Continental Sprinter Gatorskin 700x22c tubular tire inherited the best qualities of the highly popular Ultra GatorSkin road tyre, namely the durable carbon black tread mixture, the effective puncture protection breaker layer and the DuraSkin® anti-cu
Submitted by
grga
a Cross Country Rider
from zagreb, croatia
Date Reviewed: March 6, 2011
Strengths: low roling resistance
Weaknesses: punctures
Bottom Line:
i have the II generaton of this tire, and it depreses me, afther 1 month of riding i did souch a cut that i had to buy a new one, i thought this was my fault so i tryed again, until now i had some 20 punctures and the tire is full of recess so i can see the inside tube, my girlfriend has the same tire but generation I and it is excellent she had almost no problems in 5 years and the tire has less wear than my
i had the best will to trust conti but never again will i buy one of there tiers
The tread has lasted long enough for the sidewalls to be dry rotting, going on 6 years now and about 3000 miles (have singles also and alternate between bikes). The posted air pressure is 35 - 65. The owner of the bike shop is a former NC tandem race champion and advised me to run 70 psi at all times. He evidently knew what he was talking about. I'm searching the net for an identical set now, which is how I came upon this survey. I like the tires enough to take the time to help somebody else make a wise decision.
Similar Products Used: Original set of tires that came on the tandem.
Bike Setup: Burley Rock-n-Roll Tandem Mountain Bike, 27-speed, drum brake on rear.
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Submitted by
Russell Rutledge
a Cross Country Rider
from Norman,Ok
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2008
Strengths: Everything!
Weaknesses: Everything!
Bottom Line:
I use these tire for everything. I've raced cross on them, ridden trails, commute to work, etc. and they've never failed. I've got no complaints. They still look like new and I've had them for nearly two years. Highly recommended!
Submitted by
Lee
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2007
Strengths: Fast, light, just wide enough. (1.9)
Weaknesses: Not a lot of flat protection. Really hard to find in kevlar nowadays.
Bottom Line:
For hard pack like what I ride, these things rock. I would never ride the mountians with them, or if the trail had a lot of gravel, but for hard pack they are super. Just enough side wall grip for flowy corners. They are really hard to find in kevlar which sucks cause these are one of the best tires I have ever used.
Submitted by
Eds
a Weekend Warrior
from Karlsruhe, Germany
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006
Strengths: Very fast tire, really good grip in the wet, feels very smooth with little rolling resistance.
Weaknesses: None seen yet
Bottom Line:
First try at the semi-slicks and I am surprised that this tire gives really good grip for such low rolling resistance. When pumped up to close to the max recommened pressure, the tire is very quiet (just silent) and feels light, as if its not there when you are accelerating.
The tread pattern is good enough for 50/50 asphalt/dirt in my daily commute. Dropped ride times and less sweaty when I get to work.
Similar Products Used: Schwable Albert, Continental Leader,
Bike Setup: Raleight something with a full suspension
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Submitted by
james russell
a Cross Country Rider
from banstead, surrey, England
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2006
Strengths: (I own the conti double fighter II) Very low rolling resistance, smooth confident cornering, surprizingly grippy in the wet (England!!), handle pressure well and seem to cope in the rough stuff (If you like a bit of wheelspin like me)
Weaknesses: No issues with the tyre, I did have three punctures in the space of a week, but that was before I realised that I was using tubes rated for 2.2" upwards at high pressure.
Bottom Line:
These tyres are, without a doubt, the best I've ever used for versatility. I bought them for roads and hard packed trails, but was pleasantly surprized by their performance in the wet and in gloopy british winter mud. They do spin, but the bike never stops - the tyres find grip and give it to you. great fun when you corner deliberately too fast or accelerate/brake too sharp - they slide slightly (allowing the rider to enjoy some adrenaline moments) but have never let go. Buy them for all conditions except for when you need the cushioning provided by bigger volume tyres. I will never buy any other tyre.
Similar Products Used: standard tyres fitted to the bike (Scott manx 2.0"), Panaracer fire XC, impac getaway, schwarble fast freds
Bike Setup: XC hardtail, set up for road/light trails, Hydraulic disks.
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Submitted by
jerry
a Cross Country Rider
from akron,oh
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2005
Strengths: FAST FAST FAST and light. They will take 90 psi on the road if you want real speed. awesome traction. I have ridden them on every kind of terrain and been pleasantly surprised more than disapointed
Weaknesses: corner a little squirrely. require solid mechanics on your bike.
Bottom Line:
if you DOWNHILLING.. get a DOWHNILL bike with a DOWNHILL tire. don't expect 1 tire (or bike for that matter) to do everything no matter how much you paid for it. These have treated me better than any tire I have ever used. they are squirrelly going downhill and get bogged down in sand traps. You can't Buy bike skillz.
