700C by 25 road tyre suggestions

[Ed no-more-lemons]

Tried the DuranoPlus, and looking for something a bit tougher but not so tough they seriously slow things down!

I am concidering Continental's Gatorskins and am wondering whether the extra twenty five percent cost for the "hardshell" model is money well spent or not.

All feedback welcome

 

[MikeW-71]

Gatorskins are reportedly very tough, 4 Seasons also good but with better grip in the cold and wet. I've not even had any issues with GP4000S.

 

[mcshroom]

Gatorskins won't be as tough as Durano Plus I wouldn't think. In fact I'm not sure there's much that will be.

My 25mm tyre of choice is a Michelin Pro4 Endurance. What's wrong with your duranos?

 

[Wobblers]

Durano plusses are very tough - I've run the 23 mm version on my good bike for the last year (2000 miles-ish) and the little rubber bits at the side are still to wear away. No cuts or visitations of the unwelcome kind either. Schwalbe marathons are tougher - though possibly a little slower. Marathon plusses are very much tougher still, but will almost certainly be slower and will certainly have a very uncomfortable wooden ride.

 

[HLaB]

I run GP4000s 25/23mm for speed in summer for a bit more of a zippier performance and 23mm Pro 4 Endurance in the winter which arent a lot slower and are far more robust. I think my next set of Pro 4 Endurance will be 25mm and if I could only have one set as per a few years ago, the Pro 4 Endurance would be my choice.

 

[Cuchilo]

Im not a fan of gatorskins after about 20 punctures now . I stopped counting after 15

 

[hoski]

Im not a fan of gatorskins after about 20 punctures now . I stopped counting after 15

What distance have you ridden them? I've done about 1500km on a pair of gatorskins, the only puncture being a thorn in the sidewall...

I used to puncture every 2-300km on Rubino Pros on roughly the same routes. Before that I had a set of Marathons which started puncturing every 20km, after taking them off and relegating them to the back of the shed for a few months I eventually took the time to find the tiniest shard of glass embedded in them.

 

[adscrim]

I've got DuranoPlus 25s on my winter bike having moved from Gatorskins and much prefer the Durano. It's worth pointing out that the Gators were 23s so some of the improvement in real will have come from the change in width but I feel the Duranos are grippier, roll better and at the very least are no worse that the Gators in terms of durability - I'd goes as far to say they were better but I've not had any problems with either. When I next buy tyres for that bike, it will be another set of DuranoPlus but after 18 months, it doesn't look like it's going to be any time soon.

 

[JoeyB]

I have Continental Gator Hardshell on my bike. 25 on the front, 23 on the rear. When the rear goes I'll change that to 25.

 

[hoski]

The only thing for me that lets down the Gatorskins is that they do feel like they lose a little grip in the wet. That said they are grippy enough. I don't have the hardshells, but I'm happy with what I do have...

Overall though, I doubt there is any real difference between DuranoPlus and Gatorskins. It's all down to preference and the type of riding you do.

 

[JoeyB]

Ah yes, my tyres are a bit dicky in the wet. I can't even look at drain covers!

 

[BigGee]

Gaterskins are very hard wearing and puncture resistant, I have had them on the bike for two years and 8000 miles (not the same pair) without a puncture and I run 7000 x 25 front and rear. They also give you a very good ride. The main problem is getting them on and off the rims, they are very tight and I have never been able to get them on the rims without using a lever or two. I also just use the normal ones and not the hardshells.

I have just changed to some GP4000's only because I have just got some much better wheels and I just want to see if they really are any faster. I imagine I will go back to the gaterskins next winter as they have proven reliability to me.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

marathon plus if you want something tough.

Goes and hides behind the desk just incase @fossyant is lurking.

 

[PpPete]

Durano Plus not tough enough? Where are you riding?
As an audaxer I do some long mileages - and slow enough that repeated deflations could put me over time limits.
I was using ProRace Endurance 25mm which were good when new, but found that on the back they wore down too quickly so that's a regular Durano now (also 25). DuranoPlus would be overkill for me.
I do know of folks who ride Durano front and DuranoPlus back as a heavy-duty winter combination.
Tougher than that - Marathons.
You won't catch me using anything from Continental. They are just too hard to get on and off - much harder than Michelins or Schwalbes IME

 

[fossyant]

marathon plus if you want something tough.

Goes and hides behind the desk just incase @fossyant is lurking.

Don't believe than man - he's lying He forgot to mention they weigh the same as a small elephant !