Gatorskin: WORST TYRE EVAH!

[doggatas]

Of the 3 and a bit months I have taken to cycling seriously (having a rest from the "other" sport) I have covered 5000 km's on a set of gators that maybe would have had 1000km's on them already, mind you that 1000kms was dispersed over a 6 month period, so it's fair to say the tyres are not new and appears I'll get a few more thousand out of them.

I have not had a single flat, these babies know how to take punishment. Bike path where drunks smash their beer bottles for fun, gravel roads, pot holes the same roads master6 is blessed with traversing.

Master6, maybe it's not the tyres, it could just be we have wonderful, carefully swept roads down here in southern tassie.

The sport of curling springs to mind.

[Nobody]

The sport of curling springs to mind.

We usually associate that sport with rim brakes and wet weather. But that's another topic altogether.

[master6]

Master6, maybe it's not the tyres, it could just be we have wonderful, carefully swept roads down here in southern tassie.

Shhhhh Dogga. We know how wonderful Tassie is, but please keep it quiet. We dont want more Australians moving here.

[drubie]

Shhhhh Dogga. We know how wonderful Tassie is, but please keep it quiet. We dont want more Australians moving here.

Why, cause Tasmanians insist you move there with your own sister and that puts too much of a strain on the health system? I was curious about the tater fandom but it's origin explains everything

[master6]

I was curious about the tater fandom but it's origin explains everything

I am (legally) a Queenslander (when I want to be) drubie. The gators have served me superbly from Mission beach to Hobart, many places in between, and Alice Springs .

One word for you "state of origin". Before you correct me, let me assure you that "state of origin" is definately one word. Those snivelling cockroaches south of the border are not strong enough to draw sufficient breath to speak three words.

[Rex]

Got a mate who punctured on his Gatorskin last week.
20km/hr around a bend, flipped, massive crack near BB on carbon frame. Terminal.

[master6]

Got a mate who punctured on his Gatorskin last week.
20km/hr around a bend, flipped, massive crack near BB on carbon frame. Terminal.

That is the price to be paid for using carbon bikes to pick up the bread and milk. Same with motorists using ultra low profile tyres, then complaining about a crack in the road stuffing a tyre and wheel.
If we weren't so intent on looking "Lancish", or "Cadelish", we would be posing around on more practical steel frames.

[drubie]

Got a mate who punctured on his Gatorskin last week.
20km/hr around a bend, flipped, massive crack near BB on carbon frame. Terminal.

Ouch - hope he's OK.

I've certainly felt like smashing stuff when I ran taters but I can't say they ever caused that kind of calamity.

[ving]

What do you all do when you see a patch of glass? With my uber chunky mountian bike mud tyres I just ride through with a smile, but with slicks.......

Do you ride around, and hope there are no stray pieces? Or stop, dismount, pick up bike, walk it around, then when you're three or four kilometers up the road put the bike down and get back on? Or isn't four ks far enough for the magnetism that Taterskins have for glass and debris?

Bunny hop it :p

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk

[johnny99]

After at 4 punctures in under 1000km including the last one which put a terminal cut in the sidewall the gatorskins are gone.
Don't know what I will replace them with but it certainly wont be gatorskins.

[insightt47]

I got 4 punctures in the first week and then i threw them away and went back to my continental gp 4000s were i get about 1 puncture per fortnight.

[bollo]

if you sick of getting flats get yourself a set of these bad boys http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Schwalbe-Marathon-Plus

[Wal42]

Just binned the first set,

So a round up of what's occurred-

Greece went bankrupt,

Anna Bligh got voted out as Qld Premier,

Julie Gillard knifed KRudd in the back (again)'

Most Labour Governments in Oz stink as far as voters are concerned,

Tony Abbott is still a tosser,

Bob Katter is worse than Tony Abbott (any one ever think that that was possible),

Do the Democrats even exist any more?

The Greens appear to have lost their way (can anybody see a repeat of the Democrats coming?),

Greg Inglis is playing good footy at fullback, but not as good as Billy Slater,

The Aussie Cricket team have worked out how to win again,

The Brisbane soccer team won the final again,

The coach & the President at Collingwood aren't really on talking terms,

None of these were caused by the Gatorskins, I managed to get just under 20K out of the first set, zero punctures, zero failures, I'm still alive & in one piece to write this.

Yep worst tyre ever!

[mikesbytes]

LOL, great post Wal

if you sick of getting flats get yourself a set of these bad boys http://www.cellbikes.com.au/Schwalbe-Marathon-Plus

What's the wet weather grip like?

[master6]

Just binned the first set,

So a round up of what's occurred-

Greece went bankrupt,

Anna Bligh got voted out as Qld Premier,

Julie Gillard knifed KRudd in the back (again)'

Most Labour Governments in Oz stink as far as voters are concerned,

Tony Abbott is still a tosser,

Bob Katter is worse than Tony Abbott (any one ever think that that was possible),

Do the Democrats even exist any more?

The Greens appear to have lost their way (can anybody see a repeat of the Democrats coming?),

Greg Inglis is playing good footy at fullback, but not as good as Billy Slater,

The Aussie Cricket team have worked out how to win again,

The Brisbane soccer team won the final again,

The coach & the President at Collingwood aren't really on talking terms,

None of these were caused by the Gatorskins, I managed to get just under 20K out of the first set, zero punctures, zero failures, I'm still alive & in one piece to write this.

Yep worst tyre ever!

Krudd still owes me $950

Juliar is screwing self funded retirees with carbon tax

I'm still on my gatorskins

thankyou Wal

[HLC]

I got hit by a car on the weekend. Both wheels taco'd... Gators still on there holding 110psi each HA HA awesome!

