I'm 76, ride for distance, solo, 5000 miles per yr, lots of centuries.
I used many, many different tires and have come to rely on the 4-Season as my go to REAR tire.
I know this can be very subjective, but in my experience is this is the most reliable rear tire to get me home w/o flatting. Or worse, cutting/blowout. There are a lot of bad roads and debris out there.
You will notice I specify rear. I have found different behavior/types of flats between front and rear, and use different tires on the front..
I am 83 and have been riding since the Truman administration. Now I ride 30 miles three times per week at speeds from 13 to 15 mph on a decent road bike. I am no expert on anything but I believe in trying to get the best when it comes to tires for obvious reasons. I have used this and other high end Continental tires for at least 15 years and never had a problem of any kind with the tires. This GP 4 Season sounded like it had the very best features for my particular riding style, safety over speed. In years past I have tried racing tires with no problem but did not notice any significant advantage and they don't last as long and do not give me the feeling of safety that I need. My opinion is if less weight is desired there are better ways to reduce weight than shaving a little weight off of the tires. I do care about speed but you can go a faster when you are not thinking about a fragile tire blowing out on you. I did have a blow out flat one time and it was coming down a steep hill and was able to bring it to a stop without spilling over. Just keeping calm and steady; I was never a really strong rider. I think my fastest ever long distance closed loop road ride was 18.5 mph average, but I can't even do 15 mph these days. Seriously, don't skimp on your tires and enjoy some serious riding at your own level. I am not against racing tires...they are just not for someone like me. One last thing, I take 18 seconds and check both tires before every ride. Although it is rare to find anything, I remove any little rock that is sticking to the tire. I am not an expert on tire technology; I just think the All Season sounded like the best for me, the safest most trouble free, a serious tire.
I've been using Gator Skins for years. The name changes a bit sometimes, but these are basically Gator Skins with a little more flatting protection. That's why I use them! No one wants to get a flat, even if you're a Pro. I usually go for about 3000 miles before changing them and sometimes without getting even one flat! I just check to see if they look like they could use changing or 3000 miles, whichever comes first. They're not the lightest tires on the market but I'm not racing with them either. So all good!
I've been running Continental tires back to the Grand Prix 4000 days and always had good luck with them. Fast, grippy and very few punctures. I tried a set of 4-Seasons for winter riding and had several flats over the first month of using them. I switched back to the GP 5000s and am no longer having flat issues. Maybe I have bad luck or I ended up with a bad batch, but these tires just didn't work for me. It's my fault for straying from the GP 5000, which I think is the best tire out there. YMMV of course.
Im a 61 year old recreational cyclist. I ride about 20 miles a day during the week and enjoy rides of up to 60 miles on the weekend. Im not fast, I dont own a heart monitor and I dont use a power meter. I ride simply for the joy of it, so I choose my equipment to maximize that joy. I ride an endurance bike and I prefer tires that are quiet, comfortable and durable rather than fast and delicate. For what do, these tires are perfect. They slot in I rly between the GP5000 (faster, but not as durable) and the Gatorskin (more durable, but less comfortable and slower). I currently have these tires on two road bikes and will shortly put them on two hybrids (range of available sizes is another plus). The only two cautionary notes I have are 1) Conti tires all seem to run at last 1mm large - if your frame clearance is tight, beware of this - and 2) There is a black version of this tire and, while it may be my imagination, I think the black sidewall is stiffer than the natural one. Other than that, great tires!
I've ridden the 4-Season about 15000 miles over the past decade. This tire has good grip and a terrific feel for the road. No tire is flat proof, but this is very flat resistant. Easy to change due to kevlar beads. Average wear.
The Grand Prix 4-Season tire was recommended to me by another triathlete competitor, so I thought I would give them a try. I had previously used the Continental Gator Hard Shell which is great for being puncture-proof, but a little heavy. Now, I absolutely love the 4-Season tires! I ride about 150 miles a week through town and on the bike trails. Some roads can be a little rough, but I have yet to get a flat. They seem lighter and faster too. I have raced 2 Half-Ironman competitions with these tires and am very happy! I would highly recommend these Grand Prix 4-Season tires for both training and racing.
