Gatorskin tires ?

[Echinacea]

I have a KHS hybrid city bike with 35mm standard tires on it. I am looking at finding some kevlar or other such flat preventative tires to replace them with. I do mostly smooth pavement with occasional gravel and seldom off road use. a local shop showed me some gatorskin 28mm tires. Has anyone any experience with these? whats the best setup you recommend for flat preventative on long rides? I was thinking gatorskin or kevlar tires, slime tubes and a tire liner...maybe mr. tuffy. I dont really think downsizing from 35 to 28 would affect my ride that much....maybe make it smoother.

 

[cachehiker]

I used Avocet Cross K 700x35c tires without slime (hate the stuff) or puncture resistant tubes on my hybrid for two years. The amount of road trash they tolerated was impressive. I never once had a flat. They weren't particularly heavy, only 420g, and cornered pretty well on paved roads covered with sand and gravel. I've even rode several dirt roads and rail trails on them.

I used to go up and down curbs without pinch flats too. After leaving the bike at the family cabin for my parents to use, I find they've consistently let the pressure go down to 40-45 psi every time I visit, and they haven't had a pinch flat either. (although they don't go up and down curbs much )

The 35c's are a bit tall and narrow in profile, almost as tall as 38c's, so make sure you have sufficient clearance. Consider the 700x32c Cross II K. At 390g, they aren't much heavier than a Gatorskin, more comfortable to ride on, and probably much faster than what you're currently using.

I haven't ridden Gatorskins, but I think of them as more of a light touring tire that is unsuitable for any off road use whatsoever. After all, if you're not going to hit a dirt road every once in a while, then why own a hybrid?

http://www.avocet.com/tirepages/cross_2.html

 

[Echinacea]

thank you for your input. I havent looked into Avocet tires so i'll have to price them. I did some poking around on the net and found the site for the tires i was talking about. seems like my choices are:

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...cle/themes/tires/city/contact/contact_en.html

which looks like a great hybrid tire or

http://www.conti-online.com/generat.../race/ultra_gatorskin/ultra_gatorskin_en.html

which looks like it has more puncture resistance but less of a tread. they even have a

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...ity/contact_security/contact_security_en.html

which seems to have the most puncture resistance but must be pretty heavy because they say its intended for short rides......like a bike used at an industrial facility or something.

i think the contact or your avocet is best for my application. now i gotta price them. I also am looking into a liner for them and resistant tubes. I havent tried the slimes yet but they do feel heavy. i havent tried latex either.....i heard they deflate fast.