I picked up a pair of these while on sale at a great price. I use them for general road riding/training and for a few gravel-grinder organized rides (Hell of Hunterdon, Fool's Classic). After using several brands/models of tires, these have held up the best for the gravel roads. MUCH better than GatorSkins which I have had terrible luck with tearing the sidewalls on several. This is a much better tire IMO and a better price. Supple enough to use as a daily road tire as well.
I'm 140lb and the 25mm work well for me - I don't like the ride/feel of wider tires. Zero punctures, flats, or tears after many miles of rough gravel.
When the rains start and the roads fill with debris, these tires go on and the GP 5000s come off. I think this tire is a good compromise between the GP 5000s and the Gaterskins in terms of rolling resistance and puncture protection. I've only gotten one puncture in these in over 2 years, although it was a sizable nail that no tire would have survived.
My one gripe with the GP 4-Season is the sizing. I have very tight tolerance with my Ridley Noah and a 25mm tire measures nearly 27mm at 105psi. I can run 25mm with the GP 5000s, but have to run 23mm with these. Very annoying!
Have always had good luck with Continental tires, and I especially like the GP 4-Seasons for my winter bike due to its nice ride quality, excellent grip on wet pavement, and decent flat resistance. The tread compound does seem fairly soft, which is undoubtedly why they grip so well, so they may not last as long as tires with a harder compound - but for me that's a worthwhile trade-off. I'm happy to get 1,500 - 2,000 miles on a set of tires and the GP 4-Seasons will do that easily.
Comfortable ride for a tire that is so puncture-resistant. I've had a lot of issues with the GP5000s puncturing, but so far never with the GP 4-Season. My go-to for winter riding where changing a tube would be uncomfortable due to cold.
The Continental Grand Prix 4-Season tire is my go-to winter tire for the mild winters of California. The GP 5000s come off the bike in January and go back on in April or May. The GP 4-Seasons are not as supple, obviously, but they have good rolling resistance and puncture protection is superb. These tires handle gritty chip/seal roads with winter storm debris, twigs, small branches, small stones, etc., without concern. My BIGGEST complaint by far is the sizing! A 25mm tire actually measures 26.8mm at 7 bar and rubs on my Ridley Noah frame. I have to run a 23mm version on the rear which rides harder.
I couldn't believe it when Michelin changed the compound on their Pro4 Endurance tires (the New Power Endurance are terrible). After skating around corners for a couple of weeks I called Bike Tires Direct and asked for a recommendation. He asked if I was ready to upgrade to the Continental Grand Prix 4-Season, so I dove in head-first. These are as tough as nails and handle beautifully. Not only are these wonderful tires, but I was able to return my unused Michelins for a full refund. Win-win: a great tire from a great business! I put 3,000 miles on three sets this year and I'm not going to buy any other tire. As a 200 pound rider I usually only expect about 800 miles from a rear tire, but these easily handled over 1,000 miles. They're expensive, but worth it, and BTD puts them on sale about once a month for Gold Members.
It's packed with features! The Vectran is tops for preventing flats without ruining your road feel. The Duraskin helps prevent sidewall cuts. The extra soft rubber compound makes the tire grip exceptionally in bad weather. ...and all this without weighing a ton or feeling like a training tire. It's great! But somebody's got to pick up the tab, and it's a bit pricey for a training tire. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.
I have tried a variety of tires over the years - Michelin, Vredestein, Vittoria, and several other Conti tires too, but these Grand Prix 4 Season strike the perfect balance between grippiness and durability. I do about 3 rides a week, 20-40 miles., usually in mild dry weather, but often on wet roads. There is often debris ranging from rocks to glass, and these tires are the most resistant to flats of any tire I have ever ridden.
As for mileage, I have squeezed over 3000 miles from them, but that wasn't a good idea. After 2000 -2500 they do start to feel less grippy to the point that even with some decent tread left, it makes more sense to change them. Not unsafe, just less grippy than you'd want.
They are expensive, but if you buy on sale and hold them until you need them, they are not unreasonable.
