# No flats, luck? Roubaix Pro Versus Gatorskin



## jamesdylangoldstein (Aug 14, 2013)

Most of the posts I've seen compare the Gatorskin to 4-seasons, 4000S, etc. Ride quality is average, I get that.

I have 28c Roubaix Pro tires on my Secteur Disc. I have probably been stupid and had them places where I shouldn't have. I've hit nice pavement cracks at 18mph, grass areas at almost full speed, some gravel sections, etc. The full NYC experience plus some time in PA trails. 
I run the tires at 120psi and have had zero issue. There are a few knicks and tiny holes if you look closely but the tires seem to be fine.

1) Have I been very lucky or is this tire almost indestructible at 120psi? 
2) If I have been lucky, I want something even tougher so I don't have to second guess myself. Would this be a 28c Gatorskin? Is the 4 season tougher than the Roubaix Pro? (I get brand labeled terms when I search, nothing useful.)
3) It's getting very cold here and I will ride some in the dark in the 20's and 30's, do I need to take that into consideration when buying my next tire.

Obviously I want to buy a set of 4000S II's in 28c but I don't want a flat. How much does tire features (endurant? polybreaker?) play a role when you're running 28c at 120psi?

Summary, Next tire: Gatorskin? Roubaix Pro, again? 4000S II, don't worry about it because it's 28c and 120psi?


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## LC (Jan 28, 2004)

I just took my Gatorskins off for the winter. Tough tires but have no grip on wet roads and the rubber gets harder the colder it gets. I like the 4000s and Michelin Pro4 for summer but they are too delicate for winter. 

I have not tried the Specialized Roubaix Pro. The ones I like for winter are the Cont 4 Seasons and the Vittoria Rubino Pro Tech.


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## jamesdylangoldstein (Aug 14, 2013)

It it safe to assume that the higher the TPI, the more delicate the tire? The Roubaix pro seems to have the lowest TPI.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

jamesdylangoldstein said:


> It it safe to assume that the higher the TPI, the more delicate the tire?


No.

For example Vittoria Paves are a lot tougher than many tires with a lower TPI.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Having been running Gatorskin 28c tires on my commuter for the last several months ... they will not be on my bike for a whole lot longer. I've had 4 flats (all in the rear) due to debris on the road in less than 2000 miles. I went over 5000 on two different Michelin Pro 3's over the winter with Zero flats.

My next set will likely be a set of Panaracer Ribmo PT tires.

I need something that rolls well, but is flat resistant with a 42 mile round trip commute, which over the winter will be during some very crappy weather.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

jamesdylangoldstein said:


> It it safe to assume that the higher the TPI, the more delicate the tire? The Roubaix pro seems to have the lowest TPI.


There's a school of thought that a supple, high volume, low pressure tire is more resistant to flats. The thought is that it can conform to and roll over that which would flat a stiffer, higher pressure tire.


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## RaptorTC (Jul 20, 2012)

Welp, you just made the big mistake of talking about flats. Your luck is ruined now .

In all seriousness, I made it all last winter on a set of Forte Strada K's ($15 a tire) without a flat. They got worn down and cut up though and became really flat prone in the early summer. After that I switched to Michelin Pro 4's which have been great, love the way they ride. This winter I'll be ditching the road bike and doing most of my miles on the cross bike. I'm entertaining getting a set of strada k's in as wide as I can find them for days where a cross tread isn't really needed. At $15 a tire they're great.


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## jamesdylangoldstein (Aug 14, 2013)

Thank you for all the replies, you have made my decision very hard. Ahh! I was hoping for, "the Roubaix Pro are OK but the XYZ is more of what you're looking for." Unfortunately few people seem to have run this tire and several others to compare. I want a 28c tire and they don't make the Pro 4 in 28c. I will probably end up with the Continental 4 Seasons because that's what seems to be the most lauded 28c tire. Part of me says buy the 4000S II in 28c because they're faster and just be more careful.


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## demonrider (Jul 18, 2012)

velodog said:


> There's a school of thought that a supple, high volume, low pressure tire is more resistant to flats. The thought is that it can conform to and roll over that which would flat a stiffer, higher pressure tire.


And to some extent, it works. I found that the drawback to this approach is premature and sudden death of a tire after it flats. I love my Vredestein fortezza tricomps, and they resist a lot of crap due to softer rubber, however they are also prone to bulging at the spot where you flatted before. The harder tires like gatorskin et al. avoid this issue for the most part.


