Ride in Hawaii over littered roads, either up or downhill with plenty glass, tire wire, pig guts and the occasional discarded virus mask. Mounting them (32s) on Swiss 470ds was nearly impossible (old man in 70s) but so far (400miles) no problem. They do, however, seem taller than wider so I've taken to riding them at lowest pressure. I more concerned with comfort than speed. Hope I never have to find out if, as one reviewer stated, they loosen up with time. As usual, great deal from BTD, and black is beautiful
This is my second set of Gatorskins. My first set lasted 10 years and I ride a lot. I have been a Bike Tires Direct customer for over 10 years. Always returned to BTD as they have great pricing, quick delivery and NO issues. I did recently run into a defective item and reached out to BTD. This (In my opinion) is where the rubber meets the road. Their Customer Service was OUTSTANDING!!!. They immediately responded and promptly sent a replacement. I will note that that the defective item was NOT the fault of BTD and could have happened with any company/product. The manner in which BTD handled this tells you that it puts its customers first. BTD is a pleasure to work with and I will continue to buy from them.
Gatorskins provide excellent protection against a large percentage of flat-causing debris on the road. No tire is perfect, but these really offer everything you could hope for. They may be slightly heavier than optimum, but really aren't that many grams heavier than GP4000s, which are a terrible tire, wear-wise.
I usually get about 2500-2800 mi on rear Gatorskin, and over 6000mi on front tire.
I'm 180# and majority of roads I ride are pretty smooth pavement.
I made the switch to Gatorskins after my first puncture with the tires that came with my TREK Domane. I have never had one issue or puncture with them over thousands of miles of riding. I don't race, I'm a self challenge riders who typically does 2 50 mile rides and 1 70 mile rider per week. I live in Chile and some of the roads I'm o are major-league chip seal with lots of stuff embedded in them and don't get me started on what is on the roadside. All this to say, I LOVE Gatorskins and BTD always has great deals.
-Longevity A+
-Durability A+
The only thing that I don't like about them, is after a little while strings of material from the tire start floating away from the tire. It concerned me at first until I read that Conti's do this. I snip them and keep going. It's just an annoying thing.
I had Gatorskins as my last tire and got 6000 plus miles I replaced the rear with one of these and it was so tight to get over the rim I went through 5 inner tubes over the last 3 weeks. My son had to pick me up 3 times. Something is wrong with the sizing on these.
I had Gatorskins as my last tire and got 6000 plus miles I replaced the rear with one of these and it was so tight to get over the rim I went through 5 inner tubes over the last 3 weeks. My son had to pick me up 3 times. Something is wrong with the sizing on these.
I had purchased the Continental Gatorskin "Black Edition" 700c x 25 tires when they were offered for a sale price from Biketiresdirect. I figured at that price, buy them now for the future. I recently had a chance to sell my older Trek 2300 road bike (that I haven't been riding) to a friend, and I decided to mount the Black Edition tires on the Trek before I sold it for him. It really helped make the bike in like new condition! He was very pleased to see these quality tires on the bike.
I had Gatorskins as my last tire and got 6000 plus miles I replaced the rear with one of these and it was so tight to get over the rim I went through 5 inner tubes over the last 3 weeks. My son had to pick me up 3 times. Something is wrong with the sizing on these.
When I initially mounted the Black Edition Gators on some DT SWISS R460 rims, it was a little tough and required pretty good torque on my levers. After about a month of riding on them, I noticed the directional arrow on the side of the tire was wrong. So here was a good opportunity to correct it and see if the tires had stretched out a bit. Too my surprise, they had definitely loosened up. Now they are not only very easy to get off the rim with my wimpy levers, but I can get them back on with bare hands ! ( Just start putting the 2nd bead of the tire on the rim at 180' opposite of the valve stem and finish at the valve stem).
I have them on my rain bike and they handle very well on Portland's leaf-slop streets.
I've run original gatorskins for years as I do a combination of 40m commutes and long weekend rides. Biggest complaint with originals was sidewalls unraveling before tread wore out. Black edition seems to address that issue, at least has no visible mesh on sidewalls like original.
Beyond that, with about 1K miles, wear is great and ride is about the same (overall good). Seems the tread is less sticky, but just my visual impression - no issues with loss of traction.
When I first got into riding a number of months ago, my friend forwarded me the BikeTiresDirect email regarding this offer. Although my current tires were perfectly fine, I decided the deal was too good to pass up. This week I had a blow out in my rear tire and subsequently changed out to my new Gatorskins previously purchased. I am glad I did. Great price back then and they were easy to install. First ride is today. I am looking forward to it.
40+ years of riding, training & racing, a certified master mechanic since 1978 . I can tell you this much, Try to do better. Performance+ Price+ Durability+ Hand Made in Germany= Value beyond comparison.
These are my go to winter tires for riding in Colorado. The local county here puts gravelsand down over the winters that will shred most other tires. But the Gatorskins stand up and I can normally get 2 winters out of a set, or about 2,500 miles. This year I've kept them on for the summer and have been taking them on gravel roads and dirt, without any puncture issues. I hope they keep making the black limited edition because they look so much better than the standard gator skins. I'm also 6'4 and 195 lbs so I'm on the heavier end of things.
I do a lot of solo riding long distance, and the most debilitating thing about any ride is a mechanical or a puncture. The Gatorskin Blacks are trusted and tested to deliver me to the end goal every time. I've been riding about 1600k a month lately, so I do keep an eye on the road mileage. When the front tire gets a flat, that's when I know it's time to change them out before I do another century. I buy them in advance, so I always have a back up pair or two on hand. Note: Yes - they are heavier than racing tires, but the time I lose in climbing speed, I make up for, by not having to stop for a puncture. So if you change terrain over the course of one ride: glass, gravel, poor road quality, sand, pine needles, city garbage, etc... and you hate to change out a flat (ladies?) This tire is for you. The regular yellow sidewall Gators are also as durable, but the blacks are prettier. ;)
Nothing will mess up your group ride like a rider with a flat and the down time while the tube is replaced. I replace these tires out about every two years of riding (about 6,000 miles). I very rarely flat with these tires. I admit that I am a bit anal when I clean my bike and I do look for and remove glass, metal and rocks from the little cuts it get in the normal course of riding.
just like the "regular" gator skin, best daily tire for riding. just buy them, either/or, been on gator skins since late '80's, incredible pieces of work.....i ride 5-7 days a week 12 months a year, with or without a bike tour. best tire, that is NOT A TOURING TIRE!!! i guess if you carry no gear, and just ride it'll do well for you ... best touring tire is schwalbe...
The continental gator skin tire is my go-to tire for most of the year. Being able to ride in the messier months is a must for me and these tires hold up to some of the worst weather and roads covered in anything from sand to salt.
I have been riding Continental Gatorskins for a decade, all road miles. These tires are very durable. I recently bought the 32mm Black Edition for my Trek Domane+ e-bike. With the extra weight of an e-bike, the Gatorskins have the durability I needed & I liked the all black color. With BTD, I always get a great price -- I've been a customer for years.
