Continental Gatorskin Bike Tire - DuraSkin Puncture & Sidewall Protection, Road Bike Replacement Tire (23c, 25c, 28c, 32c)

Great tires, very resistant to typical puncture situation. Wet traction is good, I ride rain or shine. You get thousands of miles before they start to break down. Great tires.

Since I was having flats, I needed a more durable tire and found one!! No flats and comfortable ride.

I bought these tires to replace the Continental 23c 4000's that I loved. I really think the 4000s were the best tires I've ever used on my bike for decades. Great tires. But, since I ride streets and trails around town where there seems to be an ever increasing amount of broken glass, I thought I'd try the Gatorskins and up the size a little to the max recommended for my rims, 28c.My immediate thought within yards on my first ride with them was that they were obviously a heavier tire and that they seemed a "harder" tire. A little harsher ride. However, I realized that I'd inflated them to the same psi that I used on the narrower 4000s. On my next ride I adjusted the psi down from 80 front, 90 back, to 75/80 and that helped some.I've gotten used to them after a couple of months riding, but they're still an obviously heavier tire. But, I don't notice it as much now.My original reason for buying them was extra flat protection. I have been very happy with the extra confidence I have when I ride of small particles of glass. I still try to avoid glass and I still hold my glove over the rotating tires after running over glass, but I do not really worry about it as much now. So, overall I'd recommend them for that extra confidence. And, they do seem to give a slightly more comfortable ride in the larger size and lower inflation.

I will base the review on another Gatorskin I have mounted on a rim that I use on my trainer. It has held up remarkably well over the years. It has over 400 hours on the trainer and shows little wear. I will update the review if there is any change to the negative but as of now the Gatorskin seems to be a good replacement for commuting and recreational use. I am waaaay to old to compete anymore and now just want a good tire that will last and not be getting punctures or pinches as I really dislike fixing flats or changing out tubes. LOL

old road bike

A lot of "serious" road riders will tell you these tires are heavy. And they are. But for a serious "recreational" rider, they offer a lot of puncture resistance and durability in terms of treadwear/mileage. Their road feel is good for most road riding conditions, and they corner as well as any others I've ridden and better than most. I'm not racing or competing! I like trouble-free casual rides on good equipment. I'll take the weight and good on-sale price (for a Conti tire) and look forward to a lot of trouble-free miles even if my 18.5 lb. bike gains a few ounces because I chose this high-reliability, "heavy" tire. Recommended for recreational riders who aren't "too serious" about weight (don't forget-that 2d water bottle weighs about a pound (LOL)!

Only been installed a little while, 120ish miles on it so far. No flats yet, fingers crossed, would have had a flat by now with my previous tire. Only complaint thus far is I wish they had a little more traction on the sides for cornering. The slightest bit of gravel, moisture, grass clippings, etc and you have to slow way down or it will slip and down you go. Seems to be a good quality, well balanced, fast tire otherwise. Just be careful in the corners unless they are clean and dry or you are going slow.

I purchased these tires for my Trek 7.1 FX in July 2014 in order to shave some time off my 5 mile each way bike commute to work. Before this, I had been rolling with the stock Bontrager 700x35c Invert Ks that came with the bike; I liked them just fine, but they had a large diameter and I thought this might be holding me back from achieving greater speeds. My morning commute had been stuck around 21-22 minutes for 5 miles, and I thought a pair of narrower slicks would do the trick. I also wanted something that could survive some rough patches of road and assorted debris; the Bontragers were generally durable tires, but I had gotten a handful of flats on both tires with them due to bits of wire and other hazards.After reading countless reviews, articles, and forum debates, I purchased These Continental Gatorskin Ultra 700x28 tires. First thing I noticed was that I COULD NOT get these tires on my rims, even after struggling with my tire levers. I took these to my local bike shop to have them mounted (very nice of them to do, considering I did not buy the tires from them). After that, wow. I love these tires. They definitely did help me shave a few minutes off my commute: I am now doing the morning 5 miles consistently in the 18-20 minute range. These tires have been very grippy on the road, even on sharp turns and in wet road conditions.I have rode over 500 miles on these tires now, and while they don't have all the center seam rubber fringes anymore, they are only just starting to show signs of wear. No flats during this time, either. I had a scare when my tires fell into a crack in the path and had some wicked-feeling scraping along the sidewalls, but no apparent damage. I would not be surprised to get at least the 2,000 miles that many reviewers have claimed.The only unknown at this time is how these tires will perform on crushed limestone and packed dirt; both are surfaces on which I ride on occasion, but I have not had the opportunity (or perhaps been brave enough) to ride on with these tires. I expect lowering the PSI would be needed for these types of surfaces. I will update this review in the future to report on how these tires are holding up in all conditions.***UPDATE 07/26/2015***Just over a year and 1500 miles after first putting these tires on, I am still very happy with them. They perform great on pavement, and I've never had any worries about anything while I've had them on. No flats. The tires don't necessarily look new anymore, but I can tell they have a lot of life left in them. I did take these tires off for the winter, and when I went to put them back on my rims for spring it was still very difficult and I was afraid I was going to have to take it to the bike shop again. But I managed to do it myself (I had to use levers). I have done some limited riding on packed dirt, where the tires performed better than expected, but I have done 99% of my riding on pavement. And the tires (and my bike as a result) are really excelling. If I needed another pair of tires for this bike soon, I would not hesitate to buy another pair of these.***UPDATE 08/25/2016***I am still riding on my original of 700x28 Gatorskins, and I am about to replace the hybrid bike that they are on with a proper road bike. I have over 2,500 miles on the tires and zero flats during their lifetime. Amazing. The tires are still in great shape and, were I to continue riding this bike, I would not be surprised if I were to get another 500-1,000 miles on them (judging by how they look). A few threads have come loose from the sidewalls and peeled off, but nothing alarming; the sidewalls still look good and are not bulging. I have tackled pavement, dirt, and crushed limestone with these tires, and they have handled everything with no problem. I can say with confidence that I will be purchasing a pair of Continental Gatorskins for the new road bike (probably 700x25). I cycle with a larger group these days, and I tell anyone who is looking to try a new tire to give Gatorskins a shot. So, if you are looking to try a new bicycle tire...give Gatorskins a shot!

