Does anyone on here do this ?, I fancy a bit of comfort up front so looking at getting a 25mm Gator Skin up front and 23mm Gator skin on the rear. Also being a tightwad I bought some bartape only too find its uber thin 2.1mm and a bit thin for my liking , I’d imagine firing another tape over the top will do the trick.

If anyone fancies recommending an alternative to a Gator skin please let us know , I’ve only ever had the stock Giant tyres and some cheap Vittoria tyres on my road bike and both have been fine but fancy getting some decent tyres for a trip to Applecross.

Gator skins give a horrible ride due to their low TPI carcass and hard rubber, better off with a continental in black chilli compound which will feel better at the same pressure/size as your cheap tyres.
Personally I would just run lower pressure at the front at a suitable psi for your weight not the max psi for the tyre.

As above. Gatorskins are durable, but they are not that great as performance tyres. They are the sort of thing I would use for commuting.

If using different sized tires, most people put the larger one on the back.
Experiment with tire pressures – I never use anything higher than 95psi.
A better quality tire will feel better than those you’re using – I like Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp for general riding, and GP 4 season for commuting.
Buy some Specialized Bar Phat or the equivalent Bontrager or F’izik tape.

Thanks for the advice , so Its ,maybe worth looking at shelling out for Conti 4000’s in black chilli. Any Idea what the Scwalbe equivalents might be ? , Im presuming Ultremos. ?

Personally I really like gatorskins, however I’ve found that to get best results from them you need to give them 100miles or so to run in. It also depends what you want from your tyre.

Anyway…as for bar tape, before all this ‘gel insert’ business came along, for races like Paris-Roubaix, the pros would have double wrapped bar tape for comfort.

MTFU. You’ll be using gears and sticking your pedals to your shoes.
Fud. The Yak would offer you guidance if he wasn’t banned.

Vittoria open corsa evo’s on my Cannondale. 320 TPI and 120psi and even though they’re only 20mm wide it’s a carpet ride and very fast.

Stanfree prefers biting pillows to riding carpet.

Remember people, don’t feed the goat…

I’ve checked yer website sputnik, Zen adventures eh? Do you know my mate The Yak? He’s a zen Buddhist type. He’s looking for mates to go riding with, he can do plenty things faster, longer and harder.

How come you’ve not had any Mountain bike adventures, road bike adventures or life adventures?

Rubino Pro 3’s. Very cheap and long lasting. Nearly always on offer at Ribbles.

I used to think road bike tyres were all much the same until I won a pair of Conti GP4000. Superb tyres.

Why don’t you use 25c front and rear if you want a little more comfort? Less rolling resistance:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq/tech-faq-again-bigger-tires-roll-faster_209888

I’ve run 25F and 23R for the last year on my best roadie (Evo Corsa). Definitely better than two 23s – more grip, comfort etc.

Just gone to 25s at both ends (tubeless) so we’ll see how that goes.

Gatorskins are pants.

Thanks for your advice folks and Yodagoat ‘Bite ma Wire’. 😆

Any Idea what the Scwalbe equivalents might be ? , Im presuming Ultremos. ?

Dear god no!

Ultremo’s are a brilliant race day tyre, but they’re not durable.

You want to try some 25c Schwalbe Durano’s, they’re superb. More supple and grippy than a Gatorskin, but equally as puncture proof and more comfortable. Pretty durable too, fast enough not to really worry about proper summer rubber unless you’re racing, and they’re only about 20g heavier (so naff all) than a Gatorskin.

I have used gatorskins and they are bloody tough, never puncture so great for commuting but they are greasy in the wet because of the hard compound.. the 4000s are great or the 4seasons if you need allweather practicality as they are tougher

doubled up bartape – absolutely

25 rear 23 front for me at the moment – but 2 mm on a tyre isn’t really that much

Try Specialized Roubaix Pro, 25 casing with a 23 tread, comfort grip and speed, too good to be true .

Conti 4 Seasons are remarkably robust for their light weight and roll well too. A bit of a revelation for me on the commuter – and they’re in 28mm width on that. On the posh bike, I’ve just moved from Rubino Pro 3s which are very nice, last a fair while and roll well – to Michelin Pro 4s which I’m blown away with. Can’t comment on their longevity as they’ve only had just over 100 miles, but that’s been very pleasant so far!

gators are great for high k’s commute, but for performance riding go elsewhere.
23 25 f or rear , just go with what you feel gives more comfort, ive gone both directions and went with 25 all round
dont discount stem, handlebars, fork changes for comfort to . my cross has a lovely flexible front fork that gives a lovely road ride.

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I’ve got Durano on both my road bikes. Very happy with them too. I’ve got a set of Michelin Krylion Carbon for when they run out. Sadly Michelin don’t make that exact model any more but I’ve not tried the replacement.

I run 28mm gatorskins on my winter bike and they’re durable, but as others say, not the best riding tyre out there.

Just go 25mm both ends, I did with my winter tyres in September and not looked back. Got Stans rims on the summer wheels which make 23mm tyres even bigger than 25mm on normal rims (or even ‘wide’ rims like A23’s) due to the low ‘bead hook’. Both made a huge difference to comfort. If there is/isn’t more drag then it’s not noticable, but it is more comfortable which probably makes it faster anyway.