October 2020 Goat Head Thread
It's October again, historically THE worst month for me, for goat head flats. Got 3 flats in 40 miles, last time I was out. I find this to be unacceptable, since few things in cycling (other than crashing or getting hit) are worse that fixing a flat (or 3) by the side of the road, as busy traffic buzzes past.
Are there any suggestions from other people in goat head country, other than the usual "Get Gatorskins!"? I know Panaracer has been working on some anti-flat compounds, and maybe Continental finally came out with something that works. GP 4000's and 5000's are probably the worst goat head magnets I know of. That soft sticky compound that corners so well, really attracts a lot of thorns. I will only ride them on certain roads this time of year, roads that have few to zero thorns.
What I have been using with OK success are Gravel King file treads, in 32 mm, pumped up really hard. They seem to give acceptable performance for me, and the sidewalls are thicker and much more resistant to goat heads, and don't attract anywhere near as many as the Contis do.