Continental Gatorskin (26 Inch)

With all the puncture and wear protection, I expected a rough harsh ride from this tire, but was amazed to find otherwise! The tire rolls with ease and has the suppleness of a silk sew-up. I shaved 5 minutes off my commute the first day with these tires over Continental Cross-Countrys that I had ridden for a year and a half. They were comfy, but slow. These Gatorskins give the winged feet of Mercury and even with the reduced air volume, a very comfortable ride.

Please note This review is for the 26 x 1 18 size tires. I have owned 2 other brands of slicks and Gatorskins are the best slicks I've ridden on. They are the only slicks I've found that can be inflated to a maximum of 120 psi,I inflate my tires to 105 psi. If you're considering buying a pair of slicks make sure you also buy a pair of rims strips that are designed to withstand the higher inflation pressure of slicks, inexpensivecheap rubber rim strips will deform and will cause tube splits where the rim strip deforms over the spoke nipple head on the rim. Learn from my mistake and buy rims strips that are a nylon cloth material. Also, true your rims after mounting a set of slicks. Because a person can inflate these tires to a higher pressure than regular street or mountain bike tires a bike will ride rougher if it is a fix frame style bike that has no suspension. I ride a bike that has a suspension seatpost and shock absorbing handle bars so the less tire rebound due to higher tire pressure doesn't affect me. My bike still rides great.

So far I've very happy with them and am surprised how well they perform on ice patches on the rail trail I ride on. I am really pleased with the decrease in rolling resistance of the tires and am able to ride faster plus able to ride more miles in the same amount of time. Gatorskins have the least resistance of the 3 different brands of slicks that I've owned over the years. If you have a computer on your bike make sure you reset the tire diameter on your computer due the possible difference in size compared to your other tires.

best 26in slick tire around, and can be inflated to 120lbs for the road ride

These tires are surprisingly fast given the extra armor (I sometimes use my MTB for the local hammerfests). They roll about as smooth as the 26x1 Ritchey Tom Slick, but they wear much better IMO. I've also rolled right over broken glass at 110 PSI with absolutely no puncture. I'd say the only thing that beats these are the Conti 26x1.x GP4000 for slightly faster rolling.

I am using these tires on both my Rans recumbents Stratus XP and Xstream. The tires are close to slicks with very little tread. I have dropped the Xstream on wet asphalt during a turn at apparently too high a speed. (I didn't think so at the time). They are light, relatively high pressure (110 psi), nice rolling and I am expecting higher mileage with fewer flats. So far, so good, but I have less than 500 miles on either set.

Second day, i have a glass puncture. Not really what I expected

I ride a 2007 recumbent trike and it felt like the wheels were glued down. In Arizona we also have small thorns shed from certain local plants that are EVERYWHERE. The 26 X 1-1/8 Gatorskin, along with two other narrow tires improved my cruising speed about 2 miles an hour. I have not had flats either, even after riding over 100 miles in the last few weeks.

The joy of riding has been restored.

I use this tire on my handcycle, I am in a wheelchair and race marathons in the handcycle division. Theses tires are reliable, light and roll well.

I was using my old hard tail with the 26 fat tires as a commuter. Friends had recommended slicks, but I ignored their advice for a long time. I finally saw the light and asked a friend who is an expert for a recommendation and he said Gatorskins. I read reviews and decided to go for it. It has been such an improvement! The bike feels lighter and easier to maneuver. The tires have great grip and do well in rainy Portland. My only regret is not having made the switch sooner.

I have Continental Gatorskins in the 700x28 size on my tandem and on the rear wheel of my Goldrush long wheelbase recumbent. I purchased these in the 26 inch size for a Specialized mountain bike w Alex rims w disk brakes. I replaced a thin, plastic rim strip with 16 mm Velox rim tape that was a bit thicker. Big mistake! It made the tires nearly impossible to mount. I had to take the wheels to my local bike shop. They mounted one successfully. A different mechanic worked on the second wheel. He replaced the Velox rim tape with an FSA plastic rim strip that was thinner (and cheaper). The tires and tubes are a full pound lighter (each wheel) than the knobby mountain bike tires and tubes they replaced. The bike rides like a road bike now. I'm just afraid if I get a flat, I won't be able to fix it on the road with the plastic Park tire levers that I carry. If you plan on mounting these tires on Alex rims, consider yourself warned that they are extremely difficult to mount.

I use these tires as everyday tires as well as touring tires on my recumbent bikes. I use these 26 x 1-1/8 on two of my recumbents and the 650C size on another recumbent. This size is fairly easy to mount compared to the 650C size. I can do it without using a tire lever. These tires give me about 2500 miles on the rear, and about 4000 miles on the front. It pays to rotate them every thousand, or so. The tread grip is good, wet or dry. I almost never flat from road debris through the tread, but I have blown out several sidewalls on these and the 650C tires. If the sidewalls were stronger I would have given them 5 stars.

Im in Phoenix for the winter and im using 26 in gatorskins because of the thorn issue. last time i used contis, and i believe these flat less. mounting (at least on my rims) i believe would be much easier with a stretched folding version.my bike is and old r.m. altitude with a rigid fork, (all road riding).i really wish schwalbe still made a 26x1 folding slick,the best overall road mtn. tire ive ever used.STELVIO

use it on a single speed bike for commuting.

pros-

fast rolling,

kevlar helps with punctures from goatheads

con-

hit a pothole and blew out. may have been my fault-tire may not have been fully inflated.

I use these tires on my recumbents as rear tires. They are good long-mileage tires with excellent flat protection. I would have given them 5 stars, but I did get irreparable damage to one from hitting a gravel that lacerated the sidewall. I would recommend the tires without hesitation.

I use these for commuting in San Jose, CA. Seasonal hazards include thorns and goatheads, perpetual hazards are drywall screws, glass, and staples. (you know, typical urban flotsam). I think a case could be made that these tires protect from thorns and somewhat from glass, but they aren't perfect. They are good, solid tires, I just don't think they are worth extra money (got a good deal on them on BTD).