I used these for Ironman Wisconsin. Much of the road surfaces were rather poor. And the railroad tracks were worse than the ones I’ve crossed in the Pittsburgh area. There were many flat tires on the bike course, and I’m very thankful to say I wasn’t one of them! These tires held up wonderfully!!
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 have been using the Continental Grand Prix tires for several years now. This newest version seems to work well. I will continue to keep buying them. I have used them with Latex tubes in the past and they work very well. Currently I am trying the Tubolito tubes which are working well with these tires. Not quite the same ride feel as with the Latex tubes though.
Better puncture protection for my needs than any other tire I have used that rolls this well. The compound also feels very grippy versus other similar racing/training tires. Tread wear far surpasses cotton casing tires for a tire that isn't very slower in use by my estimates.
I am a daily fitness rider who rides at least 30 miles each morning. This is my second set of Continental Grand prix 5000's and I have been very happy with them. They are resistant to flats, corner well and are very dependable, lasting around 5000 miles even through a Boston winter. Bought them on sale for a good price and expect for them to last me the rest of this year and into next year as well.
Avid road cyclist, loved the old continental 4000, these new continental 5000 are horrible. The wear is ridicules, 1k miles an they are significant wear on tread. All kinds of cuts an side wall shows seperation an thinness. They do ride better an I like the low profile. But not worth the over all wear factor. The 4000 were great last thousands of miles with little or no abrasions. Bring back the 4000 thks.
Before taking the new road bike tire for a spin, I reviewed the technology first. The Grand Prix 5000 has a 12% lower rolling resistance, a 20% better puncture resistance and 10 grams less weight according to Continental. The tires puncture resistance was improved and I put that to the test. While out for a ride we encountered a large patch of glass. My buddies all got flats. I pulled some glass shards out of the tire. No damage and No Flats... The tire smoothly glides over asphalt and my bike has no problem accelerating.
I started using Conti 5000s two years ago because of their claims over the Conti 4000s which I was using, especially flat protection. The first day I cut down the sidewall on glass that would have cut anything. Ok, i bought another one to really try these out. Well, 3000 miles later ( on two bikes) they have lived up to all their claims. One complete year with no flats. Subjectively I do believe the ride is slightly better than the 4000s ( not as good as the Vittorias, but they are a poor choice for flat protection here in Las Vegas with lots of broken glass and lots of shredded tire filaments) and they are definitely lighter. I'm using the regular tire and not the tubeless and couldn't be happier!
I changed from a set of Bontrager tires and immediately noticed a big difference in rolling resistance and speed. For the first 3 months I had these they performed flawlessly and seemed to be durable and fast rolling. My only complaint was they are not the most subtle tire in regards to taking out the road vibrations. I ride an aluminum bike so I don't have all the luxury that a full carbon bike has so tires make a big difference. I was really happy until one day at about 500 miles I had a major blowout. I inspected the road and never found anything that could have caused the sidewall cut and I did not hit any holes. Was it the tire or a slight cut from another day out? I don't know but i was unable to repair it. At this point I'll say it's just a case of bad luck. I decided to give another brand and a bigger tire size a try. Will I come back to the Conti's? Perhaps, I'm not sure at the moment and I want to compare how a 36 performs compared to the 32 Continental.
I own these in both 28c and 32c. I run them with tubes and have about 300 miles on them. I ride them both on road and gravel paths and so far no flats. Low rolling resistance and hi comfort. I run the 32's on my fixed gear at 85psi and the 28's at 100psi. I'm larger at 235 and have no issues with either size though I prefer the 32's.
I have a few reviews of Gatorskins, which I like alot, on BTD as well. While these ride better, I don't have the level of trust as far as puncture protection goes with these as I do with Gatorskins. At least not yet. Time will tell, though so far these are looking good.
I bought these at a good sale price a few months ago and put them on last week when my 4000's were getting flats to easily. This is usually a sign to me that they needed replacing-about 3000 miles worth of wear.
The new tires were a tight fit on my DT Swiss carbon rims but the new bike tire tool, a Crank Brothers Speedier lever, lived up to its name. It made mounting the tubes much easier than putting on the 4000's , which was what led me to buying the new Crank Bros. tool in the first place. The tires look good on the bike and ride well with better grip on the turns than the previous ones. The ride is comfortable, too. I'm not sure I can tell if they have less rolling resistance. Obviously, I can't comment on longevity or flat resistance yet but usually have good luck with Continental products.
Try these tires. I think they are a good example of continuing product improvement by Continental.
