Continental Ultra GatorSkin Tyre - 26 x 1 1/8, 28-559

I recommend this product

I was nervous about fitting these having read lots of reviews about how hard it was. Piece of cake. Didn't even need to use levers. Just take your time. Keep seating the tyre on. And you should be good. Mind you I am used to fitting Marathon Plus.

I recommend this product

Having been running Schwalbe Kojaks on my MTB with no bother, I decided that due to the amount of debris on my route, I would give the Gatorskins a try, fitting was by no means a piece of cake, skinny tubes are required, a strong tyre lever, and once the tyre is on the rim some soapy water was needed to allow the tyre to slip into the right place, which it did with a loud pop. Good job they're resistent to punctures, you won't be changing these at the side of the road.

Once fitted, the tyre looked nearly invisible on my black rims, they do roll faster , you can certainly run in a higher gear, however I would reckin it was as much to do with the smaller wheel circumference effectively lowering the gearing, as much as decreased drag.

Handling is quite different, in the wet, they can seem a bit skittish, there is a lot less rubber on the road, but nowhere as bad as some of the reports I've heard, I'm quite happy in that score.

Whilst I've only covered 100 miles, I've not been avoiding some of the more debris strewen excuses we have for cycle lanes in this city, indeed I stopped at some lights and noticed a piece of glass sticking out of the tread, it had failed to penetrate, having had a similar shard go through a Sport Contact like it was made of paper, I was impressed to say the least. So far, so good!