Gatorskins 32s

[Dromen]

the "28s for gravel" thread is about awd cars now......

Does any one have any comments on these in various conditions. If you switched to/from 28 GSs for same conditions, can you comment on differences?

[rwsaunders]

I have used them for two years or so on my Poprad and they are a solid, all weather tire. Knock on wood, but no punctures, slashes, slips or slides and they ride quite plush, most likely due to the larger volume. They measure 30mm inflated to 90 psi on a pair of Ambrosio Excellence rims.

[Chris]

FWIW, I have been using the Continental Contact for the past 3 years or so. This has been my tire that I use heavily on the trainer and for all of my dirt/gravel road rides. I can't wear these tires out.

[josephr]

FWIW, I have been using the Continental Contact for the past 3 years or so. This has been my tire that I use heavily on the trainer and for all of my dirt/gravel road rides. I can't wear these tires out.

+1...Contacts are the Energizer Bunny of gravel tires....

[Dromen]

RW,
Can you compare them to GS 28s?

[d_douglas]

+1...Contacts are the Energizer Bunny of gravel tires....

+2 - maybe three flats in 5 years on my commuter. They are starting to get ugly now and wear down, but still going strong. I want new tires, but don't need them. I rode them to work this morning :)

[Dromen]

Which Contact you riding? Website shows:
Top Contact ll
Contact ll
Sport Contact
Travel Contact

[rwsaunders]

RW,
Can you compare them to GS 28s?

Sorry, as I went straight from 25mm Conti 4Seasons to the Gatorskins for this particular bike.

[mike p]

Has anyone here measured gatorskins 28 or 32?

Mike

[Admiral Ackbar]

fwiw, i had 2 sets of 25s. they were just okay imo. tough but don't ride very nice, i found them kinda unpredictable in the rain or bad surfaces, had sidewall issues after riding chunky gravel, ended with a catastrophic sidewall blowout.

i say this is in almost every tire thread...but my resist nomads were like 5x as good. altho I'm not sure its fair to compare the 25mm haterskin with a 28mm nomad.

i also liked 25mm rubino pros better than the gatorskins, not very good in the wet either but they rode nicer.

but ya know, ymmv atmo atmo atmo etc etc etc

[bcgav]

I have the Gatorskin 32's on my backup/all weather/all roads bike mounted on Velocity A23 rims. Have a few hundred miles on them, no flats knock on wood. They soak up bumps and rough roads very well and I have ridden them on hard packed dirt roads, they handle great as long as it's not too loose and sandy/soft. They handle fine in wet conditions. Great durable and versatile compound with excellent puncture resistance.

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n576/TAG_Balllistic/photo_zps0e750520.jpg (http://s1140.photobucket.com/user/TAG_Balllistic/media/photo_zps0e750520.jpg.html)

[one60]

clever....agree these tires wear like iron & but ride like a garden hose on the road...but for gravel its may be a reasonable trade-off?

[roydyates]

I have the 32mm Gatorskins on Velocity Aeroheads on my fendered cross/rando bike. At 80 psi, the ride is ok but not great. They are pretty heavy. I'd guess they have 1000 miles but they don't seem to show any wear. I wish they would wear out so I could try the Compass Barlow Pass.

[Chris]

Which Contact you riding? Website shows:
Top Contact ll
Contact ll
Sport Contact
Travel Contact

I have the original Contact. If they ever wear out I will buy the II

[josephr]

Which Contact you riding? Website shows:
Top Contact ll
Contact ll
Sport Contact
Travel Contact

good ole Contact II ...sorry ...

http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/city/CONTACT_en.html

[CSTRider]

We have 32mm gators on our tandem. Rider weight + bike is around 330 lbs and we run them at 90 lbs front and rear, 98 if we are loaded with panniers. I also run a set of 32mm gators on a cross bike and run them at 62/68 front/rear with rider + bike weight at 180lbs. I've had nothing but great luck with them both on road and gravel, and in my experience they ride terrific as long as you don't over-inflate them.

[Dromen]

Can you tell me what width the 32s run and what type of rims?

[charliedid]

Lower air pressure and larger contact patch makes the 32 more stable for sure.

32's *might* feel a bit more sluggish getting going, and at slow speeds on the road.

85 psi on the 32's vs 95 min on the 28's is a no-brainer for gravel.

Other options exist of course :-)

[Charles M]

I'm running the 32's on a cross bike on road and the 28's on my commute bike...

The difference is 4.


I'm kinda wondering what the question is... (and why this new thread is even needed)

They're the same durability, I have slime in both sets and the slime has had to stop several punctures but I ride these in absolutely horrible conditions and fully expected the slime to be needed.

