Schwalbe Durano or Conti Gatorskin ?

Serious Cat

This time of year and roads with lots of sharp nasties that give us punctures, which of those two tyres do you find to be more resistant ?

northpole

I've not used either however, a good friend has and swears by Durano Plus for his commuting and general winter riding. Doesn't sound like he'll ever go back to Gators.

Peter

night_porter

All opinions are based on how things work for us individually and I have used several Schwalbe tyres and do not rate them. Yes they ride nice but they always seem to have a fault that means they don't last very long considering the high price you pay for them.

Gators on the other hand have always been reliable for me and I know that when I start getting a few punctures within a month it is time for a new tyre. This usually happens after a very long period of use, I am not exactly sure how many miles but it will definitely be over 4,000.

rolf_f

I use Durano S on my Ribble. They are light and don't puncture much; work well for both commuting and weekend rides. Standard Durano give a bit more puncture protection and are a good compromise. Durano Plus are needlessly heavy. Not expensive either - easily had for less than £25 each.

Bullet proof really. I suspect night_porter has had problems with Ultremos certain models of which have been problematic but the only problem with Duranos that I know of is that they tend to shed bits of cord from above the beading. Easy enoughto chop off but slightly irritating.

On that basis I recently tried Vittoria Rubino Pros but they turned out to be lethal on slippy roads so I have gone back to the Duranos.

There's not really much point asking the question though. Everybody likes what they like and plenty of folk think Rubino Pros are great. Possibly the mud on their roads is different enough from that around where I live to make the tyres behave better. Really, your best bet is to buy the ones that you like the look of, cost less, are cheap at your LBS or whatever.

More important than the brand of tyre you choose is actually maintaining the tyre when you have it. Regularly (esp after wet rides) for sharp stuff embedded in the rubber and dig them out. I suspect a lot of punctures are not down to what you just rode over but what you rode over last week or last month.

neilp7

I used a Gator on the back of my commuter, and had two punctures within a week. So I changed to a Marathon plus, no punctures in over a year and 4000 miles. Can't comment on the Durano though.

How Far is too Far

I have 25mm Durano Plus on my winter bike at the moment, I might regret this but they have done over 1800 miles on some of the dirtiest roads and I not had any bother. They looks as it they will last a fair bit longer as well.

LegendLust

If you want some hosepipe on your wheels get the Conti's.

If you want some tyres that grip and ride well get the Duranos

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Everybody likes what they like and plenty of folk think Rubino Pros are great.

That'll be me - great tyre!

joelsim

The Gators are very good. Quite a few thousand miles on mine now with no visits from the fairy.

Anonymous

I like continental tyres but I wouldn't get Gatorskins, I would get Four Seasons.

vdubnut2013

used gatorskins all last year on some pretty terrible scottish roads (im not that light either) found the ride not that great and the grip wasnt as good as i hoped but no punctures last year. Changed front to a durano and ride speed deffo better and seems much faster (25mm) getting 2nd for the rear soon to see full effect but seems grippier!

sparklehedgehog

have you considered gp 4 seasons?

KINGGARY

Four seasons, Gatoskins have the grip of a banana skin.
I swapped from gatorskins and won't be going back.

deswahriff

..I'm coming to realise my conti 4 seasons are the best tyres I've yet had.....I had gatorskins on my commute bike but never liked them, felt insecure in the wet, and replaced them with Schwalbe Marathons, which do inspire confidence but weigh a ton - not an issue for my commute.

...on the road bike, having sworn by Michelin for years, I recently replaced by PR04 SC's for Conti 4 Seasons (instead of the usual PRO4 Endurance I'd normally switch to for winter)...and while pricy, I think they're just great...really sure-footed in bad conditions, allowing even this cautious rider to lean the bike in wet corners!...comfy and roll well too, and with the mould line still prominent round the circumfrerence after 200 miles, I'm guessing the wear rate will be good!.......as their name suggests, I may not even bother putting the PRO4's back on in the summer....

