# Gatorskin, Armadillo or Marathon Plus?



## Bugner (30 Mar 2009)

Looking for a 700x28 tyre for daily 25 mile round trip commute and up to 60 mile weekend rides. Want something that is robust but also low rolling resistance?

Having looked at the 3 mentioned in the title, my thoughts are the following

Does the Marathon+ have too much of a tread (rolling resistance) and is it too heavy?

Amadillo Nimbus, is the recessed tread better than the Ultra gatorskin? but will gatorskin offer less rolling resistance?

Can't make my mind up. Any advice, much appreciated.

Cheers


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## mr Mag00 (30 Mar 2009)

i have gaorskin really like them, tried nimbus could not get them on my rims and when did wouldn't fit in frame too wide!

I have the nimbus for sale if they will fit your bike needs a wider clearance


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## Royalrider (30 Mar 2009)

My 10 penneth, but I am no expert! I have Marathons, not the +, on one of my bikes and Gatorskin on another. I had a lot of problems seating the Marathons and the tyres 'blew' off the rims on a few occasions meaning I always had to carry two inner tubes as spares as they were completely destroyed when the tyre came off. There are a few posts on the forums regarding this from other members. When I bought my Amazon I opted for Gatorskin for this reason and have had no problems with them. The Gators do roll very nicely and in my opinion look better on the bike. I doubt there is much in it really and it is a case of which you can get the best deal on at the time.


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## 3tyretrackterry (30 Mar 2009)

schawlbe city jet on my commuter and no problems in over 18 months of 10 mile a day the rear is just beginning to thin a bit now but should still be ok for a few more commutes yet. number of unplanned road side tyre changes so far less than 5


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## 4F (30 Mar 2009)

I have Marathon plus which I use on my commuter. No problem fitting and not had a problem with them blowing off. It is true they are a bit heavier and rolling resistance down on the others but 3000 miles later and no punctures says it all. Still average 14 - 16 mph on my commute time. Many others on here say the gatorskins are skittish in the wet but I have not tried them.

As always it's a trade off between puncture resistance and rolling resistance.


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## HJ (30 Mar 2009)

I am a fan of Conti gatorskins and I have never had a problem in the wet.


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## lazyfatgit (30 Mar 2009)

Had Nimbus on the last hybrid and had a few deflation events. They wore quickly too. I didn't really like them in the wet.

Have just put on Marathon (not plus) 28C on the tourer as i had no incidents in 2000 miles with 38C ones. Plenty of wear left in the old ones. i only swapped them because i no longer need the big tyres for the bike seat. No probs fitting them either.


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## Paulus (31 Mar 2009)

Hairy Jock said:


> I am a fan of Conti gatorskins and I have never had a problem in the wet.



+1. Keep them well pumped up to the max pressure though and you will have no problems with cuts and picking up flints etc.


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## swee'pea99 (31 Mar 2009)

Paulus said:


> +1. Keep them well pumped up to the max pressure though and you will have no problems with cuts and picking up flints etc.


Er, I do, but I do.


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## John the Monkey (31 Mar 2009)

I'll hold my hands up as someone who dislikes Gatorskins in the wet.

(Mine were 25C wire on).

They do roll nicely at the recommended pressure (95psi) and the tread is durable (mine had squared off in back, but there's still rubber on them after what must be at least 2500 miles in all weathers. As others have commented, p* resistant tyres are a trade off - in the case of the 'gators, I didn't like what they were good at enough to keep riding them - your opinion could well differ.


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## Aperitif (31 Mar 2009)

Paulus said:


> +1. Keep them well pumped up to the max pressure though and you will have no problems with cuts and picking up flints etc.



Oh yes you will! 

Marathon + man now - after FFFF's advice...take a look in the...easier for me to link so. Good luck with your choice anyway.

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=27490


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## cadseen (31 Mar 2009)

Have used both gatorskins and armadillos, armadllos are best if puncture resistance is more important, but they are much slower and heavier than the gatorskin.

I know prefer the gator skin, id rather have the odd puncture and cycle with less effort. but i suppose it depends on how far your riding and over what terrain


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## Paul_Smith SRCC (3 Apr 2009)

Bugner said:


> Looking for a 700x28 tyre for daily 25 mile round trip commute and up to 60 mile weekend rides. Want something that is robust but also low rolling resistance?
> 
> Having looked at the 3 mentioned in the title, my thoughts are the following
> 
> ...



As far as I am concerned the Marathon Plus is more of a local distance bomb proof tyre, the Specialized Nimbus Armadillo Tyre is an ideal robust long distance tyre and the Continental Ultra Gator Skins is the lightest of the three and the type of tyre I use in the tours linked below, I have written a review of those tyres here that may be of interest, a tyre I also use on my work bike


Paul_Smith
www.corridori.co.uk


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## Panter (3 Apr 2009)

I'm loving the M+ so far but I don't think I'd want to do a club run on them, they are a bit slow.
Saying that, I do my commute on them (32mile round trip) but a lot of the roads I use are in a very poor state so puncture protection is my main priority.

I gave my Gatorskins away after 400 miles as I was so sick of the punctures and skitterish nature of them in the wet.
Saying that, they were fast but not when I factored in all the time spent replacing inner tubes 

I only had Aramdillo's for one ride and ended up giving the bike away (long story) so can't comment on their puncture resistance but they certainly seemed to perform Ok.


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## mearle (3 Apr 2009)

I use 28mm Gatorskins with a tyre-liner, and I puncture maybe once or twice a year on my commute in London. For some reason, my local Halfords have them priced at £15 which is the cheapest I've seen them anywhere.


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