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Continental Gator Hardshell 700c Road Tire (Wire Bead)

ContinentalGator Hardshell 700c Road Tire (Wire Bead)(Return to Product Page)

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(228 customer reviews)
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User submitted reviews

Review by 808Biker

Reviewed 8/12/2015
by 808Biker
Cycling Enthusiast
Hawaii
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Awesome Tire! I'm a believer!

I'm a 20 mile round trip commuter and I ride these tires at 110 psi. They are a stiff ride and super hard at first, but once you break them in (roughly 200 miles for me) they are smooth and stick to the ground. A bit on the heavy side but no flats so far, so I can live with the weight! I can ride it through anything without worry. There is evidence of cuts and punctures on both front and rear tires, but no flats to date! I'd buy these again!

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 5/26/2015
by Anonymous
Upstate NY
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Great tire for training

Just bought 2nd set of Gator Skins, friend recommended the first set as I was changing my second flat on a ride 3 years ago. Big guys these are great tires for us, I am 210 and ride hard on country roads, first set of gators kind lasted 3 years w no flat!! A little more money but a lot for confident w my Gators!!

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Craig Van Valkenburg

Reviewed 5/7/2015
by Craig Van Valkenburg
Auburn Alabama and in Florida
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Best training and robaix tire made

I used these tires in the Rouge Robaix in south Louisiana for 106 miles, partly off road, and then road 5000 miles of training. Best tire made. I had one flat the whole time. A large piece of glass made its way in. Craig Van Valkenburg

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by guam38

Reviewed 9/3/2020
by guam38
Daily Commuter
Northwestern PA
Value Rating
Overall Rating
1 of 3 customers found this review helpful.
Steer clear of these - Continental Gator Hardshell 700C Road Tire (Wire Bead)

I should have taken heed of previous reviews emphasizing that these hardshells are impossible to mount. I assumed that the reviewers simply didn't have enough experience in changing hardshell cases...wrong assumption. I have been an avid road cyclist for 20+ years and have changed hundreds of tire tubes, and these Continental Gator Hardshell 700c road tires are the worst I have ever encountered. I broke 4 tire levers and ruined 3 tubes trying to mount these; they clearly were not worth the discounted price that I paid for them. And no, I am not riding on them...they went in the trash.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by zephyr451

Reviewed 4/27/2015
by zephyr451
Cycling Enthusiast
Seattle, WA
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Long Lived durable tire.

It's not a light tire by any stretch of the imagination, but for me it has been very flat resistant. I use it for winter training rides and commuting..used are ones where I really don't want to flat. The performance of the tire wt conditions is as good as the 4000 s.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 4/30/2015
by Anonymous
Birmingham Alabama
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Great tires at a very good price

I already knew these are excellent tires because my wife has them on her bike. The price here at biketiresdirect can't be beat and the quick delivery made for a great shopping experience.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 4/20/2015
by Anonymous
Cycling Enthusiast
Arlington TX
Value Rating
Overall Rating
0 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
Purchased these tires based on other rider's experience with them

Tires are doing well so far.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Howie

Reviewed 4/11/2015
by Howie
Cycling Enthusiast
Park City, UT
Value Rating
Overall Rating
4 of 4 customers found this review helpful.
I like these tires - I ride a lot of tough roads, wet, sandy,rocky, chip-sealed, roads w cracks and with seasonal thorns, all good with Gatroskins!

Riding on Gator Hardshell tires...

I like to ride on all kind of surfaces without to much worry of puncture. For three riding seasons I have been running the tires on my bike and my wife's bike. We ride three to four times a week and we do a number of centuries each year.

The tires roll well enough that I can easily keep up with many pace-lines. And I continue to build confidence in the tires each time I am passing another rider with a puncture.

I do my best to wear-out a set of tires in one riding season (rotating fore and aft for even wear), to avoiding watching the tires dry-out during our non-riding winter months in Utah. Drying out, cracking and the fraying side-wall-strings are my only complaints - the tires do seem to age quickly.

However, I have no problem buying another set of Gatorskins in the near future.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by McCranker

Reviewed 4/7/2015
by McCranker
Cycling Enthusiast
Palos Verdes, CA
Value Rating
Overall Rating
Good training and rough road tire

Have been riding these a couple of months now on rough country roads (lots of goat heads), through parts of LA (ie. crappy roads), and a century on the central coast without any flats or other problems.

They feel harder than my previous tires, which were Specialized Roubaix Pros, and run them at less pressure than those. The Speci's I ran at 110, and the Conti's at 105. These have less tread than the Roubaix, but I don't feel the difference. However, on downhills along my normal route, my GPS has showed a 2mph gain in speed consistently. Nothing scientific there, but found it interesting as usually ride the downhill with the same perceived effort.

I bought them as they were on sale and read a lot of positive reviews. Been happy with them as well!