I currently have the Continental GP 4-Season tires in both my bikes (700x25 and 700x28 sized) so you can say I really like them. I bought the 4-Season because I prefer the extra protection vs their normal racing ones, however the 4-Season tires are fast tires too. They are light, great traction and have not had any issues with them (only had 250-300 mi on them). I was riding Schwalbe One DD before, and I can say that Continental GP 4-Season seem to provide a smoother ride with better rolling resistance.
Have been riding, training and racing on tubular road tires for the past few decades. 1st set of road clinchers since the early 80's. Picked up a set of 25mm for the FGSS bike. Running relatively low psi (85-90psi for my 58kg mass) for the last 2000km over gravel to smooth roads. Tires after 4000km are fine. A bit square and tread worn. Not the high level of performance (cornering, rolling resistance, supple ride, mass) of a high quality tubular. But for my specific use the tire is more than adequate. Liked them enough to purchase a set of 28mm. Sort of enjoy gravel grinding&128539,.
Recommend these tires if in need of a durable, decent performing, easy to mount training or general use tire. Bit pricey off the shelf. A good value considering wear after the number and type of km. put on these tires.
I bought the GP 4-Seasons (28mm) to use on my '92 De Rosa for general riding, which includes solo training rides, club rides and medium touring (rear rack & panniers). I've put 1,000 miles on them since June, with zero flats. Hit a few rain pockets and traction was excellent. Loved them so much, I bought the same set for my Moots, which I just built-up at the end of July. I have 600 miles, with same type of riding (training & touring), and they've been nothing short of perfect.
I put these on my Trek 5200, and oldie but goodie, and they feel just great. Here in N. Georgia there's lots of hills that get you up to speed quickly, and these tires roll like a dream. Unfortunately, a good amount of sharp junk on the sides of the roads to ruin your day, but no flats yet. Wonderful grip on high speed turns gives confidence when hitting them hard. The price was great also. I'll be staying with these for awhile.
These have got to be the hardest tire ever to get on a rim. I unfortunately did not learn my lesson after I pinched 3 tubes trying to get these on DT Swiss 1800 rims. I left this tire out in the sun, used soapy water to try and get this to slip over the rim. On the 5th tube, I finally got it on without pinching the tube. Aired it up and it is so out of round, like it is bulging to one side. Spinning it, it looks like a zig-zag pattern and not straight at all. Worst experience ever for a tire and it doesn't even have any pavement time, Returning
I use the Continental Grand Prix 4-Season with Vectran for all-around training on the road. They are virtually problem free, and are more likely to simply wear out than to puncture. I typically get over 5K miles on the rear wheel, and considerably more on the front. They also roll well, and work just fine for training races.
Today I had the the rear tire tread split by a sharp rock on a logging road paved with golf ball sized rocks. When I guesstimated the wear on this GP 4, I realized it had close to 4000 miles :) I immediately ordered a replacement of this great tire!
Beware of size change without spec change 2018
My road bike's brakes used to fit 28mm Continental Grand Prix 4 Season Road Bike Tires, now they don't. Seems Continental changed the size of the tires without changing the numbers or names or actually telling anyone. If your framebrakes used to barely fit the 28 size, the new revision will be too big.
How to tell the difference
Older 28c is embossed MAX. INFLATE TO 116 PSI - 8.0 BAR
Newer 28c has MAX LUFTDRUCKINFLATION 8.5 BAR - 115 PSI.
Flattened out bead to bead dimension of the newer 700x28c version has increased by 5mm. That extra 5mm of perimeter is enough to make them intermittently rub on SRAM Red caliper brakes on recent Bianchi carbon frame.
I use the Conti 4 Season Grand Prix on my weather bike - the one I ride when it is raining or just wet out. These tires grip the road in wet conditions, and they are tough enough with the Vectran to handle the extra grit that gets on everything in wet weather. We have an extremely hard quartz in our area, and this stuff is used everywhere on the roads. It is loose on the surface of paved roads, and sharp bits are embedded in the tar. The Grand Prix 4-season tires don't slice, tear, or puncture very easily so they are working out perfectly for me.
If you ride on a road with lots of radial wire, glass, and rocks, this is the best tire you can use. great puncture resistance and great sidewall protection, so much better than the 5000 tires that have very weak sidewall protection and wear resistance is also very good