These replaced a set of Bontrager Race something or the others that came stock on my 2011 Trek 7.3 FX. I couldn't tell you the exact model number because I am trying incredibly hard to forget that they even exist. They were possibly the worst tire known to man. I am convinced that they are forged in hellfire by Satan himself and then given an ancient voodoo mummy curse before they are stretched onto the equally treacherous stock Bontrager Nebula wheels(which I just recently replaced with Mavic Kysrium Equipes). I endured the Bontragers for 500 miles before they got swapped for the Contis, which now have 508 miles on them. I figure I have a pretty good grasp of each to make a fair and grounded comparison.On my 31 mile training ride on the Bontragers (pumped to max @70psi I think) I was averaging about 9mph, 10 if I was lucky, and topping out at about 20 to 21mph on downhills with lots of effort. I felt like I was fighting the road to get any kind of forward motion and with every sharp corner I could feel death's cold stare glaring at my back wheel as it skipped precariously across the pavement at low speed. Acceleration was like stirring cold molasses in Antartica and the ride made you feel the road in a really really bad way. Not to mention they would flat out if you breathed on them wrong.With the same size tire (700 x 32c) in the Gatorskins on the exact same ride (pumped to max @101psi) I average 12-13mph easily, I could probably do 14 if I really wanted to feel the burn. Downhill I have cracked it open to 28mph and felt like I still had room to go faster. Uphill climbing performance is extraordinary; I can't believe the rate, power, and speed, I can now conquer hills with. Not to mention I can do 3 mile blasts on flat land at 22mph without even feeling like I am breaking a sweat. Sticks like glue in the corners at high speed even with my big 260+lbs butt creating inertial havoc. I accelerate like a Ferrari from a dead stop, ride like a Mercedes Benz over anything short of a tree stump, and feel as indestructible as a 97 Toyota Land Cruiser. I have ridden over broken glass, through construction sites, and whatever else the Los Angeles city roads/beach bike paths could throw at me in the last 508 miles and only have 1 gash where a REALLY large piece of glass was able to penetrate the rubber but not the Kevlar shank. This truly is an absolutely amazing tire!So amazing that today I bought a set of 23's to replace the 32's because my LBS had a crazy sale on them. I wanted to go to a smaller size anyway. WOW! I am scary fast now. Yet, I feel just as confident and as stable I did on the 32's. On the short ride I was able to get in before I was obligated to do life things I got her up to 27mph on flat land without feeling like I was putting an ounce of effort into it. The 23's took a lot less air to pump to get rock hard and I can run them up to 120psi. I have them at 117psi right now, and they feel fantastic! I can't wait get some distance with these babies.As far as installation is concerned they aren't any harder to stretch on than any other tire I have installed. I have tire levers and that Kool Stop thingy. I got both tires installed, inflated, and mounted in under 10 minutes. Even if they were as painful to put on as some have stated, I think whatever agony they could possibly cause to mount is well worth what you get in return; a truly remarkable tire.For an overall training, commuting, or just plain cruising tire you really can't get any better. These Gatorskins have transformed a decent bike into a stellar ride. I have no doubt in my mind that they will do the same to yours. Happy shopping and mind the directional arrow when you install!UPDATE-I have logged 200 miles on my 700x23c Gatorskins in the past week and all I have to say is WOW! I managed to lob 26+ minutes off of my 31 mile training ride, now average 16 mph over the course of that 31 miles (where before with the 32s it was 13.5), and am quickly becoming one of the fastest riders on the path according to Strava. I can pass most riders with ease and the REALLY fast guys on fancy road bikes I have no problem keeping up and pacing with. That was just after the first long ride on them. My times are incrementally faster every time I get on the path. Amazing!I strapped my old 32c Gatorskins to my girl's Trek 7.3 FX I got her for Xmas. It too came with the same Bontragers mine came with, and the difference is night in day in her performance. Mind you she is fit, small, and light but nowhere near as a conditioned rider as me. Within an instant she noticed a HUGE difference between the tires. She now ride as fast as me (and sometimes faster) where before she was struggling just to stay within a few lengths behind me. She now loves long rides where before they were a physical chore. Most importantly, she feels confident and safe on her new tires.If you have the upgrade bug, forget the expensive crankset, forget the quick shifters and derailleurs, forget the fancy pants wheels. You want a major upgrade that's worth more than every penny you throw at it, buy these tires!!!!! NOW HIT THAT BUY BUTTON!!!!!