Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

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Christine Tham
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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Christine Tham » Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:54 pm

Welcome to the other side, drubie (hugs)
Weekdays: "Bliss" (Trek Madone 5.2 2012) | Weekends: "Cadel" (self built) | Casual: "Kitty" (Giant Cypress LDS 2009)

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby drubie » Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:06 pm

Christine Tham wrote:Welcome to the other side, drubie (hugs)
Aw. You had me at hello!
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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:54 am

Sorry Drubie, I have tried the gatorskins and just cannot get them to perform in the manner you have described. The stubborn things just wont do anything to earn a bad marking.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby peter » Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:51 pm

Are you guys/gals talking about the folding or the rigid version of the Gaterskin?

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Mulger bill » Fri Nov 19, 2010 12:07 am

Folders here Peter.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby nickj_d » Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:26 pm

I had rigid versions and thank god I only ever got 1 flat on them because they were an absolute b#$t@%d to get back onto my rims. I got stuck on the side of the road because i couldn't get the last bit over the rim. Was forced to use tyre levers, and yep - caused another flat in the process.

Changed to folding rubino pro's - no flats, and go straight back on the rim by hand.
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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Nobody » Fri Nov 19, 2010 11:17 pm

nickj_d wrote:I had rigid versions and thank god I only ever got 1 flat on them because they were an absolute b#$t@%d to get back onto my rims. I got stuck on the side of the road because i couldn't get the last bit over the rim. Was forced to use tyre levers, and yep - caused another flat in the process.

Changed to folding rubino pro's - no flats, and go straight back on the rim by hand.
You should be posting this in the other thread. This is for people who think they are a good tyre.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby nickj_d » Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:17 am

Oops. My bad. I did mention that I only got one flat on them though :)
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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:17 pm

Another 90km with the Dome Coffee (Hobart) group this morning, including some nasty material on recent road works. Several other riders on gatorskins too. All performed perfectly.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Nobody » Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:21 pm

I've never had a puncture with my Gators so far.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:11 pm

I did the vets ride at Richmond (Tas) this morning. A wet road, and some minor road works, up and then down Brinktop Hill, all posed no problem for the Gatorskins.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby thomashouseman » Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:37 pm

Got a puncture today in my non-gatorskin wheel. (one of each on my bike at the moment)

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Wed Nov 24, 2010 8:03 pm

thomashouseman wrote:Got a puncture today in my non-gatorskin wheel. (one of each on my bike at the moment)
Sorry, I did not hear you. Can you repeat that please? :D

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby mikesbytes » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:15 pm

master6 wrote:I did the vets ride at Richmond (Tas) this morning. A wet road, and some minor road works, up and then down Brinktop Hill, all posed no problem for the Gatorskins.
While I wouldn't race on them, I'm happy with the wet weather grip of the gatorskin's.
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:39 am

mikesbytes wrote:
master6 wrote:I did the vets ride at Richmond (Tas) this morning. A wet road, and some minor road works, up and then down Brinktop Hill, all posed no problem for the Gatorskins.
While I wouldn't race on them, I'm happy with the wet weather grip of the gatorskin's.
I agree, I use pro3's or gp4000's for racing. I bought my first pair of pro3 lites for the Grafton, but would not dream of training on them.
As a training tyre, the gatorskin is perfect for me.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:41 pm

I ran GP4000s Chilli in the Grafton. I was going to run latex tubes but I blew one pumping my tyres up.

With the Gatorskins, I issue in th4e worst tyre evah is that once they have punctured, the carcass has sharp edges that cause other flats. I have gatorskins on my fixie, but I'm also using tyre liners
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby eucryphia » Thu Nov 25, 2010 9:53 pm

A very good tyre.

As master6 says, pick the glass out regularly because wet roads seem to mobilise any glass stuck in between the rubber and Kevlar belting.

Mine are pretty old now, must be a glass slit every 5mm, maybe that's why I get good grip?

