Continental Gatorskin Road Bike Tire - Folding Bead, PolyX Breaker

There are a few critical pieces of the bike: those that touch the rider and those that touch the road. A catastrophic failure of a bicycle tire can spell serious trouble, especially for those of us who blast down hills, ride close to traffic, or just enjoy riding aggressively. I pedal year-round to and from work just over 18 miles per day on hilly terrain and mixing with traffic on a fixed gear. My bicycle *is* my car. I absolutely depend and put my life into my bike. The tires are arguably one of the most critical pieces that keep you upright and away from spilling on the pavement. For nearly 8 years I've put my money on these tires and I've never been disappointed. I change these tires out about every year to year and a half (I'm about 140lbs) which is when I usually get my first flat. Yep, *first* flat. These tires are bulletproof, yet are a fine balance between weight and flat-free performance. They are slightly heavier than race tires (I haven't weighed them side-by-side, but rather going by perception while pedaling), yet the cornering performance is nearly on par with Conti's race tires (e.g., Grand Pri 4000 chilli's I also ride in the summer). I've come to trust these tires not only on dry pavement, but also in the rain. They are very predictable and instill a sense of trust as you get accustomed to wet riding. I've had several near-spill situations but, believe it or not, I've never gone down on these tires even after 8 years commuting. One time I was turning left out of a driveway and it was near freezing. I hit a patch of ice and my rear tire broke loose, but a moment later it grabbed again after the ice. Scary - yes, but the tire transitioned to grip very nicely and didn't throw me off. Since I'm on a fixie, I have a better sense for feeling the road. There was one time I told my buddy riding behind me that the road is slick, and I took it slowly and really felt the little grip available; he took a spill a moment later. (He wasn't riding a fixie, but I also don't know what tires he was riding. Whatever comes stock on a Cervelo P2 :p .) I very highly recommend purchasing these tires to enjoy good grip in all-weather situations, predictability, puncture-resistance, and a long tire life.

I'm not an avid bicycler, but I do commute to school everyday (16 miles total) in a densely populated, and therefore dirty, area. The winter's arriving so I wanted new tires, andI was also tired of replacing tubes since my other tires weren't thick enough for the urban debris. After all the rave reviews, I thought this tire could possibly save me if I were drowning so I gave it a try. I have replaced tires before, but NOTHING came close to the level of difficulty of putting these tires on the rims. I initially thought I ordered the wrong tire but that wasn't it. It took an hour and a half to successfully wrench the tires onto the rim--deploying sundry metal items as levers since the classic plastic tire levers weren't working--and two busted tubes as I tried to fit them on with the tire and the tire pinched a hole in them from the tight fit. After letting the tires stretch for a while, it still was just as difficult to put the tires on the rim in order to replace the tubes. Nevertheless, the inauspicious beginning ended, and I love the new tires. I, out of necessity, must sometimes ride over garbage and glass, and these tires don't flinch. Rain, no problem. Uneven gravely roads, no worries. Good traction even though it's a simple design. And the best part: Made in Germany. I love German quality (I lived there for a while), and these tires have already proven themselves. However, the winter and ice are yet to come, so I might amend my review in a few months time...

I got these because they were rated high on Amazon. I’ve been using one for my back tire for about a month every day going to and from work. It seems to be a really good quality tire. It feels a little thicker than the standard tire, so I’m sure it’s better at resisting thorns and rocks. I haven’t noticed any compromise of comfort or performance for the extra rubber. Works like a tire should. Likes - Works like a tire should. No issues with comfort or inflation. - Seems to be resisting rocks and thorns better than my previous tire did. On my commute I encounter quite a few little things that can ding my tires, but it seems to be holding up well. I inspected it and only found 1 thorn in the tire, but it’s maintaining its 100-110 PSI, so I say it’s been successful. Dislikes - I’m not sure why, but it came with 2 manufactured cavities (“holes”). I took a picture of them. They littlerally look like 2 perfectly round holes in the tire. They haven’t caused any issues, but not sure why it has them. Overall, seems like a quality tire. For its intended purpose, it seems to be working really well.

