So how did this legendary compound come into being? At the Continental R&D labs in Korbach, our heroic team of engineers grapple with one of the fundamental problems of tire construction. Essentially, the running properties of a rubber compound of a tire are determined by three co-dependent factors: This could also depend on your wheelwidth, my GP5000's 25mm are 28mm on my DT-Swiss wheels and only 25mm on my old Dura-Ace 24 wheels. Not that i'm saying this is always the fact (my Challenge Gravel Grinders 38mm were only 35mm). But for me Continental were always a bit wider.

With regards to grip, the Conti sits in the middle of the field. Like the Schwalbe, it provides good control at the limit and a predictable grip threshold. The sidewalls are relatively stiff and can sometimes cause the tire to feel skittish on uneven surfaces. We ran the tire at 6.5 bar, which already feels plenty hard, so we strongly recommend keeping the pressure below that mark. However, according to Conti’s recommended pressure settings, that is already at the lower end of the scale. I'm not sure at what kind of speed this turnover point would be. This also depends greatly on the tire/wheel combo. While the tread puncture resistance score is slightly below average, the sidewall puncture resistance score of 5 points is slightly better than most other comparable tires. The Schwalbe One V-Guard ( review) is a tire which comes very close to the Grand Prix 4000S II in the rolling resistance test. The Schwalbe One has a better tread puncture score (12), but a lower sidewall score (4). Thanks to its DuraSkin anti-tear fabric and two Vectran anti puncture strips, the Grand Prix 4-Season holds up under extreme conditions. In the Paris- Roubaix race, the "Hell of the North", cyclists equipped with DuraSkin™ enhanced tyres have the fewest tyre related problems during the race. Incorporating our special wear resistant carbon compound, the tyre is characterized by very good mileage performance as well as excellent adhesion on wet roads and at low temperatures. Sealant required. The GP 5000 TL has a layer of rubber on the inside to retain air; the GP 5000 S TR doesn't.

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measurements with different inner tubes, measurements at 15% tire drop, and measurements at the same comfort level. Sure, there are tyres that can boast a more supple rubber and lower rolling resistance that could save you 1.5watts - but these offer an almost-perfect ride quality coupled with a significantly reduced likelihood if spending time beside the road fixing punctures. While the GP TL was better than many previous tubeless tyres for ease of fitting, there were still rims it didn't quite fit easily. We've found the GP S TR is better still, but you might still run into not-quite-compatible combinations. Now you might think a tyre which rolls well has reduced grip but even during this spell of bad weather where the roads are wet and muddy the tyre has plenty of grip even at higher speeds. Grand Prix 5000 AS TR is a new all-season GP5000, adding some extra protection, grip and longevity to the fast GP5000 road tyre lineup. Even though this is the heavier of the two new GP5000 tyres, it is perhaps more exciting for those who enjoy a little speed boost in everyday conditions and not while racing.

With the AS TR, Continental has paired the speed of the Grand Prix 5000 and the longevity and protection of the Grand Prix 4 Season. The new tyre has a boosted tread pattern, multi-layer overlapping ply construction and additional sidewall protection - although from afar it looks very much like a "regular" GP5000. Performance in the rolling resistance test is great. At an air pressure of 120 psi, rolling resistance is a low 12.2 watts, which is excellent for a Tour / Race type tire. Dropping air pressure to 100 psi results in a rolling resistance of 12.9 watts. Lowering air pressure even lower results in a rolling resistance of 13.7 watts at an air pressure of 80 psi. However, a friend of mine has had no end of issues with punctures and poor quality so maybe it's a hit & miss thing? Which it shouldn't be, obviously. Off-course, what will be won in the rolling resistance department, will be lost in the aerodynamics department. It's still available from some retailers but the Grand Prix 5000 TL has been nominally replaced by the Grand Prix 5000 S TR. We'll keep these details until retailers run out.

What sets the GP's apart from other race tyres, which also offer impeccable grip, is the incorporation of the Vectran Breaker. All that to say, you aren’t going to lose your local race because you have Grand Prix 4000 S II tires on your wheels.

Puncture Force Blunt Needle: The Blunt needle has a flat tip and won't split the casing wires. To puncture the tire, the blunt needle has to cut the casing wires. Sorry but for far too many people who have ridden the GP4S this is a complete contrast to their experiences including mine. The tyres feel dead/unresponsive and sluggish, you do not keep your "summer speed" at all as they feel really draggy, they might have some additional grip in the wet but whatever micro improvement over x tyre I couldn't tell but having some unmeasurable extra grip at the expense of how they are much less a quality ride and lower performance (over Giant P-SL2s in 28mm) would simply not be worth it at all. The all new Vectran breaker belt, developed and patented by Continental, surpasses even the famous puncture resistance of the former leader in this category, the GP3000. The extremely strong Vectran fabrics are more flexible and lighter than all other puncture protection materials. Vectran offers more resistance to cuts than Aramid, is five times as strong as steel and features less weight than a nylon double breaker. It also maintains strength in the wet.The Road Bike section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. Welcome to the latest edition of road.cc’s buyer's guide to Continental's road tyre range, in which you’ll find everything you need to know to find the right tyres for you, plus a comprehensive guide to all clincher and tubular tyres in their range.

Though not the winners when it comes to rolling resistance,research suggests that when combined with aerodynamics, at over 35kph,these might even be the fastest, thanks to the tread pattern playing a role. The expertly designed layer within these tyres acts as an intermediate between the sharp outside objects and the inner tube within.it gives an excellent opportunity to explore the differences between wider and smaller road bike tires. to know when you decide to go for a bigger tire because you like a more comfortable ride or ride on bad roads with potholes a lot. Noteworthy is the very flat rolling resistance graph of this tire, dropping air pressure to 80 psi increases rolling resistance by only 1.5 watts per tire. This is a great feature because rider comfort will increase greatly at 80 / 90 psi at a very low cost. So in my view these tyres are well worth the money, not only for life span, performance, grip, reduced rolling resistance, and puncture resistance.