Gatorskin: WORST TYRE EVAH!

[master6]

I spun the rear again in the wet

Hoon

[gretaboy]

Drubie....what are you using now?

I am riding the new england highway and the roads plus crap from trucks are causing me issues with my gatorskins

I am thinking of going to Schwalbe Durano Plus...has anyone got good reviews of this tyre?

[JBark]

I am thinking of going to Schwalbe Durano Plus...has anyone got good reviews of this tyre?

Everything I've heard has been very positive. Almost as bulletproof as the Marathon Plus, but not nearly as heavy and rolls better. I'm running Marathon Pluses now (love them), and am thinking of giving the Durano a try when I pick up a cyclo to replace my mtb commuter. It's just that the Marathon Pluses have been so damn good, I'm not sure I want to even try anything else.

[drubie]

I'm riding Vittoria tyres ( Rubino Pro and the Diamante Pro) - they have some wear issues on chip sealed roads but puncture wise they've been excellent. I prefer the Diamante slightly but I can see already that they won't last as long as the Rubino Pro.

The other tyre I had that wore well was the Maxxis ReFuse, but they don't grip like the more expensive Vittoria offerings and don't roll as well.

The Schwalbe Ultremo had a very poor reputation locally when it was first released (sidewall explosions) but I think that's been rectified - never seen the Duranos mounted on a bike so I have no opinion of them.

[markusm]

Drubie....what are you using now?

I am riding the new england highway and the roads plus crap from trucks are causing me issues with my gatorskins

I am thinking of going to Schwalbe Durano Plus...has anyone got good reviews of this tyre?

I cant speak highly enough of them

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=46084

[master6]

[ issues

I am very happy with gatorskins, however they seem to be letting me down when I compare with your experience.

Wish mine would reproduce like yours do.......................very economical

[colaiacw]

I'm riding Vittoria tyres ( Rubino Pro and the Diamante Pro) - they have some wear issues on chip sealed roads but puncture wise they've been excellent. I prefer the Diamante slightly but I can see already that they won't last as long as the Rubino Pro.

I also use Vittoria's as above, never had any issues apart from glass cuts and bad luck. The Diamante Pro's are awesome, roll well and cut up less than most tyres i have tried and the new Diamante Pro Radial's are out in January so I will give them a go. Never tired the Continentals but I also like the Schwalbe Durano S for a training tyre, done over 1000 ks with little wear.

[master6]

never had any issues apart from glass cuts and bad luck.

err, yes, the story of my life, with almost any/every tyre I have ever owned. "Bad Luck" is every tyre makers friend.

[trailgumby]

I disagree that they grip fine. They grip OK in the dry, but in the wet the give way suddenly and don't stop sliding

Those who claim to be able to judge the sideway grip difference between two tyres, while astride a bike, amaze me.

It's just experience. To put it simply it is a matter of listening and feel. As stange as it may sound/read, you can hear a tyre under stress. It "hisses" more (on a dry road). You also get a feel for the little movements that happen near the limit. If you learn to recognize these, you are far less likely to have a big lose. This applies to both MTB and road. Best learnt on a MTB though.

I'm siding with nobody here.

When I first started riding just over 5 years ago, the slightest little wiggle of the bike and momentary loss of grip resulted in brown bike shorts.

Now, well it's still "oh, ----" for the big ones but I manage to recover almost every time. Yes, you do get those little hints from the tyre when you're close to the limit. The trick is not to over-inflate, and when the grip does go you focus on keeping the bike under you and upright. Riding regularly on loose, rough, rolly, rocky surfaces is a good teacher if you start slow and build up, so nobody is right on the money when he says "best learn on a mtb."

However, it's just about impossible to do on wet tree roots or wet wooden boardwalks on the trail, and wet linemarking paint on the road is no better. You just gotta go straight and stay upright, any attempt to brake or turn will bring you undone. 700x23c road tyres have a much, much narrower margin between good and gone, and knobbly tyres in the road in the wet have almost none at all.

Interesting to hear Mike's endorsement of the 4000s Black Chilli, mirrors my experience with the hardtail in commuter mode. Excellent in the wet... once you've worn the factory mold release off the surface Rear tyre doesn't last all that well, though, and riding footpaths (when the traffic is in a grumpy mood) I get more pinchflats that I'd like.

Good tyres give you a greater recovery margin.

[mikesbytes]

The warning signs of been at the edge of adhesion are definitely better felt on some tyres than others and its not entirely to do with the grip. With the gatorskin, I don't feel the edge in the wet like I do with other tyres.

If your not a sports all weather rider, then the gatorskin's should be fine. But when you get a flat, put a patch on the tyre over the insertion hole to prevent the problems that Drubie originally reported.

I've got a set of Vittoria Zaffiro Pro slicks that came with some wheels I got. Anyone used them? How were they?

[mikesbytes]

Well I had another flat, but I can't blame the Gatorskin, the tyre liner I had underneath it split and punctured the tube and for whatever reason the gunk in the tube refused to fix the flat.

[mikesbytes]

So that was Saturday, Sunday I didn't ride.

Now to recap, I put a new tube in without the liner, so it was a straight gatorskin.

Monday evening I'm decending Burns Bay rd (the Sydney'ites will understand) match the car speed on my fixie and the handling gets progressively worse every corner, I know I've got a flat but I so wanna make it to the bottom, there's a cage in front of me, a cage behind me and one beside me, no side area, if I stop I block the traffic, the lanes are narrow. I make it to the bottom and change my tube. Couldn't find the cause of the flat

[drubie]

Couldn't find the cause of the flat

..besides the tyre choice?

