Gatorskin Wire Bead Road Bike Tire

These replaced a set of Bontrager Race something or the others that came stock on my 2011 Trek 7.3 FX. I couldn't tell you the exact model number because I am trying incredibly hard to forget that they even exist. They were possibly the worst tire known to man. I am convinced that they are forged in hellfire by Satan himself and then given an ancient voodoo mummy curse before they are stretched onto the equally treacherous stock Bontrager Nebula wheels(which I just recently replaced with Mavic Kysrium Equipes). I endured the Bontragers for 500 miles before they got swapped for the Contis, which now have 508 miles on them. I figure I have a pretty good grasp of each to make a fair and grounded comparison. On my 31 mile training ride on the Bontragers (pumped to max @70psi I think) I was averaging about 9mph, 10 if I was lucky, and topping out at about 20 to 21mph on downhills with lots of effort. I felt like I was fighting the road to get any kind of forward motion and with every sharp corner I could feel death's cold stare glaring at my back wheel as it skipped precariously across the pavement at low speed. Acceleration was like stirring cold molasses in Antartica and the ride made you feel the road in a really really bad way. Not to mention they would flat out if you breathed on them wrong. With the same size tire (700 x 32c) in the Gatorskins on the exact same ride (pumped to max @101psi) I average 12-13mph easily, I could probably do 14 if I really wanted to feel the burn. Downhill I have cracked it open to 28mph and felt like I still had room to go faster. Uphill climbing performance is extraordinary; I can't believe the rate, power, and speed, I can now conquer hills with. Not to mention I can do 3 mile blasts on flat land at 22mph without even feeling like I am breaking a sweat. Sticks like glue in the corners at high speed even with my big 260+lbs butt creating inertial havoc. I accelerate like a Ferrari from a dead stop, ride like a Mercedes Benz over anything short of a tree stump, and feel as indestructible as a 97 Toyota Land Cruiser. I have ridden over broken glass, through construction sites, and whatever else the Los Angeles city roads/beach bike paths could throw at me in the last 508 miles and only have 1 gash where a REALLY large piece of glass was able to penetrate the rubber but not the Kevlar shank. This truly is an absolutely amazing tire! So amazing that today I bought a set of 23's to replace the 32's because my LBS had a crazy sale on them. I wanted to go to a smaller size anyway. WOW! I am scary fast now. Yet, I feel just as confident and as stable I did on the 32's. On the short ride I was able to get in before I was obligated to do life things I got her up to 27mph on flat land without feeling like I was putting an ounce of effort into it. The 23's took a lot less air to pump to get rock hard and I can run them up to 120psi. I have them at 117psi right now, and they feel fantastic! I can't wait get some distance with these babies. As far as installation is concerned they aren't any harder to stretch on than any other tire I have installed. I have tire levers and that Kool Stop thingy. I got both tires installed, inflated, and mounted in under 10 minutes. Even if they were as painful to put on as some have stated, I think whatever agony they could possibly cause to mount is well worth what you get in return; a truly remarkable tire. For an overall training, commuting, or just plain cruising tire you really can't get any better. These Gatorskins have transformed a decent bike into a stellar ride. I have no doubt in my mind that they will do the same to yours. Happy shopping and mind the directional arrow when you install! UPDATE-I have logged 200 miles on my 700x23c Gatorskins in the past week and all I have to say is WOW! I managed to lob 26+ minutes off of my 31 mile training ride, now average 16 mph over the course of that 31 miles (where before with the 32s it was 13.5), and am quickly becoming one of the fastest riders on the path according to Strava. I can pass most riders with ease and the REALLY fast guys on fancy road bikes I have no problem keeping up and pacing with. That was just after the first long ride on them. My times are incrementally faster every time I get on the path. Amazing! I strapped my old 32c Gatorskins to my girl's Trek 7.3 FX I got her for Xmas. It too came with the same Bontragers mine came with, and the difference is night in day in her performance. Mind you she is fit, small, and light but nowhere near as a conditioned rider as me. Within an instant she noticed a HUGE difference between the tires. She now ride as fast as me (and sometimes faster) where before she was struggling just to stay within a few lengths behind me. She now loves long rides where before they were a physical chore. Most importantly, she feels confident and safe on her new tires. If you have the upgrade bug, forget the expensive crankset, forget the quick shifters and derailleurs, forget the fancy pants wheels. You want a major upgrade that's worth more than every penny you throw at it, buy these tires!!!!! NOW HIT THAT BUY BUTTON!!!!!

