The Continental Gator Hardshell Rigid Tyre is designed for riders who simply demand the most protective, fast rolling tyre around. The Continental Gator Hard Shell has been developed from the supremely successful Continental Ultra GatorSkin, but the GatorHardshell gets added extras in every department:
- Bead to bead DuraSkin protection
- Hardshell casing wrapping further into the sidewall
- Extra wide Poly-X breaker belt covers the entire tread strip from shoulder to shoulder
- Added material in the tread improves mileage and further increases puncture resistance
- Slick tread for exceptional grip in wet and dry conditions
- Supple handling and low rolling resistance
- Weight: 310 g (700x23 mm)

Cycling Plus rated 9/10 and said,
"The Continental GatorHardshell Rigid Tyre is one of our favourite training tyres. It's very quick and it's a tough enough tyre for winter riding, audax and fast commuting - so long as you keep it topped up to its recommended pressure and don't leave flints and the like embedded in the tread. For those wanting more puncture protection and wear life, Continental has introduced this Hardshell tyre. There's a bit more tread rubber, a wider polyester breaker strip under the tread, and a three-ply rather then two-ply polyamide casing to help prevent slashed sidewalls. This adds 48 g for the folding 700x23 Hardshell (273 g) compared to the equivalent Gatorskin, but in spite of that weight gain we were unable to detect any noticeable difference in rolling resistance between the two tyres even using back-to-back roll-down tests. Among the training tyres we've tested, only the Gatorskin itself and Michelin's excellent Krylion Carbon have been quicker, and while it's early days yet, the Continental Gator Hardshell Tyre seems more puncture resistant than either."