[Wal42]

I'm running kevlar bead Gatorskins at present, they're not that old (800kms), I run 105psi F & 120psi R, they feel like they're squirming all over the joint yet rode a reasonable distance this afternoon in the rain & they were fine.

What is so terrible about them? I want to know what I'm supposed to be looking for? Do they deteriorate in a big hurry, if so after roughly how many kms?

[drubie]

Read the whole thread, then you'll know

[Mulger bill]

Don't listen to him Wal, he commutes through his local glass recycling depot with 150 psi.

I love the Gators on my commuter, stronger than the puncture fairys teeth.

Shaun

[master6]

I'm running kevlar bead Gatorskins at present, they're not that old (800kms), I run 105psi F & 120psi R, they feel like they're squirming all over the joint yet rode a reasonable distance this afternoon in the rain & they were fine.

What is so terrible about them? I want to know what I'm supposed to be looking for? Do they deteriorate in a big hurry, if so after roughly how many kms?

Keep pedalling Wal.
I reversed my Gators front to rear recently, when I noticed that the mould line had worn off the rear tyre. They had 3047 km on them at the time, and have plenty left. I weigh 80kg, and ride on sealed roads in southern Tasmania. I reckon I must have gone through at least 10 pair of gators, and am very happy with them as a training tyre. I notice several people racing on them at the local vets club.

[drubie]

I notice several people racing on them at the local vets club.

Me too - usually spotted standing on the side of the road with a mobile phone in their hand

[Kenzo]

I notice several people racing on them at the local vets club.

Me too - usually spotted standing on the side of the road with a mobile phone in their hand

good on them for stopping to take or make calls. It is important to set a good example.

[Wal42]

Ok I've read the whole thread, besides the constant advertisements for Vittoria tyres (do you work for the distributor?), I've learned that I shouldn't have asked the question in the first place.

Mike, I know what you're talking about with the tyre breaking away, I lost the front at work yesterday morning, didn't dump it but came quite close.


So, I'll use the 2 sets I've got, then 2 sets of GP4000s' (which I also have sitting here) & I think I'll go back to running Michies, I tried Ultremo R1's used 4 sets in 6 months, no puncture (I think 4 all up) problems, just run out of 'rubber' on them, if you locked a brake you were going home to replace the tyre (nearly).

I burnt through a set of Evo Corse CX's (got 2 sets of new 20mm ones that a guy had ordered by accident & nobody seems to like 20mm tyres), until my mechanic found out I was using them on my commute/training wheels, he flew off the handle, the 2nd set have been banished to the race wheels, not to be ridden to work or training EVER (yeah my bike mechanic is that serious about that type of stuff & he knows me too well), they were nice, didn't last long enough to pick up a puncture but was beautiful riding the bike while they lasted.

I've used Miches for years I only changed because of a sidewall failure on a nearly spent tyre during a ride last year, just thought I'd try something different, but I guess I'm ordering 4 sets of Pro Race 4's.

I've done just under 1000kms on the Gators, except for the sketchy ride (it does feel like it's about to slide out dry or wet, which doesn't inspire confidence), the one front slide, they've done nothing wrong, I'll put the ride down to the high pressure that I run.

I can report back with a more neutral evaluation on them if you all like.

Will I buy them again? No I'll be going back to Michelin. Would I recommend them to someone else? We'll see how they last & whether I get all these reported puncture & casing problems.

[mikesbytes]

I notice several people racing on them at the local vets club.

The rolling resistance is quite reasonable for a longer lasting tyre

[ajgool]

master6 u sound like a wise guru. Gatorskins are the the tyre of choice if u want a good all round training tyre. I'm on my second set,(4000ks & counting, no punctures) after going through a set of rubino pros that came with the bike when purchased. vittoria make great coffee, but they really shouldn't use coffee grounds to make their tyres. My mates rubinos disintegrated after 1200ks. The only thing that lasts longer than gatorskins is Drubies everlasting battle with the dark overlords that are conspiring against him for bagging continental.

[norbs]

4200kms on my Gatorskins with out a puncture. 1 pinch flat though.

[Xplora]

I've had some troubles with my Ultra Gatorskins (the 2x2 deal from wggle). Had a pinch flat after going through an enormous pothole, had a random flat about a month ago in the front, but this could have been the tubes as well. I haven't been "feeling it" with the Continental tubes at all. Plus it seems that the valve centre is almost guaranteed to bend?!?! I can't help but feel like I've copped new old stock. Good deal, but how good a deal do you want? I want my tyres to stay up, much more than stay cheap. Heck, I'd rather spend 100 bucks on a tube that didn't flat

[master6]

I've had some troubles with my Ultra Gatorskins (the 2x2 deal from wggle). Had a pinch flat after going through an enormous pothole, had a random flat about a month ago in the front, but this could have been the tubes as well. I haven't been "feeling it" with the Continental tubes at all. Plus it seems that the valve centre is almost guaranteed to bend?!?! I can't help but feel like I've copped new old stock. Good deal, but how good a deal do you want? I want my tyres to stay up, much more than stay cheap. Heck, I'd rather spend 100 bucks on a tube that didn't flat

These tyres are lousy at detecting and avoiding enormous pot holes. Have you considered buying a tractor?