djb

Clifford, its so long ago maybe I'm not getting the name of the layer right, but I do remember those tires had some sort of protection on them, and I did buy them a few times as they wore out simply because I had had good luck with them and generally wanted tires in good shape before going on a trip, and never carried a spare tire back then, just made sure tires were in great shape.

djb

have worked fine for me in 28s, but I'm light, so put a lot less weight onto a tire than other people.
and of course, it depends so much on how you ride andwhat you run into and over.

CliffordK

I've been experimenting a bit. I like how the "gators" roll, although some of the roadies have complained about them.

I still like my 23/25 mm tires, and just never was happy riding 32mm Protek Cross Max tires. With the one note that the Cross Max tires were one of the most sure-footed tires (on pavement) that I've tried including wet and slushy. Gators can become slick in slick conditions.

I think the Gator Hardshells are a bit longer lasting than the Gatorskins. I'll still get the occasional flat, but not that many.

I did have one sidewall blowout of a nearly new Gator Hardshell. And, it has me very nervous about the tires, but so far that seems to be a fluke.

Over time, the sidewalls on a couple of the Continental tires (different models) have gotten fuzzy. It doesn't seem to have greatly affected the performance of the tires, and I've concluded that the crossing on the sidewalls may well be more cosmetic than functional. One must take care not to rub the tires otherwise one get the fuzz.

djb

I have had something similar happen to my 28 gatorskins, I wouldnt describe it as fuzzy, but twice now little threads have started coming off parallel to the bead, right near the bead.
I think I put photos up here once of it, but dont know where they are now.
Was a bit surprised, and worried a bit, but it never was a problem and on the first tire it did this, the tire was near the end of its life , so Ididnt obssess. Second time it did it a bit earlier, but I just keep riding on the tire and its been fine. Not really sure why I did it both times.

CliffordK

The first time it did it to me, I know exactly what happened. I have a habit of adjusting the valve by squeezing the sides of the tire, then twisting the wheel in a circle, thus dragging the tire around slightly and straightening the valve.

But, my Gator was so tight on the rim, that it didn't budge the tire, and by the time I was done, I had frayed all the threads on my brand new tire.

On other tires, I think it was just age. A year or so of weathering, and the threads just went bad.

I took some photos, I'll look for them later.

As mentioned, my blowout was with a nearly new tire, so something else happened to it. Part of it was inflating it to full pressure during a cool evening, then taking it out for a long hot ride the next day giving me some overpressure, but I don't that was all.

Nonetheless, other than that one blowout, I've either gotten down to the threads (center of tire) with wear on my Continentals, or down to say 1/32 or so of an inch of tread left.

My theory is to some extent, thin tread is not too bad for riding as there is nothing left to hold onto debris.

djb

I'm pretty certain both times has happened on rear tires, and one theory is that as I am a lighter rider, I like to run lower pressures on rough roads, as it is less jarring, easier on the bike, it corners better, and puts less stress into the wheelset etc--what might be happening is that even though I have never had a pinch flat (well, maybe once) the rear tire may be flexing outwards more than usual and when I have more things in my pannier when commuting, it may flex out just that bit more and touch parts of my canti brakes or the pads when hitting a larger hole or whatever.

thats my theory anyway, but again, has never really impacted the tire and has never gotten concerning looking or anything past the odd strand appearing that I eventually snip off at some point if I think of it.

randallr

Echoing the original poster - tires today are fantastic, really, compared to what we ran in our youth.
My wife and I have used Gatorskin Ultra Hardshell kevlar-bead (700 x 32 on my heavily loaded bike, 700 x 28 on her unloaded bike) tires for touring (and I have used them for years commuting), probably have 8000 miles or so on them between the two of us, most of those are my miles. They are not supple tires like any of the Continental Grand Prix line, but I think they're comfortable in the 32mm width. We've had no flats during a ride, I've had a couple of goathead slow leakers in commuting that only show up when the bike sits, so these tires have always delivered me to work on time for years. The commuting has been a tougher test than our touring. My wife used Gatorskins (not hardshell) for a tour or two, maybe 800 miles total. She had a night leaker type of flat on tour, easy to deal with. Never had a pinch flat with these. Very reliable and pretty comfortable. Easy to change after they've been mounted and pressurized. I'm fairly old and my hands are not that strong and I can mount the 32mm ones w/o any tools. I think I need tire levers to get the 28mm ones on when they're new, but not after they've been pressurized and broken in, so to speak.

superpletch

I have been using Schwalbe Marathon Supreme HS469 700x35c for mostly road touring and l use them tubeless. I have had 0 problems and love them.

