to take a back road up to CP which is very gravelly .

-Trek-

I don't think i will never use gatorskins again having used them for a year now doing no more than 100km a week. Wouldn't rate there puncture resistance very high and especially if it picks up glass at all it seems to hold in that protective mesh they use (bad experience at the side of the road in the p*ssing rain one winter). Had the side wall on front tyre bubble out so I had to throw that away and now I am finding that the wire is exposed in the rear wheel and is rusting.

So either I got a bad set of tyres or am doing something completely wrong, but as soon as I can I'm getting rid of the remaining rear tyre as well.

blorg

Trekmad wrote: »

if it picks up glass at all it seems to hold in that protective mesh they use

They do that all right but in fairness that they can hold lots of little shards for quite an extended period before actually puncturing is an indication that the puncture protection is actually working. You really need periodically to deflate the tyre and pick out all the little bits of glass before they work their way through. This goes for any tyre, it is not something specific to Gatorskins.

Their puncture protection is at least as good as any other rideable tyre; I am just not sure it is substantially better than the likes of the GP4000 or Schwalbe Stelvio/Ultremo etc, which ride a lot better. Armadillos have substantially better puncture resistance but ride crap. Bottom line Gatorskins are a decent durable reasonably priced training tyre.

petethedrummer

I used not be a fan, but I like them now. had a few dodgy tyres. Just make sure you dig the bits of embedded glass out every few days.

-Trek-

Agreed that they need to be checked regularly, but at this stage I'm gone off them and thinking of going with These

blorg

Trekmad wrote: »

Agreed that they need to be checked regularly, but at this stage I'm gone off them and thinking of going with These[url][/url]

They are just not the same category of tyre. Marathon Plus will probably be less likely to puncture and more durable but they will also be insanely heavy, roll comparatively poorly and have a dead ride. I have and like Marathon Racers for touring on road and have some Marathon Duremes on order for places where the road may start to disappear. Marathon Plus are even too much for me to bear touring off-road. But on-road in Ireland on a road bike? You must be joking.

-Trek-

Cheers for the advice, will have a look at those other tyres you suggested.

tomasrojo

blorg wrote: »

You really need periodically to deflate the tyre and pick out all the little bits of glass before they work their way through. This goes for any tyre, it is not something specific to Gatorskins.

Yes, I used to de-glass Armadillos once a week with the sharp end of a nail file, same as Gatorskins now. I never deflated first though.

Diarmuid

I've ridden and raced Gatorskins all season, with the odd upgrade to Vittoria Corsa's for "special races". I'm crap at telling the difference in feel but they are great for puncture resistance.

blorg

Trekmad wrote: »

Cheers for the advice, will have a look at those other tyres you suggested.

Note both these tyres I mentioned are touring tyres and would not fit on a road bike; the Racer starts at 700x30C and the Dureme at 700x35C. But you honestly don't want a Marathon on a road bike.

@tomas- it is easier when they are deflated I think as you can pinch them to get the glass out. Less of a puncture risk also.

-Trek-

My mistake, I just re-read your post I was reading it as durano and not Duremes.

The only reason I was thinking marathon plus was the puncture resistance and having that extra bit of grip during the winter but I'm guessing there is a price to pay for that grip.

blorg

The Durano would be a good one to try. I have used the Stelvio, its predecessor, and liked it. It is a proper road racing tyre and would have much better road feel than the Gatorskin. There is generally though a trade-off between puncture protection or ride quality so you need to decide which is more important to you. I used Maxxis Columbiere in 700x25 all winter on my road bike and liked them a lot. But again this is a tyre that prioritises road feel over puncture protection (although that wasn't too bad either.)

I don't think the Marathon Plus has particularly good grip at all BTW compared to a good slick. Don't make the mistake of thinking a bit of a tread helps grip, it doesn't, it makes it slightly worse. Schwalbe point this out themselves, that tread on a road tyre is merely cosmetic. And puncture protection measures usually decrease grip, not increase it. Schwalbe rank the Marathon Plus lower for grip and wet use than the slicker Marathon Racer. All the Schwalbe rankings are on their US website, for touring tyres and road race tyres. The new Ultremo DD might be a good one if you want puncture protection on a good racing tyre.

Lumen

Interestingly, the Ultremo R1 apparently includes 25 and 28 versions.