I know the Gatorskins have a great reputation. This tire runs with a 110psi which makes it feel very sturdy and reliable along with the great sense of grip I felt while riding. I had one issue with a cut tube but that was my fault. These tires feel very safe and testing them over some loose gravel I felt more confident than with my previous tires. I would definitely recommend these tires to any one who is looking to upgrade to a more road worthy tire.

i've ridden quite a few different brands of tires. This tire is false advertisement. I get a flat every week with these tires. If you are in the market for tires, go with panasonic ribmo tires. I used to have a set and would go skid my fixie on them all day long with not a single flat. My last set i eventually had to get rid of because a small wire in the inside liner of the tire was giving me tiny pin hole flats. Anyways i tried to contact continental about there bogus tire to tell them about how unsatisfied i am with their so called " puncture resistant technology" and i have to go through some crazy form and fill in a captcha and some other nonsense. DON"T BUY THESE TIRES UNLESS YOU ENJOY GETTING STRANDED!! i live in a white suburbia where the roads are pristine, i could only imagine having these tires somewhere where the roads are not nearly as nice.

Both my front and rear gatorskin tires got punctured. Thorns around here go right through. Now they are stuck in there and I can't get them out. EDIT: For those that are wondering these tires were being used on typical streets in Phoenix, AZ. We have some pretty nasty thorns here and these tires were no match for them. Some of the thorns were pretty big, so I can't fault the tires too much as I doubt any tire would have withstood the thorn (Sometimes these thorns make car tires go flat). I commute 10 miles a day and these only lasted a few weeks before they were torn to pieces. I had no issues mounting them on my tire though, some reported they are a tight fit, but with two screw drivers I got them on in a few minutes. They do roll very well and are not too heavy. I didn't really notice the extra weight on my commute. But to be honest there were even some small ones that got through, then broke off in the tire and couldn't see them. When I put a new inner tube on (after pulling out all the thorns I could find) my new inner tube was punctured by a thorn still stuck in there that was pushed further in filled up the inner tube. I really expected more from these tires. If you receive a puncture make sure you double check and get ALL of the things out of the tire or you will be buying new inner tubes.

I want to stress that I am still fairly new to cycling, so please take this review with a grain of salt. I started cycling about two months ago as a means of commuting to and from work and around town, as well as for fun and exercise. I ride a Specialized Tricross Sport. The stock 700 x 32 tires gave it a flexible by slow ride. Purchased these 700 x 25 Gatorskin Wire Bead tires in the hopes of being able to put some more speed. I owned these tires for about two weeks before replacing them all together with another set of folding road tires from a different brand. The Good: - These tires are noticeably faster than my old 700 x 32s because of the lack of tread that would normally slow you down on almost any form of pavement. They are also much lighter, which means you don't have to put in as much effort to accelerate and pick up speed. You will definitely be able to go faster for longer periods on somewhat less effort, especially when coasting. Because of this lack of resistance, this is a great tire for a number of applications - training, light racing, commuting, working out, or just getting around town. - In my two weeks of using these tires for a total of about 200 miles, these tires lived up to their reputation of being durable. Riding in a city, you come across a number of obstructions in the road - pot holes, broken glass, stones, pebbles, sand, deep puddles, uneven pavement, side walks, people, cars, you name it. These tires took quite a beating during my treks. One evening I was riding home from work late after a day of constant rain. The rain had stopped for good but the roads were still very wet. I was a little nervous to be riding home in the dead of night on wet city streets. For the most part, these tires did their job in keeping contact with the pavement; albeit while exercising plenty of caution. I would be careful if you find yourself having to ride through puddles or on wet pavement that happens to be covered in autumn foliage. The Bad: - This is rather subjective, but I learned very quickly that wire bead tires are a terrible pain to mount. The main difficulty is being able to adjust the position of the inner tube if it is caught directly underneath the wire. You have to dismount and remount the tire every time this happens because the wire makes it impossible to even get a peak underneath it all. At the end of my two weeks I discovered a pinch flat one morning. Upon changing the tube and mounting the tire, I had difficulty getting the tube from under the wire. So after struggling to adjust the two for quite some time, I finally started pumping my tire, when it blew at around 50 PSI. Apparently I hadn't done the best job with that adjustment. Later that day, I ran to my local bike shop and bought myself an extra inner tube and a set of folding 700 x 25s. Their assembly was less time consuming and easier than the wire beads. Haven't had any problems at all since. Verdict: I'm giving this product three stars because the tires do the job they are intended to do. However, wire bead tires are not my thing. You may or may not share this opinion as well. Again, with a grain of salt.

