[SlowOldSteve]

Hi All

Good morning, my first ever post despite having read the forum for a few years.  By way of introduction,  I’m 63, having first raced in a 10mile TT as a 12 year old with the CC Bexley. Over the years tried  road, track,cyclo-cross and time trials.  Last raced about 20 years ago, still enjoy riding for pleasure/exercise.  Only ever an average club rider, but always loved bikes.

My issue is that I have just broken my hip socket in a crash. So frustrating having avoided  wet, icy, foggy days and ridden very conservatively on local roads  that I  know very well. Running 28mm Gatorskins which have done about 500 miles on my winter bike  so I  could ride with mudguards. Pressures checked that morning. It was 4c , dry when I went round a gentle left bend at 15mph according to my phone data and the front of the bike just slipped away in slow motion and I  went down full force onto my hip. No obvious  road defect,  smell of diesel etc,  no mechanical issue and from what I have been allowed to look at from my bed, no defect with the front tyre.  I have run 25mm Gatorskins on my summer bike for the past 2 years and found them to be faultless.  I hope to be walking  in about 12weeks time and will get back  riding ASAP after that. I don’t think I will be able to ride the Gatorskins again and was interested to read on this forum that a couple of people had said they head wet crashes with them in the Preparing for winter article.  Thinking I will go for Continental 4 seasons before I ride again.  Be interested to hear other people’s winter experiences of both these tyres.

Finally, apologies for my rambling,  I’m blaming the opioids that I’m taking! Having shrugged off several crashes in  my cycling past ,last one 20 years ago, this break and fractures have frightened me and 11 days in hospital in current times is not what I  nor NHS needed. Must say they were brilliant given what is occurring .

Stay safe.

Steve

Topic

[HLaB]

Ouchiee heal fast!
Ouchiee heal fast!
I must admit in the past I would be out every day. But no club run or commute (WfH) doesn’t inspire me to out if I don’t feel it and I have been opting for the smart turbo instead.

[hawkinspeter]

Best wished for a full and

Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. I myself am getting a bit twitchy about the low temperatures so I think I’m going to wait for it to go above 5° before doing more cycling. (Plus I got a tiny bit of frostnip on a couple of toes a few weeks ago so maybe I need thicker socks)

[mike the bike]

Hi Steve,

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your off, and I hope you heal more quickly than I do.  I’m the same age as you, plus a few months, oh alright – 120 to be exact – and I’ve spent most of my life searching for the ultimate winter road tyre and the perfect woman.

I wholeheartedly agree with those who say the Gatorskin is very much over-rated.  I first tried them about twenty years ago and was unhappy with both the puncture resistance and the grip.  Then recently a friend convinced me they had improved enormously over the years and I foolishly shelled out the cash for another set of 25s.  They were absolutely the same, sketchy enough for me to remove them from the wheels and give them away.  And, believe me, I give very little away!

And now the good news: I think I may have discovered the best compromise winter tyre I’ve ever used.  I was steered towards the Pirelli Cinturato Velo by my LBS and I’m really chuffed with them.  Firstly they are properly resistant to thorns, flints and all the usual detritus that litters my local roads.  I’ve had one flat in ten months, running them with tubes, and it was so slow that I got home before it completely deflated.  And the grip, wet or dry, is a generation ahead of the Gatorskin.  It took me a while to really trust them but now I pretty much corner without worrying or thinking too much about it.  Result.

They are a little more expensive than the Contis but I consider that to be a price well worth paying.  I couldn’t get the 28s I wanted but the 26s are lovely; obviously not as comfy as a summer lightweight, but I run them at 50psi to soften the ride a fraction.

If you look at bicyclerollingresistance.com I think they have a test published in the road bike section.  That’s for the tyre, not the woman.

Best of luck.

[Crazyhorse]

Wishing you a speedy recovery

Wishing you a speedy recovery mate!

Gatorskins are great hard wearing tyres but I’ve never found them great in wet or v cold conditions. Conti 4 seasons are v reliable but a bit dull and heavy to ride on I think. I’ve tried Michelin Power 4 seasons recently – they ride v nice and grippy but don’t wear well at all. Currently on Schwalbe Durano 28s which are a surprisingly good, grippy tyre (even in winter) and not too slow. So my money is currently with either Conti 4 season or Duranos if you want something a bit zippier.

[PRSboy]

Ouch, sounds painful… hope

Ouch, sounds painful… hope you are not too uncomfortable and are back on the bike soon!

I’ve run 4Seasons for years, and never (touch wood) had a slip on them, and have found them hard-wearing.

However, for the last year or so I have been riding my ‘best bike’ in all weathers with GP4000s.  The puncture resistance of them seems fine, and I do like the extra stickiness of the compound.  On the strength of this I’m not sure I’d bother with all-season tyres again.

