PastorJim

Ride side roads and run over lots of trash - Such is my town.
Time for new tires on my Trek. I'm going to go with Gatorskin.
Question One: Continental Gatorskin 700c Road Tire 1) Folding OR 2) wirebead.
Question Two: 700c x 23 OR 700c x 25 (currently 23) think of switching to 25.
Also new tubes I'm thinking Vittoria Lite Road Bicycle Inner Tubes 700x18-23C (is that okay on the 700c x25 tire)?
Currently use Michelin Pro 4 Endurance - Not too many flats but good grip.
I'm hoping to cut down on flat but keep good grip to roads.
Any help is appreciated.

bikemig 

Go fat, 700 x 25c; nothing wrong with conti gatorskins. I prefer the folding for the weight savings (which I expect isn't a lot but what the heck I can always find an excuse for getting dropped on a ride)

tyrion

I haven't used this one but I've used many Schwalbe tires and this one is rated as possibly the most puncture resistant:

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...hon_Plus_HS440

595 grams for a 25mm - it better have some extreme protection.

ramzilla

Go to Niagra Cycle web site. They have a special category for "thorn proof" tubes. These tubes are heavy. Not recommended for racing speed. But, I've got them on all my road bikes. Flats are very rare now.

RonH

I had the same problem when I lived in Atlanta. I rode thru "war zone" areas most days. The best tires I found were (and still are) Continental GP 4000s and GP 4-Season. I switched from 700x23 to 700x25 and never looked back.

Maelochs

Someone else's.

Steve B.

I've got years on Conti Grand Prix 4 Season's

I went 2 years without a flat, while commuting.

BikeLite

go fat, go tubeless

raceboy

Gator skins are great for rugged durability. In my experience, they are pretty skittery in adverse weather or if there is a little sand. I don't ride fast enough to really push their grip in corners but I imagine they don't deliver ultimate handling.

Scraper

Gatorskins 25mm, doesn't matter re folding, might get a wider tube but you probably could get away with the 23. Take a look at chain reaction cycles or Merlin for good prices.

Jarrett2

I ride on horrible roads and have flatted GP4000's, Specialized Roubaix, Armadillo Elites, etc. I got a side wall cut on my Gatorskins.

Since then, I've switched to Gator Hardshell 25mm and I can't flat those things. They ride like crap compared to the GP4000's, but knock on wood, they never flat. I just change them every 4,000 miles or so as a matter of habit.

I wonder if a 28mm 4Season or GP4000 would have similar flat protection, but ride better?

Timequake

Ha! 25mm is not a fat tire by any stretch of the imagination.

PastorJim

I'm leaning toward the Gatorskins, though a little concerned of their grip on wet roads. My Michelin's seem to grip really good and while they didn't get flat's often I'm trying to even make it less since conditions don't allow me to avoid trash build up on the sides of the roads around hear (Northeast Texas).

PastorJim

Conti's were my other consideration.

PastorJim

Wet roads maybe 10 rides a year, but a little sand every ride and ride on small gravel most rides, I'm hoping Gatorskin will handle that okay especially with 700 x 25.

raceboy

Just be aware and they'll be fine. I skidded down on my side once when I hit a bit of sand in a corner at low speed. Now I just watch it. The roads are mostly nice by me but the Gators have gone over 4000 miles with no flats on my hybrid!! I
had one on the back of my road bike and it had a few problems. Good luck!

bikemig 

The OP is deciding between 23 and 25; the wider tire is a better choice I think. Personally I run 28c and 32c on my road bikes.

PastorJim

I hope to move back to Atlanta area someday (last lived there into early 2015).
Used to ride Silver Comet Trail - It's great.
Now I ride roads with trash, or country roads with dogs chasing me.

And Praise the Lord for His mercy!

oldschool56

I went from the 23 Bontrager tire that came with my bike to the 25 Gatorskin and in addition to the greatly improved flat resistance am enjoying a much softer ride.

GlennR

I have Bontrager AW2 TLR Hardcase on my "winter" bike and I can tell you i've put 1000 miles on them since Thanksgivings and not a single problem. Tires are 32mm but they make them in 24/26/28/32 and are tubeless.

Road conditions are terrible with lots of debris on the shoulders including sand, salt, rocks, loose asphalt, glass, bits of metal, sticks, thorns and more.

Handling is nice in the rain and dry and i'm very happy with them. Once the rain and street sweepers cleanup the roads i'll be out on my road bike with 25mm Conti GP4000SII.

Cougrrcj

I had pondered this very question last year when asking about tires for riding in Arizona... Out there where it doesn't rain or snow, people tend to wear their car tires down to the steel belts. As a result, there are LOTS of sharp fine wires on the shoulders that never get washed away by rains. Lots of broken beer bottles. Lots of thorns and cactus spines, too!

Last fall, Nashbar was having a closeout on Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech III in 23, 25 and 28mm. I believe they still have some 23s left... 150tpi, and a protective belt. I bought pairs of 25s and 28s. I put the 28s on my '86 Miyata 710, and rode almost 200 miles in five days (in between visiting family out there, which was my primary reason for going!). Nary a problem.



Oh, and as an 'old school' rider, I used a set of vintage Tire Savers for additional insurance.




When I put the new tires/tubes on, I found out why the bike rode so rough with the old set -- somebody had one of those VERY HEAVY and thick puncture resistant tubes in there that weighed more than the new tire/tube combined - no wonder it rode like a brick!

canklecat

If you can go 700x28 that's the narrowest Michelin offers in their Protek Urban. Michelin claims it's the same rubber compound as the Pro 4 plus an Aramid puncture shield and mostly-slick tread with some sipes. At 460 gm it'll be quite a bit heavier than most skinny road tires.

I've been really impressed with the puncture resistance of the Aramid fabric shield in the Michelin Protek Cross Max (700x40). Very heavy tires at 1,100 gm, but while broken glass and other debris have slashed the tread down to the yellow Aramid shield nothing has penetrated to cause a puncture flat.

I also know several local folks who ride Freedom ThickSlick skinny tires. They seem satisfied with 'em, although I don't know whether they'd consider those tires sluggish or smooth rolling compared with other puncture resistant tires. We usually meet up only for casual pace group rides, around 12-16 mph.

Korina

Specialized Hemisphere Armadillos; I ride through so much crap, including broken glass and broken pavement, and not one flat.

gsindela

Great info hear that may help you...
Road Bike Tires Rolling Resistance Reviews

ClydeTim

One year (2005 ?) I placed and old school armadillo 700 x 25 on my roadie. I was training for a timed even ride through the mountains (100 miles/10,000 ft of gain).

That Armadillo was so stiff and thick, it would stand up in the middle of the room on it's own like a car tire (that's a joke for you literal types). That thing was so tough, I did 5,000 miles on it, not one flat. I rode it till the rubber was gone and a red band showing through the entire outer circumference of the tire. NEVER A FLAT. I ended up removing it because it got really ugly looking but I did it as an experiment to see how tough the tire was.

I've heard newer Armadillos (race models) aren't as tough but I haven't tried one myself.

I used that tough tire for training, it was a bit hesititant feeling but that was cool. All my training was done on that tire then a couple weeks before the event, I placed a ContiGP on the bike and it felt like riding on a cloud compared to the Armadillo.

A bit slower feeling but it was training. Race day was a different story!