ContinentalGrand Prix 5000 Road Tire(Return to Product Page)

I have no complaints with the ride or performance of these tires. (And my old bike has tubulars.)

I initially went about 2000 mi before I had a flat. The same tire then had another flat shortly thereafter. I put on a new tire when I changed the last flat. However, the new tire wound up having a sidewall tear after about 200 miles. So I would have to give durability a mixed evaluation.

I purchased these tires ignoring the flat tire reviews over the superior performance reviews. No doubt, these are fast tires but with a HIGH cost - FLAT TIRES! 200 miles 4 flats. I inserted liners - still flat tires. I ride on chip seal roads - never had a problem until now. Going back to Gatorskins!

I ride 250 - 300km a week on roads. I spent more time repairing flats than I did riding. Took the tires off after approx. 2 months of use. I was getting flats weekly (sometimes daily). Only once did I find a reason for the puncture (staple). I replaced them with Gatorskins and haven't had an issue with around 2000 km. on them.

Had been riding Vittoria for many years with no issues, but I decided to change to a highly regarded tire from the competition. When I mounted it, it checked out fine - no out-of-roundness or wobble. But after less than 1000 miles I started feeling a thumping with each tire rev. I found a serious bulge on the sidewall. I'm not aware of any abrasions or incidents with the tire prior to this, but decided to scrap it. Sadly for me, the tread still had lots of rubber left (and this was a rear).

So add my name to the fairly long list of reviewers who had sidewall issues with these tires.

I needed new tires and went the Gatorskin route bec I did not want to worry about flats. They were fine but I could tell how much slower I was. I am training for Ironman NC. So I had long 100 mile plus rides where I was just slow. I had a friend tell me about these tires and I saw they were on sale so I bought them on this site on deal. Best decision I ever made. They are fast! Same route-40 miles, same weather conditions, same time of day and I was 2 mph faster on these tires. Love these tires.

Ok, so I've ben riding Conti tires for about 10 years... always went back because they were so damn reliable! The last road tire I ran was the GP4000 and performance was flawless in all riding conditions (e.g. training, racing, cobbles, rain, sand, etc.). The grip and feel of the GP4000 was perfect, and I literally NEVER had a flat due to the tire (had some issues with tubes and a pinch flat once, but no puncturesblowouts). The last time I replaced my racing tires though, I decided to give the GP4000s a try - BIG MISTAKE.

Since switching to the GP4000s, I've had 2 puncture flats and a sidewall rupture (fortunately not a complete blowout) on long hilly rides around the SF Bay area - and all within 3 months. The roads around here are generally pretty good, sometimes a bit of debris (from falling rock or wind blown sand) but nothing I would consider hazardous by any means.

I recently switched to the Specialized Armadillo Elite (only thing available at a LBS the night before a race when I noticed the Conti sidewall failure), and have been quite happy so far. I'm generally not a fan of Specialized products, but no problems with these yet. It's still too early to tell if I'll never go back to Conti tires (kind of feels like losing an old friend)... but I'll definitely NEVER use the GP4000s again. Total waste of money! I wish I could recycle this garbage!

Can't really rate these positive or negative giving the circumstance. I hit some rough pavement and skid. The tire was unmountable, about a 4 stretch of it was totally compressed together, never seen this happen before, not the first time I've fell before. Just something to think about if looking for durability.

14 miles into a ride and I was loving this tire, it was just as advertised. Then at a stop sign waiting for traffic, I'm looking straight down to make sure the little rocks were just little rocks because it pays to watch what you roll over. Bam! sidewall is now pregnant, the tube didn't pop the tire did. That would be a first in 30 years of riding. Fortunately I was able to use a $5 bill to hold the tube in and limp slowly home. So much for German quality.

14 miles! I live in 60mph country and I get a tire failure at a stop. Almost funny, huh? Last week I'm talking to a guy says his wife broke her leg. Front tire blew on a bike ride. I asked if it was a Conti, Yep.

4000s 2?.

Yep.

Sidewall failure?

How did you know that?

Because it happen to me, but at least I wasn't moving.

Not funny anymore.