....and while only anecdotal, in the last 2 year's Kentish Killer sportives, one of my group has alway punctured on Gatorskins!

shmooster

KINGGARY wrote:

Four seasons, Gatoskins have the grip of a banana skin.
I swapped from gatorskins and won't be going back.

This. Gatorskins are in no way comparable to a Durano.

sparklehedgehog

deswahriff wrote:

..I'm coming to realise my conti 4 seasons are the best tyres I've yet had.....I had gatorskins on my commute bike but never liked them, felt insecure in the wet, and replaced them with Schwalbe Marathons, which do inspire confidence but weigh a ton - not an issue for my commute.

...on the road bike, having sworn by Michelin for years, I recently replaced by PR04 SC's for Conti 4 Seasons (instead of the usual PRO4 Endurance I'd normally switch to for winter)...and while pricy, I think they're just great...really sure-footed in bad conditions, allowing even this cautious rider to lean the bike in wet corners!...comfy and roll well too, and with the mould line still prominent round the circumfrerence after 200 miles, I'm guessing the wear rate will be good!.......as their name suggests, I may not even bother putting the PRO4's back on in the summer....

....and while only anecdotal, in the last 2 year's Kentish Killer sportives, one of my group has alway punctured on Gatorskins!

+1

GP4 seasons are different league to gatorskins

northpole

I agree with the GP 4 Season endorsements noted above - they are my choice during winter months. I suspect they are effective in the wet due to their tread pattern the side effect of which is to chuck up significantly more water off the road than the likes of Pro4 Service Course - mud guards are highly recommended to accompany them! When it comes to the summer months, (sometimes difficult to define in UK!!), I still think there is merit in giving them a break and fitting something a bit lighter and livelier. Also mentioned earlier, 4 Seasons tend to sit in a different price bracket to most other road tyres - if you can find them at or below £30 each you are doing very well.

Peter

MattC59

It depends on your application.

Gatorskins have good puncture protection but the grip isn't great, they're heavy and feel like riding hosepipe. They have a heavyweight puncture protection belt that will fend off most things, but of course that is detrimental to the feel. The rubber compound is also quite hard and I found that made the tyres not particulars confidence inspiring in the corners.
Commuting yes, anywhere that you want decent performance; no.

The standard Duranos have reasonable puncture protection, but they are also light weight, and have a more grippy rubber compound. They corner well and you can feel what's happening under your tyres.

I was out last weekend on filthy roads. My mate was on Gatorskins, I was on Duranos. He had two punctures and I had none. The flints that punctured his tyres would have shredded any tyre, so my point is, go for the tyre that has some puncture protection, but that grips/corners best until the roads have cleared up. If you're just commuting and aren't looking for performance, then go for the Gatorskins.

IrishMac

I've been training on Schwalbe Durano S Tyres this winter, (circum 100K ride each week,) and have only punctured once on the rear, and that one was a doozy, it would punctured solid rubber
In other areas, I've never found them lacking in grip and they seem to role fairly fast too
My Dad has Gatorskins and he's never seemed to have problems with them, but can't personally comment on their grip etc

Anonymous

The only reason Gatorskins have been popular is because they are the cheap Continental option, loads of people bought them and said they were great because they had them............ so more people bought them, and so the cycle continued.

Seems as though there is a bit of a backlash against them and Continental generally now.
4 Seasons and GP4000's (and Attack/force) are great tyres and seem to be discounted a lot at the moment.

pitchshifter

Having just fitted some GP4 Seasons to my commuter, I have had one piece of glass go through the tyre so far in 900 miles. Other than that one untimely p*ncture in the pissing rain, they definitely work preventing punctures though, I spend most evenings picking pint glasses out of the tread :roll:

Coming from Continental Grand Prix's I can't say I have noticed much difference other than the GP4 seasons cut up a lot more, but you do get superior braking in the wet.

rob39

Been using Gator skins for 4 years now on my Ribble, 25mm only 2 punctures. Good tyre, Again tyres are a personal thing i know riders who would not touch them but do it for me