These tires came highly recommended by my LBS but they were selling them at $60 a piece! At the price I got on Amazon (mid $30s) make them even more desirable. 250 miles in and so far have not had a flat. I run them on both tires. Ride in and around nyc so theres everything from glass to fallen acorns, nails, you name it. After every ride I'll check my tires and sometimes find a piece of glass stuck in the tire dug in but nit punctured through. It goes to show how durable and puncture resistant these bad boys are. They run smoothly but keep in mind they have a rather high rolling resistance. So it's a good trainer and your weekend long ride but not really for a race or anything if you are going for time.

So I upgraded from a basic cheap stock 27" tire (and wheel) and was immediately impressed with the ride. I ride a vintage Motobecane with a fresh set of 700 wheels that I custom built. Rolling resistance is majorly reduced, wet and dry handling is beyond compare and I have confidence powering thru turns. I have put about 1500 road/city/bike path miles on these and rotated them at 1000 miles just to even the wear. My only gripe is that the sidewalls are super easy to puncture. From rocks to "twigs" I have heard that fateful hissssssssss 4 times already. Fix that up and these are super tires. Beware...the ad shows them as Ultra Gatorskins, not what I received, just the regulars. Oh well, either way these tires rock. Will replace with the same when needed.

Great tires, easy to mount and have a nice ride. As far as puncture resistance they do not necessarily perform any better or worse than others I have owned that I can tell. There are a lot of goat head thorns in my area as well as a decent amount of this small metal debris on the roads for some reason. This pretty much gets into any tire, then tube that I have ever tried. That aside, I would buy these again - they have performed very well in wet conditions as well as on roads where I am climbing and there is a decent amount of slippery sand in the road - not something you want when putting power to the pedals. These tires grab on to the road and I have not felt the slightest bit of slipping. When the time comes I plan to purchase these again - all variables the same, and enjoy many more miles on them!

Ive used more tire brands and models than the average person. Ive worked at bike shops through high school, college and beyond. Ive never used cheap branded tires costing less than $35 each. Ive always used training / race tires for everyday use. I used to think getting a flat is part of having 'fast' equipment. LOL . Not anymore. My racing days are long over and now i commute to work on a regular basis. After getting a flat with high end tires and having a co-worker come and pick me up i decided enough was enough. Living in Arizona flat tires are way of life. I decided to get the best commuting / touring tire out there. I love these tires. Flats are drastically reduced. Ride quality is good enough to commute to work. I honestly cannot tell the difference in this tire and more expensive premium tires.

Recently I bought a new road bike which cames with kenda generic tires. Since I use my bike for going at work I need something reliable on surface that contains glasses and sharp things (which are often difficult to avoid because of traffic and car proximity). It was certainly not the case with the kenda tire... At least 6 flats in 1 month. So I was looking for a anti-flat solution when I read some positive reviews on the Gatorskin tire. In about 2 months I had zero flat and I use the same road ... Also I just put gatorskin on me rear tire and a normal sport continental on front wheel. That works fine for me. The grip is really good on wet surfaces. Nothing wrong with this tire for what I'm doing with. And for [...] bucks... I really feel that is a fair price for the quality. Highly recommanded !

Sono ottimi pneumatici. Li usavo negli USA dove bucavo in continuazione e questi hanno risolto la situazione. Al momento di cambiare quelli della mia fissa in Italia, non ho avuto dubbi.

On ne l'a pas encore utilisé car c'est au cas où mais il semble de bonne qualité.. A voir le jour où il y aura besoin.

Good reliable dependable tires

Genial. Excelente producto. Siempre he tratado de comprar este tipo ya que son garantía de que no existirán fallas durante la rodada larga

Continental has been my go-to bike tyre brand for the last >30 years and more than 200,000 miles as a cyclist. Good balance of price, performance, quality and durability, which is why they get my repeat business.