Continental Gator Hardshell Folding Bike Tire - Puncture Protection Replacement Road/Commuter Tire (23c, 25c, 28c, 32c)

Update at bottom of review!Ok here is my preliminary review. I will update this at a later time after I get some real miles on them.These tires have a good word of mouth about being possibly the best commuter tires available. Commuting to work makes it so a flat tire could make you late. My coworker who commutes with me only uses these on his road bike. He does not know how to change a bike tire and he carries no spare tube or pump with him. In the 2 years we have been commuting I have had several flats and he has not had one. His experience with these tires is pretty incredible. I was riding for 2 years on a Specialized Hardrock mountain bike. It had tires with Flak Protection. I still got some flats from nails, staples and even glass.I just bought a Specialized Diverge road bike. This bike came with 700x30 Espoir Sport tires. These tire are terrible. In 1 month I had 3 flats. All from glass! Little tiny pieces of glass. The worst part is after removing the glass, the hole that it made spreads each day I look at it. It's only a matter of time before the hole spreads and either lets in water and debris or even makes the tire fail.So step in Continental Hardshells. And now my review starts.I ordered them with Prime. They came in 2 days. 5 Stars for Ordering and delivery.They came well packed in the correct original box complete with instructions. 5 Stars.They are the foldable version in 700x32. Now these are larger than the OEM 700x30 Espoirs. But since they are the foldable version they weigh less than the Espoirs! When you make a spinning part lighter you are making acceleration quicker! So even though they are wider and increase rolling resistance, they more than make up for it with the weight savings! 5 Stars on weight!I think they look great. They have a slick look to them as there is no tread in the dead center, but there are some spaced treads on the outer area towards the sides. I think the wording on them looks cool and it matches the yellow Specialized decal on the bike. 5 Stars for looks.I had read that some people had a hard time mounting them. I did not have this. I did not even have to use tire levers. I just sort of rolled them on by hand. And the seated just fine as I pumped them up slowly while checking for pinching the tube. 5 Stars for mounting.I have had a chest cold since I bought them so I have not been able to get out and ride. :(But I did take them for a quick 5 minute spin. And they did not feel any slower than my old tires. I didn't expect them too with the lighter weight. I did some acceleration runs and some corners at speed. They felt good. And since these are 32s and my other tires were 30s, they soaked up bumps much better. 5 Stars for initial road test.So in the end I have a tire much better suited for me. It should help keep me from getting flats while riding to work. They seem the same speed as my other tires and should be quicker to accelerate since they are lighter. They are a bit wider so they soak up bumps and a rough ride. And since I use panniers to carry my work stuff the added width also helps with the load.If these things really live up to the no flats, then I will be completely elated.Ok I finally got to ride on these tires. The first ride was a 10 mile ride. The tires seem just as fast as the ones they replaced.The first time I used them to commute to work. Bam within 1 mile of my house I got a flat. Roof nail. I changed it and made it to work. On the ride home it was fine.The next day I was riding to work. Bam. Another flat. This time 2 nails were in it! There is a stretch of road where someone must of lost a lot of nails. Well I pulled out the nails and changed the tube. I get a half mile further and Bam another flat! I called it quits and had my girlfriend pick me up.I'm in shock that I could have more flats with this tire in 2 days than I did with my other tires. 2 days, 4 nails and 3 flats.I am taking two stars away for the rating. Now these nails would flatten any tire including a car. But these tires are expensive and are supposed to prevent this. So I am taking away two stars. I have to buy a new tire because this one in 3 days has 4 holes in it.I am calling the city to complain that this stretch of highway needs to be cleaned with a street sweeper.So do not think these tires are full proof. I know bad luck and a unusually high number of nails in this area are mostly to blame. But 3 flats in 2 days is terrible.I have changed it back to 5 stars. Here's why. I went back to the area where I was getting flats. I was in awe. There were hundreds of not thousands of nails in the margin of the road! They were rusted and had the same color as the road. Plus the fact that I ride in, in the morning while it is still dark outside. I could not see them. But there were a lot of nails over a several hundred yard stretch! The fact that I only had 4 nails in the tire is shocking.I called the city to come clean up this mess. And they have yet to do it, so I swept the area myself with a broom. I have added a picture of the nails I had to ride through. For me to only have had the three flats by 4 nails is testament to how tough these tires are.Upon closer examination I can see on my tires were nails left marks and indentations but did not go through. And the holes in the tires are not getting larger, I check on them before every ride now.

Had suffered numerous flats on Texas roads from May thru August. Went thru 3 sets of tires in less than 750 miles. Bought these in 700C x 32, up from a 28 to lower pressure on the hard shell tire to help with soften the ride of the hard shells. I’ve logged over 1,000 miles on these without issue. Running 85-90psi and tire has range of 85-102psi. Ride is firm but not overly harsh so I think going a little wider was the right call. I’ve inadvertently had them on dirt, grass & gravel and they came out unscathed. People in cars making right turns are quite rude and have run me off the pavement on numerous occasions. I can’t say I notice much, if any, wear. I expect I should get another 1,000 miles out of them. And I’m no lightweight so they are holding up well. Tires almost seem puncture proof; impervious to the unavoidable glass shards on roads. Very pleased with them.

Superior puncture protection. They ride really well if you ignore the ridiculous pressure recommendation and go with one of the many online tire pressure calculators. I love Continental Tires.

After 700 miles on these tires no punctures, very high quality, they have no treads but the grip on these tires is very good.

I put these on my Cannondale in November of 2023. As of this writing they now have over 7,000 miles on them with still room for more miles. Over that 7,000 miles I have had just one flat tire due to a very sharp piece of glass. I have also rotated them from front to back and back to front for even wear. When I first purchased them, I did so because of the way that they are constructed with several layers of puncture protection. In my garage is another set of the same but I just simply don't need them yet.

Boo... Hiss... - See Update belowThe hissing is what I heard 25 miles into using these tires. Staple right through the thickest part of the rear tire. 10 minutes later I was patched and on my way.Oh well, hopefully it's bad luck and not a sign of things to come.I'll update this review as the biking season progresses8/8/2016 - Looks like my first experience was just bad luck. I've put another 1000 miles on these tires and they are great. No flats, no issues at all - not even much wear. Every couple weeks I'll go over my tires to be sure they look good, last time i had to pull out a piece of metal and a piece of glass. No doubt on a regular tire this would have caused a flat.Riding has consisted of 60% road 40% gravel. The 700x32 has worked great on both.

Gatorskins never disappoint. Still riding these 02/25/2025 with hundreds of miles on them. Over 2k at this point. I was getting a flat ever week or 2 with the tires that came on my bike. I haven't had a single flat since getting these. I love them.

You can never go wrong with the Gater skins. I've used these for years and have never had any problems. Very durable, pricey, but worth it on those long bike rides.

Muy recomendable 👌.

Está súper la llanta, estoy muy contento ya que siento como se agarra del pavimiento. Creo que es confuso porque en la caja dice unos psi límite y la llanta otros y el paquete la verdad no venía muy cuidado pero no importa porque lo importante (la llanta) no se maltrata.Volveré a comprar, luego hay buenas ofertas.

I have seen a good combination from this tire - puncture protection and low resistance. nice one .

Firstly it is a non-folding tyre. Second it does not seem to be 24c but 25. Extremely difficult to get it in the rim (Campagnolo Scirocco 35). Seems to be stronger than Conti Grand Prix 4000s II as it is non-folding.

Long lasting easy rolling tires good for commuting on mixed trails surfaces.