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Prorefb

Reviewed 3/23/2015
by Prorefb
San Fernando Valley
Value Rating
Overall Rating
2 of 4 customers found this review helpful.
Fair flat protection

Bought pair for my wife's bike and a pair for my bike . First ride 15 miles out and a big fat flat ! Yep a shard of glass got my rear gator . Have put about 250 miles since the first flat and all seems good.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by UB59

Reviewed 3/26/2015
by UB59
Cycling Enthusiast
Huntington Beach
Value Rating
Overall Rating
2 of 2 customers found this review helpful.
Best tires in the world -rarely get flats

I ride double centuries and can't afford to lose time to flats . I see some people on these rides getting multiple flats 5 to eight a ride sometimes . All I can say is I rarely get a flat but avoiding the trash & glass on the road helps . I have ridden close to 4000 miles on these tires without a flat many times .

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by dmc360

Reviewed 3/27/2015
by dmc360
Cycling Enthusiast
Los Osos, CA
Value Rating
Overall Rating
1 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
Looking for a ride for riding every day and not worrying about flats.

This is a tire that I can count on to give me a worry free ride. Riding the central coast of California, Cayucos to San Luis Obispo and nearby road on find a lot of different road conditions, these tires handle them all.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Dain

Reviewed 3/23/2015
by Dain
Arizona
Value Rating
Overall Rating
0 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
Best tire I have ever owned

I ride on some pretty bad roads and these tires hold very good compared to other hard case tires I have tried.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by MinasV

Reviewed 3/21/2015
by MinasV
Cycling Enthusiast
Mostly France and Italy
Value Rating
Overall Rating
1 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
Impressed by the complimentary comments, but at what pressure?

I have read a lot of complimentary comments on this site about the Gator Hardshell tires and I am thank full to all. However I noticed to my disappointment that all the comments except one do not mention the performance of the tire as a function of its inflation pressure which is fundamental. A tire which is inflated at its recommended pressure will suffer different behavior against puncture than a tire which is inflated at its maximum, just as a tire at its maximum inflation will ride faster (easier) than one which is inflated at its recommended pressure which is lower. Of course there is a tendency to use the maximum pressure to improve functional performance and thus it would be very useful if posted comments also offer the pressure in their judgement. Thank you.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 2/2/2015
by Anonymous
Cycling Enthusiast
Denver, CO
Value Rating
Overall Rating
4 of 5 customers found this review helpful.
Seems to work fine.

I have used the Gatorskin tires for the past year and thought I would get even more flat protection from the Hardshells. The Hardshells don't seem much heavier than the Gatorskins, at least that I have noticed while riding. They ride well going straight, but I'm not entirely comfortable with their cornering. Then, after only six rides, I was victimized by a goat head. Surprised that I got a flat.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Skycount

Reviewed 1/22/2015
by Skycount
Competitive Racer
New Jersey
Value Rating
Overall Rating
3 of 3 customers found this review helpful.
Best training tire ever

Long wearing and puncture resistant. Ideal for training.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by NeedlesPeak

Reviewed 1/15/2015
by NeedlesPeak
Competitive Racer
Morgan, Ut
Value Rating
Overall Rating
5 of 6 customers found this review helpful.
Very good training tire

I have rotated through a lot of Hardshells and UltraGatorSkins, and get just about the same amount of miles out of each. Not killer for wet conditions and does not corner all that well, but will stand up to glass and debris very well. It can be defeated by radial tire wire and goats heads if they are not spotted and removed. I can usually get between 3-5k miles out of a set. The sidewalls are subject to wear and will look ratty after awhile, but I've not know them to cause any problems. Side punctures have ruined a couple of the tires, but I've gotten home by inserting an emergency plastic patch to the inside of the tire. When you start getting flats its an indication that the tire has had it, also if the cord is showing. Pick these up when they go on sale, your riding buddies will start doing the same...

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 11/28/2014
by Anonymous
Cycling Enthusiast
South Texas
Value Rating
Overall Rating
4 of 7 customers found this review helpful.
No flats so far and tire rides great

I'm not a racer so the lack of grip that others have mentioned has not been an issue so far

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 11/6/2014
by Anonymous
Competitive Racer
Sonoran Desert
Value Rating
Overall Rating
6 of 6 customers found this review helpful.
Great tire!

I use this as a training tire, with mileage ranging from 200 - 350week in the southwestern US. Roads have lots of puncture-inducing debris including cactus, glass, sharp rocks, and all manner of metal shrapnel. No flats in two months, which is a record for me. The tire is a bit heavier than the Gatorskin, and while I am still undecided as to whether the extra costweight of the Hardshell is worthwhile (as compared to the Gatorskin) thus far I am very pleased with the tire.

Thank you for your feedback.

Review by Anonymous

Reviewed 10/30/2014
by Anonymous
Chicago, IL
Value Rating
Overall Rating
1 of 1 customers found this review helpful.
Great Performing Tire for Commuting in City

Using the tire for daily commuting tofrom work. I purchased the 28mm so it would be a little softer and hopefully tougher with rough roads and potholes. I think that paid off. These are comfy to ride and feel great. They're not light but I got them hoping that they were tough against puncures and mostly glass. So far they are functioning well after 6-8 con mutes.

Thank you for your feedback.

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