ClayDavis wrote:
cartsman wrote:
I use 4 seasons on my winter/training wheels. They're nice, bit more resilient than the GP4000s (which are pretty good anyway as stated above) and definitely roll a lot better than the Gatorskins.
Yeah I use GP4Seasons as my training tire - my take is they're like a compromise between the 4000SII and Gatorskins, in a good way in that their Crr is much closer to the 4000SII than it is to the Gatorskin, so you don't give up much speed, and the flat protection is much closer to the Gatorskin than it is to the 4000SII, so you don't give up much in that department either. I've never actually ridden Gatorskins so I can't compare feel, but the 4Seasons do feel a little less supple than the 4000SII. If I rode decent roads all the time I'd probably train on GP4000s (or 5000s), but I don't. As it is, I've ridden all kinds of gnarly roads and gravel on the 4Seasons and have never had a flat.
When I started riding (2011), it was with a set of Gatorskin Hardshells. They seemed fine since I had no point of reference. I got very few punctures, 2 or 3 in about a year IIRC, (at least one was a pinch puncture). I then switched to GP4Seasons and much preferred them. There was no increase in punctures. I think I rode those for about 18-24 months and had only 2. Then I switched to Michelin Pro4 SC which felt better again. I'm not sure I ever punctured with those, maybe I had one. Then I started using GP4000S which was likely faster but I don't remember any perceptible difference in ride or speed. No significant difference in punctures. I believe I had a single puncture in the life of that pair of tyres. Since then I've been using GP4000SII on both my road and tri bikes all year round. I've only had 3 or 4 punctures total in the last 5 years. So less than one per year, and I ride mostly on pretty poor roads with lots of bumps, drains, potholes and a fair amount of debris. I also ride regularly in the wet. None of those kiawe thorns I've heard of though!
Having said all that, my level of punctures is pretty low, and it's thus impossible to argue that my results are statistically relevant in determining which tyre is more puncture resistant. It does however indicate that GP4000SII are certainly not fragile tyres, prone to frequent punctures even in somewhat challenging conditions.
I wouldn't go back to 4 Seasons, and certainly not to Gatorskins. I'll probably go to GP5000 next on both bikes.