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

Recently, I rode Continental Gatorskins (700 x 32 with folding bead) on a fully loaded touring bike from San Diego to Boston. About 300 miles of the trip were on crushed limestone bike paths, with a few miles of coarse gravel. The Gatorskins turned out to be an excellent choice. They performed superbly. I started out with a pair of new Gatorskins on the bike, and one new spare. Then I rotated the three tires so that each one had approximately equal wear. During the entire 3,500 mile trip, I had only one flat, which was due to a typical piece of wire from a disintegrated truck tire, picked up on an interstate, in a rain storm. At the end of the trip, all three tires were in good condition, with many miles left in them. The Gatorskins are reasonably light, with good puncture resistance and resistance to cuts. They provide a comfortable ride and good traction. In addition to this tour, I have used the Gatorskins for urban commuting, for years. These tires deliver amazing performance at a reasonable price.

I have put at least 250 miles on them thus far, that I am currently using bike for rehab after injury is keeping miles lower than I would like. Now admittedly I have taken a belts and braces approach to flats following a flat every five miles or so with the stock tyres and tubes that worked fine in California. In mid elevation Aridzona the standard units had not a chance, we have stickers on stickers! So inside my Gatorskins are Flat Attack tubes.

The gators ride smoothly enough for my back, and they roll fast. No flats yet, and I think that their lack of tread is a good thing to keep thorns from finding a cosy place to hide.

Now another thing to add. They work in dirt. Well understand this is within reason. I run 700 X 32 which is a fairly narrow high pressure tyre and as such I do not expect flotation. The sidewalls are thin and flexy and doubtless would be upset at being bashed against ragged lava rocks. They are slick and do not excel at dirt traction. What I am saying is that they are not abyssimal. What I am saying is that on a dirt road, we have many here, they do jut fine at lower speeds such as is are lilely to be ridden by a hybrid bike with no suspension. They are not any worse than the stock tyres in any respect and so while a person seeking dirt needs different rubber on a different bike, should a few miles of decent dirt get between you and your destination ride on!

Still loving my Gators!

And more thanks to Bike Tires Direct!

I have ridden this on a touring bike I use for commuting and a pure road bike I also use for commuting in Washington state (all seasons) and in Guam (only get one season) for the last two years. At 120 miles a week I have never gotten a flat. At 200 pounds and growing, thanks Corona, I'm not exactly a light weight. On one of my first rides on this tire I hit a bottle that exploded cutting my leg with glass. This tire couldn't have cared less. Without these I wouldn't commute here in Guam with all the drivers forcing me off the road where I have run over all manner of things including pieces of brake rotor, wheel weights, broken glass, and even dead animals. Weight isn't my greatest concern. Getting to work on time is. Buy these tires if this is your goal.

I buy all tires for the family so my experiences are more than what I alone acquired. One of my sons moved to an inner city area with lots of glass and started getting flats regularly. Gatorskins solved the problem. One flat in two years. Another son moved to an area with lots of sharp rocks and thorns. He was also plagued with flats. Again, Gatorskins solved the problem. They are impossible to mount with cheap tire irons but that is their only downside. Maybe foldables are easier - I've only used wire bead. At one point I looked around because I thought another efficient tire with similar ratings would be less expensive. Couldn't find anything better than the Continental Gatorskin. This is the longest lasting most flat resistant tire available unless you buy a heavy cumbersome touring tire with a lot of tread. Personally I ride over glass and rocks and only had one flat, even though the tread is squared off. They ride smooth and I've never had a problem on wet surfaces.

Stiff tyre to put on the rim. I found starting at the valve and working around the tyre seemed easier. No snakebite flats because I inflate the tube a little.

I ride mostly road in Calif upper desert, about 75-100 mi per week. Lots of sticker weeds and small sharp rocks like shards of glass. Very resistant to those hazards. Just two days ago I pulled a sticker weed from the sidewall on the front Gatorskin. It was in a ways but no flat when I pulled it out.

I like the little divots to indicate when to replace them. I had a blow out once on the rear Gator. Took it to the shop and it was swapped out for a new one. Conti guarantees their tyre. The tyre was defective.

This site has excellent prices for this tyre. It may weigh a little bit, but I feel more confident on my rides which are sometimes out on lonely deserted paved roads. Very hot, arid climate doesn't seem to affect the rubber.

Replaced worn out Conti Ultra Sport III. Rolling resistance higher than Ultra Sport. Noticed a 1 mph drop in average speed over 10 mile daily course that I ride, but I expected this. Otherwise happy with the tire so far. Seems durable and holds pressure well. Good lateral grip going around corners and cul-de-sacs.