I ride fixed in an urban environment and was infuriated with constantly having to deal with small pin-hole flats. I eventually had to start carrying around a flat-repair kit in my bag (patches, tube, levers, mini-pump), which definitely helped in terms of not getting stranded, but it was still a hassle having to take 10-15 minutes out in public fixing a flat or two a week, plus the weight of all the extra kit. After doing some research on puncture-resistant tires and asking around town I finally decided on the Gatorskins and I have to say I love 'em. The day after I put them on I had to do some riding around town and after all the snow we've had recently the roads have been in less than stellar condition. In addition to the ubiquitous threat of broken glass, I also was dealing with tons of gravel, pot-holes, and left over road-salt, conditions where, with my old tires I'd have flatted out no question. The Gatorskins took these conditions like a champ and provided better rolling resistance than my old tires at the same time. I think the real moment that converted me to the Gatorskins was when I came to a stop at an intersection and a second later heard a good sized rock come shooting out from under my tire with a loud "Pyooo!" Just a day before that sound would no doubt have been a quiet, defeated hiss. As I said before, the puncture resistance isn't the only benefit to these tires, they roll great and they stick like glue. If you're trying to pull out long skids these tires are definitely not for you, but if you're trying to get from going to stopped in a hurry then I can't recommend them more. To sum it all up, great tires, they'll handle all the nastiness that torn-up city streets can throw at you, roll with little resistance, and stop on a dime. If you've got the money it'll be hard to find better. EDIT: 1 Year Update. With one year and countless miles of daily riding behind me I never had a single puncture flat with these tires, and that's not for the road's lack of trying. A quick visual inspection shows a slew of pock-marks, gouges, pin-holes and long, deep scratches in the rubber, but not a single thing managed to get through. In fact, the reason I'm updating this is because I'm back to buy another tire, I rode the back one down to the kevlar.

Bike- 2001 Trek 7700FX- Topeak Rack installed with Topeak Bag with Panniers. Primary use- 20 mile round trip commute to work- last 4 miles of return trip home are severely uphill. Replacing 700X35 (old) Bontrager select tires. Wheels- Bontrager Select. Where I ride- Orange County CA. I just changed my terrible (and original to the bike) old Bontrager Select 700X35 tires with these 700X25 Gatorskins. So far so good. The difference is astounding in terms of rolling resistance.I have picked up about 1.5 MPH on the uphills and roughly 2.75 MPH on the flats. So being a bike commuter I am very pleased with this additional efficiency. I should have done this long ago. Need to ride them some more in order to determine the puncture resistance. Will update in one month with that additional data. One note- They were a real pain to install. Brought to local bike shop to install front tire after blowing thru 3 tubes in the install attempt. The bike tech installed the tire in less than 30 seconds, so it's clearly not the tire, it's me. 3/21/13- DURABILITY UPDATE- 250 miles on tires and zero flats and zero concerns. I'm keeping them inflated to 115 pounds. These are really excellent tires for the money IMHO. 12/8/13 DURABILITY UPDATE- I don't know, probably 1500 miles on these tires now- NOT ONE FLAT!! Awesome right? 3/26/14 Durability update- Almost one year to the day the back tire is gone. The belt is showing through in one area, which could be from skidding a little down some steep hills on my commuter route- basically slowing from 35-36 MPH in a short period- skidding occurs. That said, still very pleased, not a SINGLE flat, and got about 2K miles of it. Front tire still OK. Just ordered two more.

I purchased these tires to ride in the Pennsylvania winter and early spring when there's a lot of debris on the road. I like them so much I intend to leave them on year round. Although you could find a lighter tire, these seem to be bomb proof and wear very well. Update 10/30/12: These tires are still going strong after more than 2000 miles. They still look like they have lots of mileage left in them. Zero flat tires so far. Update: 8/15/13 I left them on year round and they are still going strong and no flats!!!! Update 4/23/14 I'm still running these tires. I estimate that I have 4000 miles on them at this point. I did rotate the front tire to the rear and vice versa last year. Update 5/10/14 I finally ordered a new set of these. I have certainly got my money's worth out of the first set. The have many small cuts in the tread, but are still going strong. I just don't want to change a flat. By the way, I never had a flat on this set of tires in the 2 years and 4000 plus miles!!!! Update 8/25/14 I got a flat on my front tire. Thus, I finally replaced both tires with the new ones I purchased in May 2014. I truely believe that I could have kept running the olds ones, but I got my money's worth out of them and don't like the hassles of flats.