Continental Gatorskin Tyres

On my Giant I have used Continental Gatorskin tyres (700c x 25mm) for the past 4 years or so. I bought them because of the general view that they were pretty puncture resistant, although the reviews that claimed they were also heavy, uncomfortable and not great in the wet were also pretty easy to find.

Given that I have been using them for the past 4 years or so aligns the timing with when I started to get back into cycling. After a couple of punctures with the tyres that cane with my Giant I decided that I really wanted to try and reduce the chances - although I accepted that I would not eliminate them.

I have since run just 2 Gatorskins on the Giant in over 4 years. (Strictly speaking this is not non-stop use as they are now only put on for the winter and I run a different set of tyres and wheels in the summer.). The rear tyre is the oldest and is at about 6-7000 miles, with the front at about 5000 miles.

My view of them can be summarised as follows:

• Puncture resistance - excellent. I have had one puncture and this was due to an issue with the inner tube as there was no penetration or sign of penetration anywhere on the tyre and the hole I tried to repair was near the valve on the rim contact area of the tube. There are also a lot of cuts and small holes in the road surface contact area, none of which have penetrated the tyre
• Durability - excellent. The rear tyre is only due now for replacement. I was putting the Giant on the car and got a good view of the surface and could see the ripple pattern of the "canvas" (see photo) through the rubber. There is also a very strong squaring of the rubber showing where its worn (I'll try and get a photo that shows this another time). The front tyre still has a slight trace of the moulding flash along the centre of the tyre and has no signs of wear at all after ~5000 miles
• "Feel" - they "feel" heavy and dead - at least compared to the Continental GP4000s I run on the "better" bike
• Speed - they feel heavy and slow, but to be fair they are on heavy wheels as well
• Grip - mediocre at best. Ok in the dry and warm weather, but I am much more cautious when the roads are wet than say when I am riding on the GP4000s.
• Ease of fitting/removal - the wired (non-folding) are very very hard to fit especially when new - you need fingers and thumbs of steel

I think some of these properties might also be related to the age - I also have a much newer set of 23mm Gatorskins on the lighter wheels I use on the Giant in the summer and they feel quite different to the old high mileage 25mm Gatorskins I use in the Winter.

Here's a not very good picture of the canvas showing through the rubber. Its also possible to see some of the smaller cuts in this tyre (there are some bigger ones elsewhere):

Would I buy them again - quick answer is yes - the puncture resistance is key for the Giant as I commute 18 miles to work on it and I don't want to be changing inner tubes at 6.30 in the morning. And they'll last at least 3 years based on the mileage I do and the distance I got out of the one pictured above. The 23mm versions on the summer wheels are also showing minimal wear after a couple of thousand miles so far this year.