http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Conti gatorskin shedding its skin en Wed, 13 May 2026 05:02:36 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126442 Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:47:02 +0000 kaputnik 126442@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>By "can't" puncture, I meant the likelihood is reduced significantly. Like any tire, Gators can and will puncture given the right sharps or underinflation. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126415 Sun, 29 Sep 2013 23:50:26 +0000 skotl 126415@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I used to get punctures on the gators and, speaking with a guy at work, he had the same till he started "glass picking".</p> <p>I've been doing that on a (semi) weekly basis for over a year now and haven't had another puncture. When the gators finally let go, I'm going to cut into one to see how fine the weave is - I may well find out that the weave is so fine that there's no way a piece of glass will ever get through, which would prove your theory :D </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126413 Sun, 29 Sep 2013 23:44:51 +0000 kaputnik 126413@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have a theory on how the Gatorskin "works".</p> <p>whever I've excavated bits of glass out of the tread, rather than sharp shards or chunks, I get little spherical balls of glass. My idea is that the glass is sooked up by the tyre into the thicker rubber, but can't get further in past the puncture-proofing belt. It is then crushed repeatedly as the tyre rotates and deforms and reforms thousands of times per hour. After a while the action will leave you with smooth balls of glass (much like pebbles on a beach), which will eventually be crushed to nothing and leave not much trace to dig out the tyre.</p> <p>Then again, that's just a theory. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126412 Sun, 29 Sep 2013 23:41:38 +0000 skotl 126412@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Cheers Kaputnik. I'll keep 'em for another few months, then.</p> <p>I'm finding it increasingly hard to find the bits of glass in the tread, given the huge amount of gashes that the tyres have now accumulated. On the upside, each and every one of these gashes is a puncture averted, I think :) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126408 Sun, 29 Sep 2013 23:33:41 +0000 kaputnik 126408@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've noticed this previously too. I think it's cosmetic, as it's not bound within the body of the tyre itself.</p> <p>Needles to say, it's the thinning of the thicker rubber around the centre of the tyre through wear and tear that's ended up killing them in my experience.</p> <p>I did have the folding versions come apart where the bead meets the sidewall, but I think that may have been due to an incorrectly positioned brake shoe rubbing on the tyre as opposed to the rim. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=11239#post-126402 Sun, 29 Sep 2013 23:13:20 +0000 skotl 126402@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Was perusing my gators this afternoon for stray bits of glass and I noticed that the orange stringy meshy stuff is coming away from the sides on the front.</p> <p>Is that important? It doesn't appear to affect the rigidity of the tyre so I wonder (hope!) that it's decorative. </p>