Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
 would buy again September 1, 2010
S. Park (california)
not a heavy rider, but road ride about 2-3 times a week... been about 3 months and have yet to get a flat (knock on wood)
A bit slow rolling but no flats in 1000+ miles August 16, 2010
Yeastman (Spokane, WA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've commuted, done all day fast group rides and even raced on these gatorskins. While they're not the fastest rolling tire by any means, and perhaps not the stickiest for bombing around a corner in a technical criterium, they do what they're built to do, and that's prevent flats. In over 1000 miles, they haven't flatted on me yet, and at 180lbs i'm no toothpick Andy Schleck clone. I've nailed one pothole square-on at 18+mph (paceline leaders, point next time!), and ridden over my share of glass and gravel. So far, not even a slow leak.
Speed wise they are not the fastest, however they aren't terrible. They do feel a bit 'squishy' to me; many times i've thought I had flatted but it wasnt the case, simply due to the soft feel of the tires. Given this, they arent ideal race tires - however I have raced road races and criteriums with them and never once thought my tires left me at a disadvantage.
At 1000+ miles i've rotated the tires once and both front & rear are developing flat spots. The wear seems to be good considering the chipseal I often ride on & my weight.
Overall I recommend. If you can afford a 2nd set of tires/wheels for raceday, by all means, do that. But for those of us with one bike & one set of wheels to 'do it all', they're about the best compromise there is between speed and flat resistance.
These are directional tires July 22, 2010
aiyo
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think everyone has pretty much covered all the good things about these tires, so I just want to point out these are marked as "directional tires", not that it may actually make much of the differences since these are not even treated tires, but why not make things right from the beginning when you have the chance, the direction of sign is marked on the red sided lable, not very noticeable.
Also these tires will be very difficult to install when brand new, they are very tight and will hug the rims like nothing else, so make sure you got some good tire levers like the Kool Stop Tire Bead Jack or very strong/thin tire levers.
Gator Skins July 5, 2010
Jim
Fantastic tire that you immediately notice a difference in rolling resistance between the stock 26" mountain bike tires and these.
 Good tire, but sidewalls wear, Watch for bulging tire and replace! July 1, 2010
G. Powell (Seattle, WA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I just finished replacing my rear tire, (with of course another GatorSkin) but the one I replaced had a bulge in it. Upon closer inspection it looked like a bit of fraying of tire cord around the bead. When I deflated the tire and took it off the rim, I could clearly see that this tire was toast. My previous replacement tire (front) had a catastrophic failure of the sidewall causing me to lose control of the bike and crash (fortunately I was able to slow down and escaped serious injury). This time I noticed the bulge and did the inspection and replacement.
Stats: Gear + bike + me = 210 to 220lbs. Daily commuter over paved trails and roads approx 28 miles round trip. This set of tires lasted about 2.5K for the front and 3K for the back. There is plenty of tread left, so don't judge the life of your tires just by tread. Any weird bulging, loose threads around the bead and I highly recommend that you replace the tire.
Pros:
Very good in the rain & wet.
few flats mostly due to tubes which failed on the seam. (I hate the current crop of Chinese tubes, go for India or Germany made Continentals they seem to last much longer)
Lower profile than say the Schwalbe Marathons for the same size tire. You may be able to run a 700x28 Gatorskin vs a 700x25 Marathon.
Con:
Sidewall failures. I think in part it may be due to the extra tough tread which puts a lot of stress on the sidewall. Or it could just be me, and that I'm a heavier than average rider and put a lot of stress on my equipment. I have broken near everything else (frame, crank arms, pedals, rims etc.) over my lifetime of riding
I'm on my second set, and we'll see how these fare before I decide to buy more of them.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 35
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