Continental Gatorskin Wire Bead Bicycle Tire - Clincher, Black, PolyX Breaker, 26", 27", 650 or 700 Sizes

These are great tires. Seems to be of high quality design and construction by a respected manufacturer that knows tires as I also really like Continental car tires too for their performance and long wear at an affordable price. I brought a really nice high performance used bike but got a flat on the really light weight thin tires that were on it and had to walk the 3 miles back to my car. So I wanted to get some highly puncture resistant tires to replace them. I don't mind a little more weight and maybe a little less performance to avoid getting another flat again. These tires mounted well and ride really well as I haven't noticed any bad ride quality or lost in performance. I also went with the wired beaded tire instead of the folding tire as I thought it maybe a little stronger not being all folded up and therefore maybe a little more puncture resistant.

I can finally ride with confidence again. I use three different bikes when I go riding. I have a Trek Dual Sport bike, a Trek Mountain Bike, and a Giant Road Bike. I put these on my Giant Road Bike based off a recommendation from a friend that used to have the same problem as me. My two Trek bikes rarely go flat but then again the tires are lot thicker then my road bike. For some reason, on my Giant Road bike, I was having a lot of bad luck. In the last month before I bought these tires, I had about 6 flats and had to keep replacing my tubes. I even use a tire liner that is supposed to help prevent flats. After only riding a short distance i would get a flat and a couple of the times it happened when I didn't have anyone to pick me up. I really got tired of this happening so I didn't ride my road bike much because I was scared it would get a flat again. So like I said, my friend recommend these tires to me and they have worked out really well so far. I have gone now on four long rides of over 15 miles and no problems. I really feel no difference in regards to roll resistance or anything like that. Maybe if I was into racing I might feel a difference. The tires for me were easy to install. I have basic knowledge when it comes to fixing bicycles and I was able to easily install these tires even though I did get to blisters on my thumbs. These are great tires and I recommend to anyone who needs a great tire and who needs flat protection. Thanks for reading and I hope you find this review helpful!

If difficulty in mounting this tire on a rim is any indication of its toughness, then this tire is the toughest tire in the world. Period. I purchased a set of these tires after I had 4 flat tires in a two week period. I race triathlons in Utah, and two of these flat tires were during an Olympic distance race, which completely ruined my race. So I did a bunch of research on flat-resistant tires, and Continental Gatorskins were in the top 3 choices of most cyclists. Specialized Armadillo's seemed to be rated a bit higher than the Gatorskins, but you can only buy Specialized products from dealers.When I mounted these tires for the first time, I actually broke a tire lever, and required another person to help get the last little bit of tire over the lip of the rim. It was not fun. So when I found out that I punctured the inner tube with the tire lever, I was very pissed-off that I needed to unmount the tire and do it all over again. Here is a life saving tip on these tires: watch the Youtube video on "How to change a Marathon tire". This guy changes a tire similar to a Gatorskin, without tire levers. I used his technique on changing the Gatorskin tire again (I also used some soapy water from time to time) and I was able to change the tire again without any tire levers at all. I was very surprised, and I also did not puncture the inner tube. Just a suggestion.The tires themselves have held up very well over the last month. I have put several hundred miles on them, as well as a triathlon race, and so far no flats. They grip comparable to any other performance tire, and they actually don't weigh too much more than the light high-performance tires. I use these tires in conjunction with Rhinodillo tire liners (see my other review of this product), so hopefully the inner tubes will simply wear out before I encounter another flat tire.I highly recommed these tires based off of the month or so that I have been using them. Continental is a very reputable brand, and the Gatorskin tire has overall gotten positive marks from cyclists on many different forums. Just make sure you take my advice on mounting them. Stay safe on the road.