220g for a 28 is exceptional.

AstraMonti

The Ultremo can puncture very easily, they do ride and look great though.

route66

Seres wrote: »

was thinkin on changin my tyres to the Gater skin for Gael Force West but i was just talkin to guy in a bike shop and he reckons they are not that great , he recommended victorias ? Gael force has a section of it on very gravelly pothole ridden surface , what are the best tyres to get , that arent too expensive ?

all adivce welcome , thanks

Forget about Gator Skins, I got some Gator Hardshells recently in 700x28c and they appear to be good. According to the Continental website:

Our Gatorskin race bike tyre had filled a gap for hardcore commuters but they wanted more; MORE casing; MORE breaker; MORE protection...


Taking the Gatorskin as our base, we've added a third Polyamide layer in the sidewall to make a unique 3-ply casing for the Gator Hardshell.

We've also added a wider Poly-X anti puncture breaker belt under the tread which extends down into the shoulder area for wider coverage.
Add this to the Duraskin anti-tear mesh on the outside of the casing and you are presented with a tougher commuter which is also fast and is available in 700x23 up to 28 and 27 x 1 1/4 from January 2010.

I started a thread recently where various tyre options were discussed - some good info in here & it might be worth a look.

Chainreaction have the Hardshells if you want to have a look.

blorg

AstraMonti wrote: »

The Ultremo can puncture very easily, they do ride and look great though.

I have tens of thousands of km on them (not all one tyre!) and have found them extremely puncture resistant; comparable to Gatorskins frankly which is very good for a race tyre.

Again, you really need to decide your priorities though as you have to accept the possibility of a certain amount of punctures if you want a tyre that is nice to ride. Discussing the Marathon Plus and the Ultremo as valid options for the same sort of riding is beyond ridiculous.

papac

blorg wrote: »

Discussing the Marathon Plus and the Ultremo as valid options for the same sort of riding is beyond ridiculous.

@Blorg. Please stop beating around the bush and just say what you mean.:pac:

I agree 100% btw.

rp

blorg wrote: »

The Durano would be a good one to try.

Yeah, I've tried Gatorskins & Armadillos, and so far (touch wood) the Durano Plus has delivered where those didn't. Rides nice too (23x700)

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

The Durano would be a good one to try. I have used the Stelvio, its predecessor, and liked it. It is a proper road racing tyre and would have much better road feel than the Gatorskin.

FWIW, when I was searching for tyres last night (ended up buying Ultremo 28s) I read that the Durano S was the successor to the Stelvio. There are obviously more Duranos than the S version.

Anyway, I'm post back when my sidewalls explode.

Seaswimmer

route66 wrote: »

Forget about Gator Skins, I got some Gator Hardshells recently in 700x28c and they appear to be good.

I am running these now as well 700 x 23C. The only downside is that they are quite a bit more expensive than the normal Gatorskins. I wonder is there a plan to discontinue the cheaper Gatorskins and only have Hardshell available in the future..

route66

Seaswimmer wrote: »

route66 wrote: »

Forget about Gator Skins, I got some Gator Hardshells recently in 700x28c and they appear to be good.

I am running these now as well 700 x 23C. The only downside is that they are quite a bit more expensive than the normal Gatorskins. I wonder is there a plan to discontinue the cheaper Gatorskins and only have Hardshell available in the future..

Yes, definitely not cheap; I paid €32 each for mine and that was with cheap - i.e. shared - shipping costs. Having said that, they are supposed to have more rubber on them, so if that means they last longer and are more puncture resistant, I suppose they are worth it.

The Hardshells only came out in January this year, so I'm not surprised nobody has much experience with them yet. There are some - mostly complimentary - online reviews available.

Lumen

Lumen wrote: »

FWIW, when I was searching for tyres last night (ended up buying Ultremo 28s) I read that the Durano S was the successor to the Stelvio. There are obviously more Duranos than the S version.

For the record, I fitted my 28mm Ultremo R1s tonight to replace the Conti 4000S on my non-racing bike. They're actually about 26.4mm wide, compared to 23.2mm for the 23mm Contis, and weigh 224g each (220g claimed) compared to 218g (205g claimed) for the Contis.

So 3% more weight for an extra 14% width.

I'll run them at 80psi and see how they feel.