52telecaster

The Maserati I have been fooling with has less clearance the most bikes I ride and it came with a set of old 25mm gatorskins. It's a blast to ride but I thought possible fenders and nicer tires might make it more versatile. My son had a set of gk slick 622-26 he wanted me to try and they are quite nice. These were gently used when I got them and right now the fenders are zip tied at the stays as I wait for quick release adapter washers but this is a cool experiment. The difference in ride between the 25mm gatorskins and 26mm gks is really quite large.

Spaghetti Legs 

I’m sure some of your ride difference is simply that of newer tire vs older but I also agree, in my experience the Gravel King is definitely a nicer ride quality tire compared to the Gatorskin.

52telecaster

The gatorskins are older but they are still pretty stiff. It looks like they might last forever.

Classtime 

I got some 26mm GK Slicks for my Ironman to use at EroicaCA and agree they are more comfortable than I remember 25mm Gatorskins. However if I don't intend to spend considerable time on gravel, I would not use either tire as I find GP4000s to last as long and ride nicer.

bamboobike4

Gatorskins are a lot like the old military combat boots. Terrible footwear for any purpose, but hard to kill.
Gravel Kings are a lot like they issued us for Desert Storm and thereafter. Damn good boots.

Classtime 

but still they are boots

52telecaster

As opposed to sewups eh?

tricky 

Or GP5Ks or any other fancier tire.

I rode some earlier gravelking 32c tires for a while and wasn't impressed with their flat performance. I got two flats over a few month period where I hadn't gotten a flat in years riding the same surfaces. Just an anecdote from some random guy on the internet, ymmv. Google search results showed similar experiences at the time. Thankfully I think the newer versions have some sort of flat protection belt. GKs also weren't very light. I splurged on some fancier tiers to replace my GKs, but if I was going back to "combat boots" I would try out some Paselas instead. Haven't tried those before, but everyone seems to love them and the price is great.

52telecaster

The gks are lighter than paselas in the same format and I have heard a bunch a flat stories too. I run a lot of paselas. They are excellent tires to me. I had never ridden gatorskins before and while these are old I just didn't care for the experience. Not having flats though is a very good thing.

fishboat

GP5Ks v GK Slicks.. higher end tires offer improved performance..with due respect, hardly a news flash. I see this a lot with with discussing mtb street slicks and someone always comes in with "..but Rat Trap Pass tires are far better..". Given the price of RTP tires, I hope they are better..they really should be.

Lest anyone think the GK slicks are terribly flat-prone, between my GF and myself we run GK slicks on 7 different bikes (road and light gravel, 28mm to 38mm widths). In the last last three years we've had just one flat. With any tire, where you ride, what you ride on, and particularly thepressure you ride impacts getting flats. Some have good luck with certain tires, others don't.

Not looking for a protracted discussion..just someone else's experience with GK tires. They offer pretty darn good performance for a moderate price. There's lots of tires out there, buy whatever floats your boat.

52telecaster

My lucks been good too and on the wider sizes you can go with additional flat protection on the gks. Price point is always an issue for me. Love that your gf rides! Mine too.

ThermionicScott 

I dunno if I'd compare Paselas to combat boots. Maybe Keds.

52telecaster

How about new balance? It's what old men like me wear.

ThermionicScott 

Yeah, or maybe those Sauconys I wore in high school. They didn't stay new-looking for very long, but they were comfortable while they lasted.

52telecaster

And this is why I ride Panasonic tires.

The Golden Boy 

I've still got my old jungle boots that I was issued in 1988- they were my field boots in Panama and were the boots that I wore in Saudi Arabia until the eve of the ground war in Desert Storm. They're pretty chewed up- in really bad shape, but they're still my lawn mowing boots. I still have one pair of the 2 pairs of the original desert boots I was issued. A few years ago I got a set of AR671 compliant boots- I actually preferred the old boots. But last year I got a set of AR671 compliant Garment T8 NFS boots. Holy crap those are great boots. They weigh about as much as a set of running shoes, and outrageously comfortable, more ankle support than old boots- just generally all around really effing good boots.

My old jungle boots-
Jungle Boots by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


The Garmont T8 NFS. There's another version with a different (thicker) sole and no drain holes as well. These are as light as a pair of running shoes. I should get a pic of mine.

I'm a boot enthusiast.