[rpmspinman]

Ive been using gatorskins for the past 250km. Been trying to dodge the glass chards on veloways in SA but sometimes you dont have a choice when glass is everywhere. No punctures yet and when the tire does go over glass, its held up. I tend to check my tires straight away after to make sure all is well.

If these tires give me grief I'll upgrade to GP4000s and see what happens.

[Wal42]

LOL, great post Wal


What's the wet weather grip like?

Sketchy in the wet the first few hundred kms, I think they wax the tyres, like they do M/C tyres, you have to wear it off

I've wiped the new ones down with alcohol & given them a good buffing with some emery paper, hopefully it'll stop that, i had a few moments in the wet the first couple of weeks, doesn't inspire loads of confidence, but they never actually managed to spit me off.

After they've buffed in, slow as a wet week, I had no punctures or cuts, bad in wet over metal man hole covers, otherwise I've had no problems, I am using the dearer kevlar beaded ones, not sure if there's a difference.

I have 2 sets of GP4000s to go on after I wear the current Gators out, will I buy more, unless the 4000's are outstanding, yes.

Or I try to find a few sets of Michelin Krylion Carbons, which I was using before the Gators.

[master6]

Just come home from an 80k ride, having read wal42 report of nearly 20000km just before I went out.

How do you do it Wal?

My current gators have done 7814km, and will be good for a little more, however I am not expecting anything near 20000k. I weigh 80kg, and ride mainly on rural roads with a course bluestone surface, known as "chipseal" down here in Tassie. They spray tar onto the road, then spread bluestone screenings onto the surface and roll it in.

This set of gators have been puncture free, although I have had gator punctures in some of the many previous gators I have used exclusively for training over the last 6 years.

If any one has any of these "worst evah" tyre, send em my way for some correctional training.

[Wal42]

I'm Brisbane, just outside the cbd, I keep the pressures 'right' (120psi rear, 105 front), ride roadside, swerve to miss glass, cans, potholes, wipe the tyres down every night with vinegar (something the old Radioshack mechanics do), get swapped front to rear once a week, the actual figure was just under 19K but close enough, I could have done another 2 weeks on them but was starting to get paranoid about punctures.

The average joe probably isn't as anal about their bikes & gear the way I may be, treat it right & it should look after you.

[HLC]

I'm Brisbane, just outside the cbd, I keep the pressures 'right' (120psi rear, 105 front), ride roadside, swerve to miss glass, cans, potholes, wipe the tyres down every night with vinegar (something the old Radioshack mechanics do), get swapped front to rear once a week, the actual figure was just under 19K but close enough, I could have done another 2 weeks on them but was starting to get paranoid about punctures.

The average joe probably isn't as anal about their bikes & gear the way I may be, treat it right & it should look after you.

I don't even get 19k out of a set of tyres on my car ?!?!?!?!!!?!!! Unreal...

[master6]

I'm Brisbane, just outside the cbd, I keep the pressures 'right' (120psi rear, 105 front), ride roadside, swerve to miss glass, cans, potholes, wipe the tyres down every night with vinegar (something the old Radioshack mechanics do), get swapped front to rear once a week, the actual figure was just under 19K but close enough, I could have done another 2 weeks on them but was starting to get paranoid about punctures.

The average joe probably isn't as anal about their bikes & gear the way I may be, treat it right & it should look after you.

I don't even get 19k out of a set of tyres on my car ?!?!?!?!!!?!!! Unreal...

You need Cooper tyres. I am booked in for a new set of Cooper tyres this week. The existing tyres have done 113000km, and have 2.5 to 3 mm tread left. No wheel balance required since fitting.

What do you get from car tyres Wal?

[Wal42]

Put Toyo tyres on the wagon over 2 years ago, still more than legal, but I don't drive the thing very often, the wifey drives to the rail station & back, so not sure how many k's. I can't believe that you can't get 19K out of a car tyre, maybe you should buy a better quality tyre, the tread depth does vary quite a bit between the cheapies & the big name stuff & yes I know some guys at work run Coopers on their 4wd's, don't know how well they handle in the wet or off road, but they get some monsterous k's from them.

[HLC]

I'm Brisbane, just outside the cbd, I keep the pressures 'right' (120psi rear, 105 front), ride roadside, swerve to miss glass, cans, potholes, wipe the tyres down every night with vinegar (something the old Radioshack mechanics do), get swapped front to rear once a week, the actual figure was just under 19K but close enough, I could have done another 2 weeks on them but was starting to get paranoid about punctures.

The average joe probably isn't as anal about their bikes & gear the way I may be, treat it right & it should look after you.

I don't even get 19k out of a set of tyres on my car ?!?!?!?!!!?!!! Unreal...

You need Cooper tyres. I am booked in for a new set of Cooper tyres this week. The existing tyres have done 113000km, and have 2.5 to 3 mm tread left. No wheel balance required since fitting.

What do you get from car tyres Wal?

I think tyre usage might be relative to the 'weight' of my right foot, and the amount of smiles my heavily modified Rear Wheel Drive Ford gives every time the loud pedal is depressed ha ha and with the front so low and a huge amount if camber dialed in for excellent turn in, fronts don't last much longer! Over the last 6 years I've run Bridgestones, kumho's, Bob Jane Brand, Goodyears, Gemstones and some brand called 'Triangle' ha ha obviously the better brands had better grip (softer compounds) the cheaper harder ones lasted longer, but sacrificed grip....

[drubie]

When did Coopers start making bike tyres?

They make a fine stout, in fact I'm enjoying one right now. Still haven't experienced taterskin levels of punctures with any other tyre.