Rob_E

Used to use Marathon Plus, but then found Vittoria Hypers felt so much better and didn't flat all that much more. I'm also a heavier rider, but I guess I'm good at avoiding the sharp debris.

Now I'm using Almotions, which are pretty good. They probably are closer to Marathon Plusses than they are to the Hypers, in terms of casing feel, but I can run them tubeless, which helps make up for it. In a 26x2.15 tubeless, I haven't found anything else that tempts me as I want to keep the tread minimal. I'm on the lookout, though, because I do think they could be a little more supple. Not sure that flat-protection band is doing me a whole lot of favors, especially when tubeless.

fietsbob

My WTR still had Gator skin reinforced side wall tires in it when I got it used 4 years later,, kept them on there for 2 more

Travel Contact ,, Mine in 559-47 also made in 622 37 & 42.. Touring is what they were made for ... paved and dirt roads,

tread design had so many people offering Id let my knobby wear smooth down the center , I got bored of saying they were designed like that

so I took them off.. put schwalbe on..

mstateglfr 

of you enjoy riding on frozen garden hoses, then gatorskin tires will be perfect for you as they ride how you like and have good protection.

zweitesmal2

I really like the Schwalbe touring line, for longevity and flat resistance, but what is up with the reflex stripes? I cannot stand how they glow at night. I enjoy stealth camping on tour and these things light up like crazy, revealing my carefully selected spot to every passing light source. I'm about to spend the summer on another tour and i'm contemplating actually painting them over, as silly as that sounds. I don't like whitewalls on my truck and don't want them on my bike either.

CliffordK

I'm happy to have extra side visibility on my bike. I have a couple of lights that I think are definitely poorly designed with a lack of side view.

There are, however, plenty of tires without those reflective strips. Continental tires, for example.

I have a couple of reflective strips that appear as if they might just peel off.

If you are really wanting to go stealthy, perhaps camo rip-stop nylon to toss over the bike, or bring it into the tent.

If I'm going to wild camp, hopefully it will be far enough from roads and light sources that it won't be a problem.

robow

For what little it's worth, I keep coming back to foldable Conti Gators in a 28 or 32mm for touring, after stints with many other tires, Vittoria, Schwalbe, etc. Yes, over the years I've had a pair of Gators come apart at the bead (one wire and one Kevlar) making them totally unusable but overall I've been fairly happy with them. Remember, every tire is a compromise and you have to decide which characteristics are most important to you.

ricrunner

I am running Schwalbe Marathon Tour Plus 700 X 35mm on rear and a Sharkskin same size on front, both tyres have been on for almost 3 years, and 10000km, still got a little bit of tread on both. It hasn't all been tarmac, about 50/50 dirt as well. Absolutely no punctures from both. I like the Plus tour's, but they are over $100 dollars here each, the Sharkskin are only $40, so will probably go to them when I need to change. They are Kevlar lined and although on lose gravel over a hard surface are slippery, I just don't want to have punctures. I don't care if they are fast or slow tyres, as with a trailer and dog all tours, it virtually makes no difference.

CliffordK

To each his own.

I'm still hunting for the "perfect tire", but I've ridden narrow tires essentially all my life, since that little 24" 5-speed Gitane flat magnet.

I am now putting on quite a few miles on my bike, and find the Gator Hardshells (25mm) to be long wearing, reasonably flat resistant, and reasonably fast/low rolling effort.

The Gator Hardshells, are, however, slightly on the slick side in certain conditions.

My experiment with Michelin Protek Cross Max tires (32mm) was quite different. Heavy and SLOW. Definitely not fun for those 150+ mile days. But, also very good flat protection (so far). And, I found them to be very sure-footed in adverse conditions including slushy snow. For the thickness of the tread, they seem to be wearing pretty quickly.

Put me on a hard road surface for touring, and I'll go for the Gators.

Perhaps a variation of the Protek tires for gravel or dirt touring, and there are good arguments for them for short distance commuting. But, still, once one gets up to about 50 miles, the lower rolling resistance of the Gator Hardshells is nice.

My next experiment will be with Pirelli Cinturato Velo 700x26C tubeless tires. They have gotten high ratings, but mostly from people gazing at the box.

I was disappointed with hitting a hard rock and flatting my Schwalbe Pro One tires early in my testing. I have one more tire to try... and see how it goes. Maybe during summer months (dealing with tubless flats in the low 30's and rain is a pain).