[Velophaart_95]

They get recommended every

They get recommended every year but they’re pretty poor. They might be puncture proof, but they provide very little grip even on dry-ish roads. As for rural/country roads coated in muck/gravel, etc forget it. Hopeless….

I prefer something with a filetread for autumn/winter riding on rural roads.

 

Hope you heal up quickly!!

[IanGlasgow]

I haven’t tried Gatorskins

I haven’t tried Gatorskins but I am very wary of tyres with a hard compound at low temperatures.
I came off my commuter bike (a BMC Aplenchallenge) a couple of years ago  – like you there was no ice (it was cold and wet but not cold enough to freeze), no diesel, loose gravel or anything. I wasn’t even moving that fast, the back wheel just went out from under me landing me on my face (and costing me several teeth).

I swapped the Conti Speeds the bike came with for GP Urbans (same compund as GP5000s but wider at 35mm and with puncture protection). It was immediately obvious how much softer the compound is just by handling the tyres. At low temperataures they stick to the road like glue and give me much more confidence.
My previous commuter had Schwalbe Marathons which – true to their reputation – never punctured, but I never trusted them to grip well. Far too prone to locking under braking.

Now when I’m buying tyres I want to feel them. I don’t trust any rubber that feels hard – it may be hard wearing and puncture resistant but it won’t grip tarmac well in the winter.

[Brooksy1882]

Sorry to hear about the
Sorry to hear about the injury mate, hope it’s not too sore and of course you’re back out soon for the more enjoyable spring summer months!

To be honest not sure how far you need to ride during winter months (I commute up to London) but to avoid a puncture 4 Seasons or gatorskins would be my tyre choice too. I’ve always been a continental user. The only thing I’m aiming to do this winter is go up to 28mm and lower my pressures.

Clearly you’re a experienced rider just sorry you’ve fallen foul of a freak accident

[SlowOldSteve]

Firstly thanks for your

Firstly thanks for your replies and best wishes,  much appreciated. It may be that the  Gatorskins are not good at low temperatures. I try to avoid summer  riding in rain if possible, so had not experienced any problems with the 25mm Gatorskins.

BAdams, if you don’t mind me asking how long did your hip recovery take? I am having “conservative” treatment, ie it is healing the breaks and fractures by its self,  hence zero weight bearing for 8 weeks and partial for another 8 weeks.  Possibly under normal circumstances I would have had a replacement hip, but the scans etc show that every thing is in place even though very damaged. Apart from the unbelievable pain, I  was somewhat upset when my best winter bib tights and other clothing was cut off! Totally illogical I know!

Thanks again and stay upright!

[0-0]

My best wishes to you. I hope

My best wishes to you. I hope you make a quick recovery.

[Grahamd]

Thanks for sharing, get well

Thanks for sharing, get well soon.

I am fortunate in having a choice of bikes and wheels. For general winter riding I use Gatorskins, without any issue, let’s hope it stays that way. 

At the risk of overkill I fitted Continental Top Contact Winter tyres for the worst of weather. They do grip exceptionally well but are so slow, so I save them for rides under 20 miles. 

[BAdams]

Hi Steve – Just to echo the

Hi Steve – Just to echo the other comments, I’m very sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you recover quickly. Do the physio (I know, it’s not fun, but it’s the only way) and you’ll be back on your feet soon. 

I had a remarkably similar accident (also breaking my hip) when riding around a corner in the wet on 25 mm Gatorskins. Others in my club have had similar issues sliding in the wet (or very cold) conditions on these tires. 

I suggest you explore other tires. I’ve had no issues with GP5000s, I realise they are overkill for winter tires, but I don’t want to break another hip and the cost of the tire is pretty insignificant in comparison to the potential medical costs! It’s unfashionable, but you can stick tire liners in them, if you need additional puncture protection. 

If you want to stay with Continental, the 4 Seasons are also well reviewed, as noted below – but I haven’t ridden these. The Vittoria Rubino are also well reviewed and appear fairly grippy. 

[DeeJayJay]

Hi Steve,

Hi Steve,

Sorry to hear about your ‘off’, and I hope you recover swiftly and without issue.

 

In my experince, I have always found Gatorskins to be sketchy in wet or damp conditions, an opinion shared by friends also, to the extent we have re-named them Skatorskins.

 

I also use Conti 4 Seasons for winter riding, without any feeling of loss of grip in the wet. They seem to have decent puncture resistance too… maybe I’ve just been lucky on that front?! 

[Steve K]

First off, I hope you mend
First off, I hope you mend quickly.

At the considerable risk of tempting fate, I’ve cycled through several winters with Conti 4 seasons without mishap. (If I now come off on my next ride, I’m blaming you ?)

[Author]

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