New Continental 5000S Tires - Tubeless Compatible

[TobinHatesYou]

My mates don't seem to have problems with them either.

Then likely you ride in conditions that are favourable for the GP4000. The sidewalls are especially vulnerable to hitting debris like gravel, not straight on but more of a side hit. This will often split/cut a sidewall. I've said this elsewhere before, but where I live we have lots of suburban development and therefore lots of dump trucks hauling gravel. These mofos are not great at covering their loads, and as a result many of our roads have a higher than normal amount of gravel stones on the sides/shoulders. In a group setting it is often hard to miss this debris, and as a result I see lots of sidewall-damaged Contis in my area.

This is exactly what happened to me repeatedly. It's not always urban junk slicing the sidewalls, but riding after rain when small pebbles slide off the mountainsides onto the roads.

I dealt with it until two tires got sliced on the same ride...barely 200mi old.

[bilwit]

My experience is the opposite. I've never had a GP4k sidewall cut or failure. The total number of flats I've had since moving to GP4ks can be counted on one hand. I tried some Vittoria corsa open clichers and got flats all the time. It was so frustrating I just uninstalled them and went back to Grand Prixs. The Vittorias felt nice but it was like 5% nicer to me - not an earthshattering differenence. My rear GP4ks did square off towards the end of it's life but that was after thousands of flat free miles.

I have the same experience. I've used them exclusively in throughout some historically shit Pacific northwest winters and they've been able to take a beating. I tried Corsas briefly but I found that they were much more prone to cuts and gashes on top of the 50g penalty when they roll about the same. I'll ride out my current pair of 4000s and hop on the 5000 train eventually.

[Marin]

Tubeless being slower than the regular clincher is sad.

Happy I just switched to Pro Ones.

[TobinHatesYou]

Tubeless being slower than the regular clincher is sad.

Happy I just switched to Pro Ones.

Where are you seeing numbers for the tubeless version?

e: Found it -> https://www.aero-coach.co.uk/gp-5000-tubeless-data

They used 50mL of sealant, which is completely unnecessary for a 25mm tire. The generally accepted volume for a 25mm tire is 30mL. I see they also went ahead and used latex tubes for the comparison.

Armed with this knowledge I'm still betting the GP5K TL ends up the 2nd fastest tubeless tire on BRR's list.

[pdlpsher1]

Yes I do hear more stories about the Contis getting sidewall cuts. Is this because Conti outsells other tires by a wide margin I ride with a group and I can't recall seeing anyone riding on tires other than the GP4K. Seriously. Cuts also happen on other tires but you just don't hear much about them often because they are not that many of them out there. For a proper statistical analysis you need the failure rate in %, not in absolute numbers.

[Marin]

They used 50mL

I also thought that was excessive. Let's wait for Jarno's test, but I don't think it'll get that much faster.

[TobinHatesYou]

They used 50mL

I also thought that was excessive. Let's wait for Jarno's test, but I don't think it'll get that much faster.

Jarno uses butyl tubes, which are maybe 1W slower than latex tubes using his test protocol (29km/h, 42.5kg load.) He also uses 20mL of sealant which is what I consider the absolute minimum to run on 25mm tires.

Aero Coach used latex tubes and 50mL of sealant. Their test is performed at 45km/h with an unknown load. Given the wattage difference in the two test protocols, the difference in rolling resistance between the two tires according to Jarno's test would be just a fraction of the 1.2W from the Aero Coach test. Now add the penalty of a butyl tube and I think the GP5K TL scores in low 9s on Jarno's test.

[Monkeyfudger]

I asked before but there was a smart arse, how do rollers (it didn’t say in the article so I’m just assuming normal rollers) translate to normal riding on tarmac?

It’d be interesting to see how closely the results would match up between tyre rolling resistance on a static test + wind tunnel testing Vs real world testing on the velodrome.

[Marin]

I asked before but there was a smart arse, how do rollers (it didn’t say in the article so I’m just assuming normal rollers) translate to normal riding on tarmac?

This has been done. While the absolute values are different, the ranking of the tires stays largely the same in all tests, so roller testing is a good predictor of real life performance.

[TobinHatesYou]

I know Jarno's drum isn't completely smooth. I believe Wheel Energy has an uneven drum as well.

[1415chris]

Yes I do hear more stories about the Contis getting sidewall cuts. Is this because Conti outsells other tires by a wide margin I ride with a group and I can't recall seeing anyone riding on tires other than the GP4K. Seriously. Cuts also happen on other tires but you just don't hear much about them often because they are not that many of them out there. For a proper statistical analysis you need the failure rate in %, not in absolute numbers.

My statistics are very simple:
Sidewall cuts stats:
- Conti GP4k - 2
- Veloflex 22, 23, Vittoria CX, SR, Pave, G+, Contol; adding to equation tubs (Veloflex, Vittoria, FMB) - 0

[petromyzon]

The plural of anecdote is not data. 2 observations, unblinded, and not randomised.

[1415chris]

Good one!
Individual experience doesn't meter in the big scale of data and statisctics.
But you know what? I don't need a data and statisctics to make my mind about tyres I rode/ride.
On the subject of conti sidewall cuts do your research and you will find out that this is commonly reported issue. And in fact it has been reported for many years, from GP4k and through its version II. One can add the issue with the falling apart threads as well.

[Marin]

The plural of anecdote is not data. 2 observations, unblinded, and not randomised.

There are no double blind randomized studies in cycling that I know of, not even in the more serious sports medicine / human performance field, so anecdotal evidence is a valuable input to many people's equipment decisions, including mine.

By the way, I've never had sidewall cuts on my GP4000, but I've had several on other tires. I still believe that GP4000 are more prone to sidewall cuts because I've seen enough cases online and in the real world. And, my decision to stop using these tires has nothing to do with sidewall cuts.

[zefs]

Maybe the reason is that it's the most sold tire so it's obvious more people will be reporting issues compared to other tires that in some shops are not even available for purchase. I don't see a reason why the Continental tires would be more prone to sidewall punctures compared to other tires of the same category and price. Also people using it as a winter tire which it never was, more like all round one.