in celebration of contis ultra gator skins

[Tynan]

gators to M+ is an awful long way, theres lots of tyres in between

 

[swee'pea99]

such as...? (ie, psssss resistant but not weighing a ton)

 

[Tynan]

I'm no expert at all but I consider gators to be very easily cut and punctured

And M+ to be heavy, expensive tyres made to be flat proof above all things

I use Luganos, they're cheap, £10, and are fine for me, yes I get the odd flat tyre but that's the trade of for cost and speed i suppose, almost every non race tyre has some level of puncture protection these days surely, it's merely a question of how much you want to pay and how much you want to compromise speed I'd have thought

plus grip in the wet, wear etc etc

 

[skwerl]

from the variations in rating I can only imagine quality control issues or they're not at all good for different riding styles

or bad luck. you may have hit some diesel, etc. two observations and 200 miles isn't really enough evidence to rate one way or the other.

 

[John the Monkey]

or bad luck. you may have hit some diesel, etc. two observations and 200 miles isn't really enough evidence to rate one way or the other.

I rode mine since June of 2008 (changed to new tyres on 23rd March this year) - I'd agree with Tynan's assessment of handling in the wet, having ridden them for at least 2,500 miles. The tyres did every commute (approx 27 mile round trip) and some 30-35 mile weekend rides.

The tread does seem slightly prone to cutting, but I found it rare for anything to penetrate further into the tyre (generally when I did get p*s, it seemed to be small pieces of glass &c that had had time to work their way into the tyre over time).

The outstanding quality of these tyres for me was the tread life - they really do last a very long time.

 

[stephenb]

had 3 p*******s in only 300 odd miles on mine (central london commute), 2 decent sized thorns dunno about the other one despite running them at 100psi. switching back to GP 4000s - did LeJog on my last set, only P*******d 500yds from JoG

 

[gbb]

I've run gators for 5 or 6 years on three different bikes and love them, but i do sometimes wonder if they're not what they were.
But the fact is, you can't say one is definitively better than the other. If you punctured on a Gator, who says those EXACT conditions wouldnt have punctured a M+ for instance. Luck is so much an issue that you can't really compare. I've run for a year plus without a puncture with Gators, then got two in quick succession. That's bad luck.
Then looking from the other side, ive had two that have cut up quickly. A bit dissapointing when it happens, but then you sacrifice rolling resistance with heavier tyres. Personally, i find Gators quick and i like that.

Riding in the wet ?...i've covered maybe 8 to 10,000 miles on Gators...yes they have slipped in the wet (once alarmingly)...but only 2 or 3 times in all that mileage. As Skwerl says...maybe it was a patch of diesel. It always happens on bends...the very place you could get a diesel spill.

Are Gators THE best for puncture resistance..probably not, but they are fast.
I guess anyone should ask themselves, do you want a fast, light, reasonably well protected tyre...if so buy Gators.
Or do you want (alledgedly) better puncture protection, but sacrifice speed and weight...then buy a different brand.

Personally, i like gators, and will stick with them.