79pmooney

This post is not an answer, but a question. Has Vittoria incorporated its G+ technology to a good touring weight, size and protection tire? I started riding those G+ tires in 28c on my road bike as soon as I learned about them and am sold. The best compromise between all the factors of a good road tire I have ever ridden. Comfort, speed, grip, lack of surprises in the wet, good wear, fairly good on not picking stuff up, etc.

No, they are not a touring tire. But that technology incorporated into one would be really nice! I paid close to $70 a tire and have bought close to a half dozen over the past 21 months. One or two are into the too many flats age. The rest ride like brand new. So, yes, real cost up-front, but quite reasonable over the long haul.

One of the best features of the Corsa G+ tires I've bougth is the ribbed tread, a throwback of the sewups of the '70s and before. Good rolling and has the unique ability to climb out of cracks and ruts better than any other road tread I have ever ridden. I have zero crashes from ruts and cracks on that tread pattern over many thousands of miles. Climbed back onto the the pavement in a race in pouring rain on slippery dry race sewups thanks to those ribs.

I have no idea what the G+ (graphene) is or how it works. No ties to it or Vittoria. Just a rider who has always like good and good gripping tires and loves this latest real step up. (I know others will follow soon. It is just too good.)

Ben

3speed

^ Personally, I'm unaware of Vittoria making a G+ touring tire. I do Really hope they'll decide to make another light, supple touring tire. The Hyper is such a nice tire. It's the only tire I've ever bought more than once. I usually like to try out different stuff. I ended up with Hypers twice and then bought a backup set shortly after they stopped making them. If they would use the graphene technology(never ridden a G+, but heard good things) to make another light, supple touring tire, I would be throwing my money at them to get a pair.

It seems so weird to me that they stopped the Hyper. I guess they weren't selling enough, but I read regular praise about them. Maybe the touring market just isn't big enough to sell enough tires for their liking.

CliffordK

I've got a set of Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ Tubulars to try out this spring. I'm hoping they'll be fun to try.

I did put about 500 miles on tubulars a bit over a year ago, but not the Vittorias. It will be interesting to try them out.

But, I'm not convinced they are designed for either flat protection or longevity. Everything indicates the tread is awfully thin.

Graphene, of course, is single (or thin) layer graphite, but I agree, it is not clear what it actually does to a tire. Traction? Wear?

I'm trying to think. Vittoria just doesn't seem to be popping up with my browsing for all around tires.

For thick tread tires, I think the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, Michelin Protek Cross Max, and Panaracer Tour Guard are all very similar.

I haven't tried the Maxxis ReFuse yet. Another one to try out. I believe a bit lighter than others.

Hmmm...

I just pulled a Vittoria Rubino Pro off of my bike. 700x23. I picked it up in Salem when I had my Gator Hardshell blowout. The tire did well. Quite a few miles. Some on the rear, a lot on the front. The tread is getting mighty thin. It seemed to get a little bubbly, although I've noticed a couple of tires seem a bit odd as the miles rack up and the tread wears thin.

It does appear as if there is a Vittoria Rubino Pro G+ tire available that I haven't tested, but it might be worth considering.

djb

if any of you havent looked at the thread I made showing some photos of the wear on my Schwalbe Supremes that I have used on my fully loaded bike through about 4500kms of Mexico and Central America , as well as about 1000kms in France and a bit of commuting, it's a pretty good testimony of how these tires have held up for about 6000kms so far, and most likely good for at least a couple more thousand kms.

In it, I show the photos I took last year of them at 3000kms and now at 6000kms. It's a pretty good reference to see the wear pattern over time, and wanted to show some real life experiences and photos as proof of how they worked out.

I didn't know what to expect from them on my latin american trips, which invariably involved running over glass here and there, and there and here, as well as some rough and abrasive tarmac, but it is pretty impressive how they have held up.

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...ly6000kms.html

I don't see why different sizes of Supremes would be any different, although perhaps its fair to say that lower pressures on these 2 inchers might help with impact/cut scenarios, but that's just a guess.

3speed

djb

Yes, it does look very similar doesnt it?
I cant promise no flats, but I still am surprised by how many kms I did in conditions that I pretty much expected flats. Like I said, I didnt have any on the trips, but am aware that there is no magic guarentee on these things--and that personal attentiveness and clearing tires of stuck in bits right away when you know you have ridden over stuff goes a long long way in helping your chances.
And frankly, bad luck can happen and one can not be looking and hit some debris or whatever.....

LeeG

3speed

meyers66