I have used this tire on my rear wheel for maybe about 3000 miles, and it still has some life left in the treads. I haven't seen a flat on this bike for over 6 months over 3000 miles, and I often ride on sketchy roads with lots of debris, cracks, and potholes. It's also pretty light and handles well as far as I can tell. I would keep on buying this tire. That said, the weak point of this tire is the sidewall. The sidewall still is strong, but not as strong as the tread. I used to have this tire on the front wheel as well, but retired it after a sidewall slit from hitting a rock; the rest of the tire is so strong that I didn't get a flat (though the tube bulged out) and safely made it home after 50 miles. Recently, I retired the rear one after 3000 miles again because of a sidewall puncture; I FINALLY got a flat after hitting a super gnarly pothole with sharp edges. The tread held up, and upon inspection, I can see many scratches and dents that would have resulted into flats in other tires. The sidewall was damaged, and a slit formed near the beads probably after I rode on the flat tire for 3 miles on sketchy road to the train station. In the end I'm not sure whether it was caused by the pothole or riding on the flat tire.
Balanced and Tough Spin without any wobble adjustment needed. I run 100 - 110 psi - hit potholes and rolled over gravel roads without any cuts or punctures.
Stiff and Grip My average weight is 175lb - have never ran them at the 120 psi max. Feel rock hard at 110 and 100 perfect for commuting and night rides for those sneaky bumps and cracks in the road. The grip to the road is superior, instilling confidence to take turns as fast as you can handle.
Highly recommend these tires and this company - Shipping was fast, (once order was processed) price matching was fast and easy, and the selection, reviews, testing, specs, videos, etc. allow you to research a deep a rabbit hole as you want. Will definitely order from y'all again.
I weighed these on my digital scale. I weighed several, I think I had 4. Then weighed Conti 5,000�s AND my Gator skins.
These tires weighed more than my gator skins.
About 340 grams on average. About 100 grams more than my Conti 5000s.
So VERY HEAVY. NOT. A racing or light weight tire as I expected.
I race on the GP4000SII5000 tires and enjoy the performance to weight ratio of those tires. They hold really well in corners and then during club rides they are super fun to descend on and fare really well against flats when compared to the performance provided. When the race season ended this last season I slapped a pair of these 4 Season 28's on the bike and have really enjoyed them. They can handle gravel and sand, they are almost bomb proof riding on roads with highway bits and pieces of metal, and they can be run at lower pressures to make those long training days a bit easier on the body. Rockysemi-paved trails that will occasionally cut the sidewalls of my GP4000SII's are easily handled with these tires.
The one thing I do have to watch for, however, is the grip when descending. I've come loose in a couple of corners and drifted the back wheel at high speed riding them like the GP4000SII's, which is not the best feeling in the world. Totally my fault for pushing the tires beyond what they were designed to really handle, but I throw that out there as a word of caution to just take it a bit easier when on these tires and pointing the bike through some tight corners at high speed. There is necessarily a small drop off in handling when you are getting the durability built in to these wonderful, purpose built tires. I will definitely buy another pair when my current pair finally give up the ghost.
I bought 3 of these. They weight much more than advertised. The ones I got, I weighted on my digital scale, They weigh more than my gator skins.
For A 28 tire, about 330 grams. VERY heavy.
I've yet to get a failure with this tire and I am on my second set. I change my tires roughly every 3,200 miles to be safe but could get substantially more had I wanted to. The 4000s kept getting sidewall failures so I gave up on them. The 4-Season is much more durable and gives an equivalent ride to the 4000s. I was told if durability is your main priority then go with the Gator Skins but if you want solid tires that delivers performance then the 4-Season is the best option. For added protection, I also suggest adding Stans sealant to your tubes and make sure they have removable cores. Careful not to remove the valve cores when taking off the pump nozzle like I did and got 2 ounces of sealant in my face. (Pumps with pressure release buttons will avoid this. )No flats since doing this in over a year and I now ride with peace of mind.
Quiet, fast and handles assuredly on rough country roads. Works ok on dirt paths also. I have it on road bike, and hybrids.
I got them at a huge discount, for rides in snowy roads on Mt Wilson and Mt Baldy (snow is mostly by the side of the road and it's easy to dodge the bits of snow on the road) and in the rain. These tires served me well in those weather conditions, though I'm not sure how much better than regular road slicks. I haven't got a flat yet, but I haven't used them for long enough to see how flat resistant they really are. I hope that they live up to their incredibly flat resistant reputation.