This is the most difficult tire to mount - compared to my experience with other Continental tires previously. it took all of my patience and 30+ minutes per tire to get them on. Extremely stiff and tight tire bead.

Expensive, but time will tell if the durability enhances value. I ride 2000+ miles a year, so I won't know for a while about cost/longevity trade off. I expect it to be good.

i've been riding on these tires... it seems like forever. best road tires out there in a world of choices! i rode 246 days in 2020.... that's another story for another time... great handling, traction,cornering, very few flats. great value for the money, and bike tires direct has the best price retail to the end consumer, so what's not to love. for pure road riding, best tire on the market IMHO..... i've got more at my house than most bike shops have in stock. hurry up and read this and get out there and ride... well what are you waiting for... i'm outta here...

Training rides, city, suburb, good roads but lots of puncture/cut material. Gatorskins roll very nicely and corner well. High pressure makes for fast acceleration. Cuts are not a problem but thorns, metal wire and other hazards will flat your Gatorskins. This is not unusual even with quality tires like those from Continental but kind of refutes Continental's claim that materials and design in Gatorskins give superior protection from flats. In nearly 1000 miles I've had 3 flats, one from a thorn and two from wire shards (like from a wire brush) that worked their way past Gatorskin's "protections'. Overall I recommend Continental Gatorskins despite my luck on the road versus any other rider's luck with road hazards.

As older stubborn cyclist I am reluctant to move to tubeless from tubes, and really why when I run Gatorskins. For me I haven't had any punctures in 2800km with them and I travel on all kinds of surfaces. Not the fastest nor the most comfortable tire, but for me there is no better training tire.

I got these when they went on sale, and I bought more than I needed at the time because they were on sale. The purchase was vetted by years of using these tires. If I put these on my bike (I'm in the Northeast US and I get in about 4-5k miles/season) I don't get flats. Period. If I use other tires (and I did- one season) it doesn't go well. The year I didn't use CGS, I ended up with 7 flats and had to purchase two [cheap] tires. You get what you pay for. I'll be using these Gatorskins again next year. I won't use anything else.

I ride 2-3 times a week on a paved bike trail it is generally closed to traffic. I chose these tires because I need durability and reliability for long rides while training for full distance Iron Man races. Knock on wood, I have yet to have a flat tire while using these tires over the course of three Iron Man training seasons. They are a bit heavier and thicker than standard racing tires, however the durability and reliability are more important to me. Highly recommend !!

Bombproof. No flats for you!!

Yes, they are hard to mount. Yes, they are a little heavy. However, you will not get flats and they ride and grip very well. I am a fan.

I've been using these tires for years, and they never let me down. I'm over 4k miles this season, and they're still in great shape. I'm 5' 10" and 165. They grip the road well and you can count on them on turns. The only thing that might be a bit of a disadvantage is seating the wire-bead tires on my rim-brake Aksium wheels. Other than that, these tires are basically bomb-proof. I've bought other tires and have gone through ridiculous money spent on tubes. As soon as you put these on, you stop shelling out money. TCO is an important factor for me, in this regard. You pay a little more for these tires, but they'll pay off in the long run.

I love this store! I ordered these exact same tires on Amazon and had a flat immediately. In a search for a triathlon suit and I stumbled on the BikeTiresDirect website so I ordered another set of Continental Gatorskin tires from them. Not only was the price better but I immediately saw the difference in product. The Continentals from BikeTiresDirect were made in Germany and the exact tires from Amazon were made in China. The new tires are great! No flats! Thanks For selling quality products.

Continental Gatorskins are your best bang for the buck. They aren't the cheapest but you definitely get loooong life and very good road hazard protection. They are built with a tougher interior to prevent that intrusive thorn or glass bit that may stall the ride. Yet still give an excellent road control and comfort. Two thumbs for these babies!!!

Tough and smooth riding. Perfect for crummy NJ roads

I found that my 23C tires were a bit delicate and unforgiving for daily rides. These Continentals are a bit heavier, but seem durable, and are still very fast. The ride is certainly more comfortable. Very happy with this purchase

After 52,022 miles in 11 years this is the only tire I will ride with. Here in Texas, we have a lot of things that cause flats. Gatorskins have made my rides almost flat free.

This is my go-to tire. I was getting so many flats and now I do not. The tire rolls just fine and I get a lot of miles out of it. I actually prefer the wire bead because to me it is a little easier to change on a tight rim.

These tires are pretty good at flat protection. The problem I have with them is the rubber starts coming off in chunks when there seems to still be quite a few miles left on them. I run them at the max pressure, maybe that is the problem. I don't know. I still like them compared with other tires I have tried.