I switched to using these about two years ago and have been very impressed with them ever since. For me they are the perfect balance of puncture resistance, performance and good value for money. Weighing in at only 250grams they won’t slow you down but will help you avoid stopping for flats every ride minutes.
Made by Continental specifically for winter training, these tyres are designed to be robust without being over the top. The bead to bead Duraskin layer protects the tyres side walls while the main contact part is protected by the aramid belt, providing extra puncture resistance.
I’ve noticed more and more riders switching to GatorSkins in the winter time. In fact Wiggle states these are their best selling road tyre here in the UK. They also give good grip in the wet which is great as much of my winter is spent riding on wet, muddy country roads. Their performance is so close to a road tyre that I don’t bother changing them to something else for the summer.
I’ve seen it mentioned a few places that the optimum pressure for these tyres is between 110-120 psi in order to optimize the puncture resistance. THis happens to be the pressure i usually run anyway so this is fine with me.
I’m going to tempt fate massively here but since i switched from Ultra Sport tyres I have seen a massive decrease in the number of flats i have been getting. I’d happily recommend them to anyone.
A Tip From the Top
One downside of these (and all ‘winter tyres’) is that they can be a bit tricky to get back on the rims, particularly that last little bit.I often struggled getting my tyres back on the rims after changing a flat.
A great tip someone showed me one is that when you reach this point where the last bit won’t go on, move one hand to the opposite side of the wheel (to the part where the tyre won’t go over the rim) and push the tyre down inside the rims. This should give you enough slack to get the rest of the tyre inside the rim. Try this next time you’re changing a flat, once you get the hang of it you’ll find you will not need to use excessive pressure or tyre levers to get the tyre back in the rims.
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