Like other reviews, I have been extremely disappointed in the quality of the GP 5000. In the past 3 months, I have experienced 4 side wall blowouts. One tire was only a week old! The Conti used to be the ONLY tire I would ride, now I will be looking for a new tire to purchase.
Over the pandemic, I had to switch back to Conti's due to lack of availability of my usual Michelins. While I stopped using Conti's after the GP2k's since they were rather harsh in comparison to the Michelin pros 2's a the time, these GP5k's are a revelation!
I've been impressed by the GP5k's smoothness, gripiness, and overall rideability. Rolling resistance seems to be better than the the Michelin Power endurance tires that I briefly tried (and then switched back to GP5k's).
I got about 3k miles on my first set of GP5k's and am now on my second set. I've been using these tires on my commute bike (20-40 miles daily) as well as for training (though I don't race much any more). For those that thought Conti's gave a harsh ride, I'd recommend trying the GP5k's and seeing for yourself how much more rideable these tires are over older gen Conti's.
Like any release of new technology in a trusted product, you have to give good things time to let the kinks get worked out. And this tire was well worth the wait. In all honesty, getting these on a rim yourself is like an exercise in masochism. You�ll wonder what you did for karma to punish you like this.
That being said, it�s also well worth the pain because this tire gives you such a sense of relief. It is so good. Furable, reliable and a lot tougher than previous GP tires. I got a medium-sized gash in my rear tire a few weeks ago and didn�t even know until I got home 30 miles/2 hours later. I don�t like that it happened but at least I know these tires worth the price.
Reliable tires with a great feel on the road. These are a great value, especially if you can find them on sale, which they often can be stocked up on towards the end of the season. These measure closer to their actual size than the 4k which ran a little big. These roll well, get good grip, and *knock on wood* have not resulted in any flats.
Expected the tires to be OK, but instead I'm very pleased with them. They provide a smooth ride and much less resistance than my previous 5000. Plus I know I have the puncture protection of this well designed tire.
They were well worth the price
I just finished two months and 895 miles on my new Conti GP5000s. I run the 700x23 clinchers at appprox 108/110 psi, using the Silca weight/size calculator. I really like these tires on my Pinarello, and I used to swear I would never change from my Vredestein Fortezza Tri-Comps - until they stopped making them. The Conti GP5000 is a great tire. I have not encountered a single problem, nor had a flat over the last 895 miles, and I will most certainly stick with these tires until something better is created.
I installed these tires (28c) on my 2018 Diamondback Century 1 in early July. This set is my third set of Continental brand tires. I buy these tires due to durability. I ride on some very rough streets here in Memphis and no flats. As with all new tires, it takes a few rides for them to speed up. You will have to air these tires up every few days after first installing them due to expansion. In typical Continental fashion, the last 6 inches is the most difficult to get on the rim. Have a good tire lever or that bike seating tool. The gum wall looks good, too, but not too much on my bike. Overall, I am pleased with these tires and the Continental brand as a whole. Continental is the brand I have had the most durability with.
This tire is the worst bicycle part I have ever purchased. Not the worst tire, the worst product. I have never purchased another bicycle part that failed so miserably in it's intended role. I have been riding mountain and road bikes since I was 10 years old in SoCal, I have been through every manufacturer of tire out there, and let me tell you, don't buy the hype when it comes to these tires.
The first tire failed when I ran over a small piece of plastic within 20 miles of installation, the kind of thing that I saw on the road but never even considered steering around based on thousands of miles of experience with other tires. Since that moment, when the tire was completely destroyed in an instant, the tires have gone through an endless cycle of flats and failures, the failures always seem to occur on the other tire, the one that I had not just replaced, so it has been hard to throw out the set for a better option when I had just paid to replace the twin. Let me tell you, I should have thrown them both out at that first failure, the tires have left me on the side of the road with flats based on items I pulled out and crushed between my fingers countless times.
At least 10 times the number of flats and failures with these tires vs. any other tire I have used in the past. To make matters worse, they are extremely tight on the rim and horrible to remove and install, at least on Mavic Ksyriums. When I first installed these I was surprised at how soft the durometer of the rubber felt compared to the tire I had just removed, I think that may be a part of why they attract flats and destroy themselves on small objects so often. You may be wondering if this is real because it doesn't say verified purchase. I bought these at a major bike retailer with tires in the name and am so fed up with the performance of this product that I am posting my review of it anywhere I can. I have never been inspired to do something like that before. Continental should be ashamed of themselves for selling this product.
I made this mistake and wrote this so you don't have to. Don't do it!
A GP5000s 28mm is a bit smaller in height and width than a 25mm GP4000s, as measured installed on a Shimano RS500 alloy wheelset. I assume the 28mm would measure wider, on a wider rim. Old 25mm GP4000s tires just barely cleared my brake bridge, but the new 28mm tires have about 2 more mm of vertical clearance.
New tires get a bit larger after a few days of being installed and under pressure. The GP5000s 25mm tires are even smaller still yet. I use 95 psi in the 25mm GP4000s and 95 psi in the 28mm GP5000s tires, both ride the same near as I can tell.
I am a Conti fan, having settled in on the Grand Prix 4 Season tire as my go for many years, after trying several different brands. I got a new road bike a year ago, and thought I wold give the 5000's a try when the OEM tires gave way. Those were Specialized Turbo Pro's, and based on my previous experience with Specs, I thought they would be shot after 500 miles. In fact, I got 3150 out of the rear, and 4000 on the front!
Once I was fully on the 5000's I noticed 2 things right away - they are indeed smooth, fast, and grippy, but the sizing is a little questionable. I moved from being a 700x23 @120psi diehard, to 25's, and with the new bike, 28's running 75 psi F, 85 psi R. (I am 6'2", 180 lbs). If you're an old diehard skinny tire rider, do yourself a favor and try something different - easily just as fast, and waaaay more comfortable. When I mounted the 5000's it was immediately clear that although labelled 28's they were no bigger than 25's. So if you're looking for bigger tires, I would suggest going all the way to 32's - that's what I plan to do if these last long enough to be worth repeating.
The rear tire has 900+ miles on it now, and is showing considerable wear. Lots of cuts and nicks, with one fairly small cut having nicked a cord of the casing. By contrast, the Spec's had many more and deeper cuts, without a single injury to the casing. In fact on removal I saw that the sidewall had been cut along the radial line about 1" all the way to the casing, yet the tire performed flawlessly!
A word about rubber- these 5000's new out of box had noticeably less rubber on the wear surface than my 4000 mile worn Spec did!
If I can get 2000 miles flat free, I will consider another pair. The Specs went their entire life flat free, which is amazing. Plus they were a dream to ride.
Some reviewers commented on sidewall weakness. So far, no problems. Also, others say tires difficult to mount, but mine went on pretty easily, FYI. Lastly, I believe these are an improvement over the 4000's, as my experience with those was that they flatted like crazy.
I installed a pair of the Grand Prix 5000's for my four man team's (https://www.teamsuicideprevention.com) 930 mile Race Across The West event. This is a team time trial type event with at least one rider on the road from Oceanside, California to Durango Colorado riding day and night across the deserts and mountains on the route. Crap happens. About 200 miles into the race during one of my pulls, I ran over a strip of a wood pallet on a desert section and a 1" long staple went clear through the tire. The amazing thing about the Grand Prix is that in my haste to keep moving, I quickly put a new tube in and aired up the tire and went on to finish my pull. I went on to ride to the finish with that same tire. I think that is incredible. I did have a spare Grand Prix tire but didn't have to use even after that significant "flatting" event. We finished the race in 2d 14h 46m. I'm sticking with my Grand Prix 5000's
