Do gatorskin tyres handle badly in the wet?

Jocry

Running the gatorskins too and upped the psi from 110 to 120 the other day and had the front wheel and back wheel slide out on my commute yesterday but will put that down to the bad weather - definitely made me take note for future references!

iregk

The roads are particularly bad at present. I've noticed in my car that my front tyres were sliding quite a bit. I checked them thinking I needed new ones but no, they are fine, just very slippery road surface.

On the bike I've been running Gators for about 2 years and haven't had any issues. I do find they give a little bit of drift that the GP's don't but nothing that's caused me concern.

De Bhál

I have a set since last May 2012.
Not one puncture which is great.
Lethal in wet and/or icy conditions I find.

I won't get another set as i have no confidence in them to keep me up.

Civilian_Target

Yeah, Gatorskins are a bit slidy, but they're a lot better than Marathons or Armadillos... if they've got a few 1000 kilometers on them, or if they're very skinny, what you're describing sounds about right. I run marathons on my back tyre and I also find the back slides out sometimes if I don't have a bag on the rack. I used to have gatorskins, and they did the same.

Running them at the minimum recommended pressure helps, although obviously opens the door a bit for punctures. Continental Ultras are better, but have punctured on me - Gatorskins don't. If you can find a tyre with a re-enforced sidewall that's not slippery, let me know!

Wishbone Ash

I had the Gatorskins a couple of years ago but had to get rid of them - absolutely no confidence in them in the wet. The back wheel tended to step out of line regularly. Never had that problem with any other brand.

(Good puncture resistance though.)

uphillonly

Although GP4000s are supposed to be race tyres, I get no punctures through the winter on them so no longer bother switching to a supposed tougher training tyre for the winter.

They do cost a little more but excellent grip, long wearing & puncture resistance make them worth it.

Konkers

uphillonly wrote: »

Although GP4000s are supposed to be race tyres, I get no punctures through the winter on them so no longer bother switching to a supposed tougher training tyre for the winter.

They do cost a little more but excellent grip, long wearing & puncture resistance make them worth it.

+1

I've had the same set of GP4000s on the bike since last April. Have had one or two punctures and there are a fair few nicks on them but grip and wear and tear are second to nothing else. Would not buy anything else.

alexanderomahon

Spoke with reps for continental at cycle show today and seemed to accept gatorskins have some degree of problem in wet, but these tend to be slight slip rather than complete lose of grip.

Anyway they claim their new grand prix gt combines best of both. It does not appear to be out in the main distribution networks yet (wiggle, chainreaction etc) But here is a link to it.
http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/de/en/continental/bicycle/themes/race/racetyres/grand_prix_PT/grand_prix_PT_en.html

LiamOSullivan

I've had my rear wheel slide a fair few times with gators, but never the front. (Yet, at least...)

In future, I'm not sure I'll buy another set. I've not had a single puncture with them, but from what I've read here and elswhere, I'd get the same with more grip from other tyres.

Arthurdaly

There is certainly a compromise on grip with gatorskins but on the plus side punctures are rare in my experience. I've had the back end slip a few times.

I think you need to readjust your thinking and riding slightly and you will be fine, some common sense. Don't race around roundabouts or corners In the wet, avoid paint and manhole covers like the plague!

On the plus side I am never on the side of the road replacing tubes in the cold and wet which is my priority.

Now if there is a tyre out there that has the same puncture resistance and better grip I'd love to know.

smacl

Arthurdaly wrote: »

Now if there is a tyre out there that has the same puncture resistance and better grip I'd love to know.

Haven't had a puncture as yet on the Durano plus, or a bad skid. Following a similar thread last year I decided against Gatorskins for grip, and marathons for weight. The Durano plus seems like a good trade off, and has worked well for me. YMMV.

Agent Smyth

Have used Armadillos,Gatorskins and now on Hardshells. all three tyres are great training/commuting tyres. The Contis are a better ride then the Armdillos but this might have changed since I last used them in 2008 as they improved them since then. The Hardshells are Contis best puncture Resistance tyre with good levels of grip in the wet and if you go for the folding version there fairly light (230gms).