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Not a single mark on my 23mm Gatorskin. I know some disagree, but I've found them to be indestructible.
One time experiences does not necessary make the tyres.
Gatorskins aren't bad, quite to the contrary, it's just the grip aren't fantastic in the wet, and you're still more likely to get punctured on a 23mm Gatorskins than the 28mm Panaracer due to the sizes and pressure difference.
edscoble-
Gatorskins aren't bad, quite to the contrary, it's just the grip aren't fantastic in the wet, and you're still more likely to get punctured on a 23mm Gatorskins than the 28mm Panaracer due to the sizes and pressure difference.
What is the correlation between tyre width, pressure and glass punctures? By what trait should a wider tyre at lower inflation be less vunerable to glass than a more narrow tyre at higher pressure? Actually I would expect the opposite, viz. a more stoutly filled narrow tyre to be slightly less prone. Belts and construction would, I suspect, make much more of a difference. That is why the Conti Competition is much less prone to flats than their Giro. The Gatorskin uses a Poly-X breaker. It is much less effective than the Vectran breaker featured in the Competition, GP-4000S etc. The whole point of the Gatorskin is the DuraSkin sidewalls. These are relevant to defects but not to glass punctures. The Competition ProTection has both Vectran breakers and DuraSkin sidewalls-- as well as, in some variants, a thicker inner-tube. Panaracer, if I recall, used a Kevlar reinforced nylon belt breaker. Kevlar might be the stuff of bullet proof vests but it is quite ineffective against glass shards.
EdwardZ
Haven't read much of this topic, but thought I'd put my 2p's worth in with a Gatorskin story (Like everybody else probably has a million times on this thread).
Riding through Soho a while ago when the car in front of me decides to slam his brakes on and reverse towards me at full speed for no apparent reason. Did a very glamorous and elegant panicky jump thing onto the curb, which rolled a glass bottle up onto the curb with me. Weight went back down onto my bike and my rear wheel smashed straight through the bottle. Not a single mark on my 23mm Gatorskin. I know some disagree, but I've found them to be indestructible.
Also, Panaracer Pasela Tourguard (28) for when I'm on my tourer. Done both long-distance, French countryside rides, and the daily city commute on a 2nd hand pair and they're similarly indestructible.