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## Dunbar (Aug 8, 2010)

The trick is to find to the least amount of puncture resistance that results flat frequency you can live with. I used Gatorskins and Durano Plus tires when I lived 50 miles inland in Los Angeles and still got the occasional puncture flat but I could live with the frequency. I moved to west Los Angeles and couldn't deal with the poor ride quality of those tires on the crappy roads around here so I switched to the GP4000s. I haven't had a puncture flat in over 6k miles with the GP4000s and the ride quality and rolling resistance is much better. I put about 500 miles on the Roubaix Pro 23/25 tires and they seem comparable to the Gatorskins in ride quality (no punctures in the 500 miles i rode them either.) Also, Continental Gatorksins and 4-Seasons run narrow. The 28's measure more like 26 on a non-wide road rim. The 4000s run a little wide too so the actual difference in width between a 25mm 4000s and a 28mm 4-season is probably less than 1mm once mounted.

BTW, there's no reason to run that much pressure in 28mm tires. All it's going to do is punish the rider. I run 85-90psi in my 25mm GP4000S's on standard width (15c) road rims.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

demonrider said:


> And to some extent, it works. I found that the drawback to this approach is premature and sudden death of a tire after it flats. I love my Vredestein fortezza tricomps, and they resist a lot of crap due to softer rubber, however they are also prone to bulging at the spot where you flatted before. The harder tires like gatorskin et al. avoid this issue for the most part.


The Vred fortezza tricomp has also been my tire of choice for a number of years. Been running 23's but will move to the 25's as soon as I find them for the same price I been paying for the 23's.

In fact, I just yesterday swapped out my rear tire with 2608 miles on it, which I'm quite happy with. It was squared off, which I'll ride, but the cord started to show through in a coupla places. I thought that I had swapped the tire out early in it's life, but when I checked my book I saw that it was just a flat and didn't call for retiring the tire. 

I hate to speak it, but that was the only flat on the tire.

I have an index mark on my pump gauge that I'll typically have set on 100lbs, pumping the rear to the mark and the front to just before the mark. If it's wet I'll set the mark at 95, maybe 90 if I'm feeling daring. I weigh in at anywhere between 180 and 190 lbs, depending on the time of the year and recent mileage. 


I think that where you ride in the road is as important, maybe more so, than the tire ridden. I try and stay in the right tire path of the motorized traffic. The auto tires do a pretty good job of sweeping the road debris away.


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## wildboar (Nov 27, 2008)

velodog said:


> The Vred fortezza tricomp has also been my tire of choice for a number of years. Been running 23's but will move to the 25's as soon as I find them for the same price I been paying for the 23's.


Vredestein is coming out with a new lineup to replace the Tricomp, the Fortezza Senso. They are finally making something similar to the Quattro in a 25 and 28 size.

Folding Tires:

All Weather Superlite (23 mm)
All Weather (23 and 25 mm)
Xtreme Weather (23, 25 and 28 mm)

Tweewieler.nl - Vredestein met nieuwe Fortezza racebanden op Eurobike

For the classic Tricomp look at the Gran Fondo tire they are selling at biketiresdirect and westerbikeworks they are importing them direct from Vredestein with their own custom sidewall label on them. If you watch the sales you can catch them on great deals, I scored Tricomps for $31 and the Gran Fondo was $29 a couple days ago.


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## woz (Dec 26, 2005)

I'm also a big fan of the Vredestein. Here in the desert we have the usual mix of potholes and such but also have to deal with the fact that virtually everything has a thorn on it. I think it has the best balance of flat protection and ride quality.


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## jamesdylangoldstein (Aug 14, 2013)

My father went to his local bike store, which happens to best bike store I've ever been in (Freeze Thaw Cycles in State College, Pa.). They recommended Continental 4 Seasons 28c run around 90 Psi. So that's what I bought.



woz said:


> I'm also a big fan of the Vredestein. Here in the desert we have the usual mix of potholes and such but also have to deal with the fact that virtually everything has a thorn on it. I think it has the best balance of flat protection and ride quality.


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## choppedsled (Sep 18, 2008)

I've been running the Roubaix Pros in 25 mm for a year now. I love em. I weigh 175-180 and run 100+ psi rear, 85 - 90 in the front. I put 2000 on my first set before I flatted the rear on a shard of glass. The front has 2800 mi on it now. I live in the Pacific Northwest and ride in rain, cold, and some pretty narly streets. I'm pretty well sold on them for the time being, and was a die hard contie 4000 user.


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