Im racing the Iron Man Oregon 70.3 in salem, oregon on sunday. I’m new to triathlons and cycling. I had been using gator skins on my bike, but i decided i should probably get some race tires. I ordered some Michelin power time trials and vittoria latex tubes. All seemed great. Then my friend that lives in salem went to a bike shop and asked about tires and told the employee what i ordered. The employee said “I’ve been riding that strip of road for 20 years. Tell your friend that those tires are REALLY risky to be running out there. Id just stick with the gator skins.” Now im getting nervous. Should i be looking at different tires?
Im racing the Iron Man Oregon 70.3 in salem, oregon on sunday. I’m new to triathlons and cycling. I had been using gator skins on my bike, but i decided i should probably get some race tires. I ordered some Michelin power time trials and vittoria latex tubes. All seemed great. Then my friend that lives in salem went to a bike shop and asked about tires and told the employee what i ordered. The employee said “I’ve been riding that strip of road for 20 years. Tell your friend that those tires are REALLY risky to be running out there. Id just stick with the gator skins.” Now im getting nervous. Should i be looking at different tires?
I’d never listen to anyone that told me to race on Gatorskins. I haven’t run those Michelins, but BRR tested them slightly more puncture resistant than Conti GP TT’s which I’ve run for years without any flat susceptibility.
Use the Michelin’s and latex tubes, and pre-install sealant reduce the risk of a flat, best of both worlds.
Definitely don’t race on the Gatorskins. But I would also listen to what he said re bad roads. Not sure what the Michelin tyres are like, perhaps consider something like the Conti 5000 which are pretty good for flats, unless the Michelins are comparable?
Gators are literally so slow over that much distance you could flat a fast tire and change a clincher in less time than you lose running the Gators. No joke.
I’ve had very few flats that would have been prevented by something like a gatorskin. Life is too short to ride slow, terrible tires
I have used the Michelin Power Competition with latex tubes on some wet and very rough roads. I have no hesitation about using them.
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I train on Gators as does my wife. Do not race them. Buy literally any other road tire (ie. not gravel or MTB tire) and install a latex tube and it’s a better decision than racing on Gators. Doesn’t matter if the road is chewed up.
I might not race on Michelin TT, Vittoria Corsa Speeds, or Conti TT’s if the road is littered with junk. I would race on any of those if it’s just a chewed up road.
The slowest tire I’ll race on is a Conti GP 5000 which sounds like a great option here.
What I do for tires
Also, I wouldn’t trust the person who told you to race on Gators for advice on any topic, moving forward. If they’re so willing to provide blatantly bad advice on this topic, they’ll be willing to opine strongly on other topics they know little about.
I’ve had very few flats that would have been prevented by something like a gatorskin. Life is too short to ride slow, terrible tires
Really? The Gator Hardshells and Gatorskins have literally never flatted for my wife or I for 1000’s of miles, and plenty of abuse riding through whatever shoulder debris is there. When we have Gators on we will ride through glass without a second thought. No punctures.
We finally made the move to Gators for training from GP4000’s and GP5000’s because even with much more cautious riding, we were getting a flat every 500-750 miles, roughly.
Genuine question: where do you ride and how often do you end up getting a flat?
I do loathe the slow non-supple feeling of the Gators but I’ll happily trade that for virtually flat-proof tires.
The employee said “I’ve been riding that strip of road for 20 years. Tell your friend that those tires are REALLY risky to be running out there. Id just stick with the gator skins.” Now im getting nervous. Should i be looking at different tires?
I make zero tire concessions for rough roads. Tire size and pressure can be important considerations, but will vary… fairly uniform roughness and no big holes or cracks that you can’t dodge would indicate large tires and low pressure.
If the shoulder is littered with broken glass, gravel, thorns, construction debris (nails, screws, staples, etc) etc… then I stay off the shoulder. Cars and trucks usually keep the road clear of issues.
Bottom line… run fast tires, always. The Michelins are an excellent choice.