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby ZepinAtor » Sun Nov 28, 2010 12:34 am

All his talk about picking glass & rocks from your tyre regularly ? Does anybody "sweep" their tyre after running through a gravelly shoulder or a p#isspots late night bottle throwing competition ? Gator's are good here in glassvile Brisveagus. No punctures for at least the last 2 years, but I am a fanatical tyre sweeper. Front then rear immediately after running through the offending crap.
Gas propulsion.......it's natural don't fight it.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Comedian » Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:04 am

ZepinAtor wrote:All his talk about picking glass & rocks from your tyre regularly ? Does anybody "sweep" their tyre after running through a gravelly shoulder or a p#isspots late night bottle throwing competition ? Gator's are good here in glassvile Brisveagus. No punctures for at least the last 2 years, but I am a fanatical tyre sweeper. Front then rear immediately after running through the offending crap.
I've read about people doing a weekly check and never bothered. However yesterday I had a good look at the front tyre of my bike and it had two or three little shards of glass trying to work their way through :shock: It will now be a weekly thing for me to do.

Interestingly there were none in the back tyre which is normally more prone to them. The Michelin Pro Optimums I have have differing compounds front to back, with the back having more protection, and the front a softer grippier compound. Looks like it's the front I'll have to watch.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Mulger bill » Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:07 pm

Last time I tried sweeping me tyres I dropped the broom :roll:

I have a look at me Gators whenever I give the bike a service.
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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby ZepinAtor » Tue Nov 30, 2010 11:06 am

Mulger bill wrote:Last time I tried sweeping me tyres I dropped the broom :roll:

I have a look at me Gators whenever I give the bike a service.
I know you're taking the p#ss, but some out there may not have tried or even herd of sweeping their tyres on the run. Basically for the noobs you run the palm of your hand/ finger tips or glove (fingers for me) over the top of the tyre after running over glass or sharp rocks/ road debris on corners. Beware of the rear tyre as you reach down between the seat tube as your hand can get pulled down wedging it & locking up the rear tyre. Only did that once & fell over due to having hand stuck behind in frame. Not good! You do get a very dirty hand so black knicks are good to wipe off the road grime. On occasions I've received a few small cuts from sweeping out glass, but I'd prefer the blood loss than a flat.
Gas propulsion.......it's natural don't fight it.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby master6 » Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:16 pm

Zep, have you seen the old style tyre sweeper from the 60's; a 'wire' bracket that reached accross the brakes, suspending a fine chain, something like bracelet chain, and it just constantly tickled the tyre surface to upset any unwanted passengers about to settle into the tread. Some people tried electrical tape, however I could not see the point in that as very very few tyres run perfectly true, resulting in the tape only touching the high points.
Remember Barry Waddell, famous for winning 5 sun tours , and not puncturing in ANY of them. Apparently he had an uncanny ability to see small items on the road surface. Possibly some good luck too I guess, however we should not overlook our own ability to turn the odds in our favour. Not riding in the roadside apron is one way to minimise punctures. (I know you have to balance safety with this one)

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'Nuff Said....

Postby Quinns Rocks Roadie » Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:28 pm

Image

Eric.
Newer does not automatically mean betterer.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby drubie » Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:55 pm

Now there's LOTS of things that are good about taters according to this thread:

- forces you to develop eagle eyesight to see glass on the road!
- makes you acquire MacGuyver type skills to make tyre sweepers
- adds to your cycling skills by teaching you the essentials of having to hand sweep tyres on the move
- lets you practice your tyre changes... A LOT.

Those of us running inferior tyres never have to learn all this stuff - boy it sucks to be us.

I can now understand why the tater is so cool!
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

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Re: Gatorskin....A VERY GOOD TYRE

Postby Nobody » Tue Nov 30, 2010 4:49 pm

drubie wrote:Now there's LOTS of things that are good about taters according to this thread:

- forces you to develop eagle eyesight to see glass on the road!
- makes you acquire MacGuyver type skills to make tyre sweepers
- adds to your cycling skills by teaching you the essentials of having to hand sweep tyres on the move
- lets you practice your tyre changes... A LOT.

Those of us running inferior tyres never have to learn all this stuff - boy it sucks to be us.

I can now understand why the tater is so cool!
Bored over there on your Tater thread?

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