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Now retired but busy still living..

Saturday 19 January 2019

Gatorskin Problem.......

For the past ten years or so I have been using Continental Gatorskin tyres on my training bike the Tifosi.....
I have found that they have a long life and that the puncture protection has been first class......
They are not the most exciting tyres to ride on as they don't give too much feedback but as the tyres are used mainly during the winter that is not much of a problem......
During my winter training rides one of the most important features that I look for in a tyre is their ability to reduce the chance of me getting a puncture and in that area the Gatorskins have proved to be superb....
Let's face it the last thing you want while out on a ride in not the best of conditions is to be stood at the side of the road repairing a puncture.

Anyway I was a bit surprised to find following a recent ride that the Kevlar mesh tyre wall protection was coming away in several places around the front tyre.....Checkout the image at the top of this post...

Looking on the internet this is something that other riders have experienced as well although this is the first time it has happened to any of my tyres.....
Although the tread area of the tyre was still very good I bought a new tyre to replace it..... I always like to ride with good tyres and I also took the opportunity to replace the inner tube as well....

I would be interested to hear from other Gatorskin users of their experiences regarding the tyres...






2 comments:

Dave said...

I know many who use gatorskins but I haven't heard of this happening. Gatorskins or Swalbe seems to be the tyres that many of our club members use. I prefer Swalbe Marathon Plus because of the tread pattern and puncture protection. I started using them about 15 years ago when I commuted to work and regularly came across glass on the route and prior to fitting Swalbe I had about one puncture a week. After fitting them I literally went years before another puncture.

TrevorW�� said...

I use the Schwalbe Marathons on my touring bike and have found those to be a superb tyre... The reason I use the Gatorskins and not the Schwalbes on my Tifosi is purely down to the tyre weight... The Marathon Plus tyres are about twice the weight or more than the Gatorskins which is something I don't need to consider on a touring bike but that does make a difference to me on a winter training bike......

Six weeks off.

 The visit to see the Consultant went quite well really ...   My ' numbers' have started to creep up again so I am going to be given...