My question is simple. Do you have a bike that will hold 32's?

If yes, get the 32's. You can run them 10 PSI softer with no jump in pinch flat worry. And 85 PSI is 25 more than I run in the 32's...

Most road bikes (and brake sets) will not take the 32's.

[Dromen]

Charles,
More specifically, I would like to run 32 GSs on my cross bike for the road. Have experienced the narrowness of all Contis other than 32s and was wondering if they were truer to advertised size on std rims such as OPs and what they balloned to on wide rims such as HEDs?

[donevwil]

I've run both the 28 and 32 GS on both 19 ans 23mm wide rims, I can get some dims tonight, at least on the 23mm rims.

28s are nice, durable and ride well. They measure reasonably square, I'd say (estimated) 26.5 tall and 25.5-26 wide.

My 32s are wire bead and are real pigs on the road. The are durable and handle OK, but need to be run at higher pressure than I'd like because of the tall-skinny shape. They measure more like 31 tall x 27-28 wide (again estimated), wrong direction for the aspect ratio IMO. I believe there are better 32s.

I run Grand Bois Cypres 32s 80% (true 32x32 on 23mm rims) on bike #1, 28 Conti GP4S 10% on bike #2 w/ fenders and previously mentioned 32 Conti GS 10% until they wear out on bike #2 no fenders.

[Dromen]

Are grand cypress as durable, puncture resistant i guess? Can i assume you ride them 80% of the time because the ride that much better. What about life span...my 28GS seem to run forever, relative to other "road" bike tires.

Thanks for the info. Your estimates answer my question. I was hoping for a wider plusher GS 28 but from my experience the 28 is kinda hard ridding and not really looking for a kinda wider hard riding tire. Durability i like but need a little more comfort to go with it.

[donevwil]

Are grand cypress as durable, puncture resistant i guess? Can i assume you ride them 80% of the time because the ride that much better. What about life span...my 28GS seem to run forever, relative to other "road" bike tires.

Thanks for the info. Your estimates answer my question. I was hoping for a wider plusher GS 28 but from my experience the 28 is kinda hard ridding and not really looking for a kinda wider hard riding tire. Durability i like but need a little more comfort to go with it.

In ~2500 miles split 75/25 on two sets of Grand Bois Cypres including plenty of heavy gravel and very bad roads I've only had two punctures, one was my fault (pinched tube) and the other was a staple. I'm 240# to boot. Are they more durable than GSs? I doubt it, I wouldn't use them on a bike where durability is priority one, they are expensive and have no puncture resistant layer, but are simply very high quality tires. That said 28 GSs have been great for me, but the ride of the 32 GBs is off the charts better than anything else I've ridden with the exception of Vittoria tubulars. I'm willing to be a bit more anal with tire care and roll the dice to find out what the negatives really are. Maybe after another few thousand miles more I'll have some real data.

[likebikes]

I really like the gatorskin 28s. They measure 26-26.5 on an open pro or similar rim. The smaller sizes 25 and 23 aren't my favorite- I think they ride much harsher due to the smaller volume and durable construction. 28c is the sweet spot IMO.

They're not great riding tires, but IMO they're the best combo for extreme flat resistance and decent ride quality.

I don't ride "gravel", but I have them on city/commuter/beater bikes. I usually fix a flat once every other year or so with them.

Haven't tried the 32s but maybe will put them on my touring bike when the (no longer produced) conti top touring 2000 wears out...

[donevwil]

Dromen,

Tonight's measurements:

- Conti Gatorskin 28 @ 80psi on 19mm rim = 26.8mm wide x 26.5mm tall
- Conti Gatorskin 32 @ 70psi on 23mm rim = 30.2mm wide x 28.3mm tall
- Conti GP-4 Season 28 @ 80psi on 23mm rim = 28.3mm wide x 26.1mm tall
- Grand Bois Cypres (32) @ 70psi on 23mm rim = 32.7mm wide x 32.3mm tall

I was clearly way off in assuming the 32 GS was taller than wide, but for some reason it sure rides like it. I'd use the 28 GP4Ss before I'd use either Gator again in any scenario to be honest. I did try 32 Paselas after the 32 Gators and liked them less than the 32 Gators, but many swear by them for some reason. They just felt like a sluggish commuter tire to me.

For now the Grand Bois Cypres is for me, but may soon try the Compass Stampede Pass 32 (not the Extralight models) and the Vittoria Voyager Hyper as a budget alternative.

If you want to try my little used 32 GSs PM me and we can make a deal.