Favorite Trail: cliff trail (reminiscing since its gone now)
Duration Product Used: More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At: LOCAL BIKE SHOP
Similar Products Used: tons
Bike Setup: Klein attitude frame chris king hubs ti spokes 517 rim XT brake shift XTR der's drivetrain
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Submitted by
J
a Weekend Warrior
from syarcuse, ny
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2004
Strengths: note: this review is an older model (not the 2-tone)
Weaknesses: none for a semi-slick
Bottom Line:
i liked the michelin wildgrippers that came with the bike, but wore out the back tire. i went to the lbs to get a quick replacement and the only decent tire they had was the doublefighter. i was skeptical at first, but the difference was noticed immediately.
on the road, just swapping the rear tire made the bike feel much faster and smoother(no knobs in the center tread). that was good for short commutes to work, but i thought i would have to find a better tire on the trails. i was actaully surprised by how well they did for a semi-slick. they don't pack mud like knobbies and i've been able to slice thru mud with no problems. i don't even feel them spin. i think that they dig thru the mud and grab traction on the hard pack under the muck. knobbies seem to pack mud and then you have mud on mud and spin. maybe in really deep mud, some sort of self cleaning knobbie is better, but when its that muddy here the riding really sucks and everybody waits for the trails to dry.
the michelin up front and the double fighter in back have been great. yeah, the double fighter seems loose in the loam, but i haven't ridden a mtb tire that wasn't. i don't think there really is a true all-around tire. ideally, you should have several different tires for different conditions. for now, i really like this combo since i do an occasional street ride. i found this tire by accident, and i'm glad i did. i hope the new version is just as good.
Submitted by
chubby bob
from bend, OR, untied states
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2003
Strengths: barely any rolling resistance good on in the saddle climbs surprisingly good traction fastest tire ive ever used
Weaknesses: cornering, stand up climbing snake bites
Bottom Line:
a great hard pack tire very fastbest tire ive used weak sidewalls good on in the saddle climbs radical looking double colors great tires overall bad on packed corners and loose corners
I have used this tyre for about a year on the rear of my slalom bike on the BMX tracks around my area and these things have knocked about 2-3 seconds of my lap times. I have mated these with an IRC Kujo up front and even though it is a sei slick I have found that there is plenty of grip and a very low rolling resistance. The only bad point about the tyres are the thin side walls but what was i expecting from an XC tyre
Submitted by
Pierre L'Archevêque
from Laval, Québec, Canada
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2002
Strengths: Light weight, multi color, smooth, Very high road performance, stable handling, predictable cornering.
Weaknesses: It is definately a slick not a semi-slick, uses up quick, after 1800 miles of only road use, I can see black spots under the grey. Threads start poping out from the side. PEOPLE ALWAYS TELL YOU THAT YOUr TIRES ARE FINISHED EVEN WHEN YOU JUST BUY THEM. Consider getting anti flat armor for these tires. They are very hard to put on certain rims. (SUN Ringle rhyno lite) Do not go offroading with these tires. Mudd is horrible and snow is deadly.
Bottom Line:
Even though this tire has alot of weaknesses, it still remains in my opinion, a very good road performance mtb tire. The weaknesses are forgivin when you ride on the road. THESE TIRES DO NOT MAKE YOU WAST ENERY. They are perfect for the tipical weight freak.
Similar Products Used: WTB PRIMAL RAPTOR (CRAP)!!!! made in china
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Submitted by
Deebs
from Denton
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2002
Strengths: 1. They're conti's. 2. Germany
Weaknesses: 1. Front tire in the soft stuff. 2. They dont come in pink. 3. Orange
Bottom Line:
They roll,....fast. Traction on pavement when commuting is outstanding. On the trail,..the front has a bit of trouble in the soft stuff when cornering. I'm thinkin about puttin a 2.+ tire in the front and keepin the fighter in the back for my spin. (The moto in front will be my suspension. I'll let ya know how it all worked out.) But none-the-less, the fighters have superb rubber durometers. Harder in the center,..a little softer on the edges. Excellent idea. Buy it if you use your bike for dual purpose, commuting/gettin hurt.
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Olathe, Kansas, USA
Date Reviewed: July 12, 2002
Strengths: Fast, suprisingly good traction for a semi-slick, tough
Weaknesses: Pretty expensive, $55 was per tire!
Bottom Line:
I got these tires because I could not find any Bontrager Revolt SS's local and needed some tread for some hard pack riding I was doing over July 4th. I put these one and tried them out. I really liked them! Rode over hardpack, loose dirt, dry creek beds and dry roots. Not a single slip. They are also excellent on pavement and grip like crazy with that center strip. Could be faster if you could pump them above 65 lbs.