This is a follow-up review after six months of use. I run the 25c on my road bike and the 28c on my commuter. Based on Strava data, I have more than 1,500 miles on the road bike and nearly the same on my commuter. I have never gotten a flat on the road bike, despite the horrible pavement in the greater Boston area, which includes sand speckled with broken glass basically everywhere, plus cracks and holes, crummy lumpy pavement patches, and jagged exposed steel utility covers. Somehow the tires manage also to feel fast and deliver an amazingly supple, comfortable ride - much nicer than the Gatorskins which I used before. On the commuter bike I got two pinch flats - both times riding through dirt and large gravel chunks where constructions crews had messed up the bike path, and with 30 pounds of crap stuffed in the panniers. A number of reviewers have had sidewall issues, something that I would expect to reveal itself when a pinch flat happens. Maybe they are unlucky or I am lucky, but the sidewalls have held up perfectly. The only damage I can find is that the reflective strip delaminated on one 2 mm section. These are my favorite tires of all time.

Sonoma County's beat up back roads carry you to beautiful places that must be seen. Conti 4000S tires have been my preferred choice for the last 20 tires or so, maybe longer. They are stout enough at the 700 x 25 size to take on the potholes, and are fast enough to gain speed over the occasional smooth sections of roadway.

The ride feel is not as good as Michelin Pro tires, but cut resistance is a lot better. I like the Pros in a crit type environment, but prefer these Conti 4000S when I need to take on the elements on remote county road climbs. Going over the geysers road, King Ridge or over the Mayacama range to drop down into Napa County can stress your best gear - and these tires stand up.

The sidewall issues I've read on this blog do seem to happen more than the previous style, straight up 4000 without the S. I'm not sure why that is the case. But to mix fast, with take a thumping, go conti 4000s.

The ride is terrific with these tires but after a second sidewall failure it is not worth the hassle and constant worries. I can't afford to be stranded 20 miles from home out in nowhere when a tire gives out and there is nothing to do to repair it. A patch will not do anything to overcome a sidewall failure. My first sidewall failure came after just 600 miles in 2013 and my second sidewall failure happened last night, 12-30-2015 after 3,600 miles which I was about to replace in just days. I contacted Continental in 2013 asking about the first sidewall failure and whether they would replace it but they ignored me. These tires are not manufactured to the same standards as years ago, it is not worth being stranded and nothing to do to get you bike back on the road.

Several months ago I submitted a fairly frivolous review commenting on how much better these tires are than the cheap Knda's that came on my bike. Since then I've put a lot of miles on the tires and put a set of tires on my son's bike (fair number of miles on those). Especially given several recent negative reviews I thought it might be worthwhile to post an update.

When I put the tires on my bike I liked them so much that shortly after I bought a set for my son's bike. As a typical skeptical teenager he didn't believe that the tires were as good as I said. After the first ride on the Conti's he admitted that the tires are in fact pretty wonderful... low rolling resistance, great traction, and comfortable ride.

I've now got about 1200 miles on my tires and my son has about 700 miles on his. Both sets are wearing very well and based on the wear indicators should last 2500 or 3000 miles easily. We've had absolutely no problems with the tires and no flats at all. The people who report sidewall damage have had a very different experience than I have had. This past weekend less than a mile from home on a 50 mile ride I hit a serious pothole (18 diameter x 3 deep with sharp edges road was repaved but manholes weren't raised) at 32mph on a fun descent. The impact was sharp enough and loud enough that my son who was right behind me asked if I was OK. I rode on home pretty easy expecting the front tire to go flat any second.

No apparent damage. The tire is still holding air. There are no cuts in the tread, no damage to the rim. The wheel is still as true as I can get it. I can't imagine better performance from a racing tire.

I ride the roads in Washington County, west of Portland OR, and have been doing so for 20 years. I usually get 1-2 flats a year, but never anything that actually damages a tire. That all changed with the GP 4000S.

In the first 70 miles, the rear tire encountered 4 flats, not pinch flats, mind you, but general road debris. The last one tore the tire so bad it needed to be replaced. AFTER 70 MILES. 7 - 0.

Front flats have been extremely rare in my experience. That all changed with the GP 4000S as well. I kept the GP4K on the front, and suffered 3 front flats in the next 350 miles. The last one tore the tire enough to make it unsafe to continue riding it.

I will say that when they stay inflated, they do provide a nice ride. Just keep a spare tube (or 4) and a boatload of patches - you'll need them.

Great lasting tires, can get 2-3K on them. You know it's time to change them out after the tread surface becomes very flat and prone to getting flats a it thins out and picks up more sharp stones and glass. You will be amazed when you bend an old tire tread after 3000 miles and see all the gouges and slits that are in them without a puncture.

I've been riding , racing and training on Continental tubulars for 26 years on the Continental GP. Yes thats right I only ride tubulars never clincher tires (except on my MTB 29'r ) for everything asphalt. I've tried Sprinters and although less expensive the tire was not as durable as my GP Competitions . Once I found the GP tire I've rarely ridden any other model , they are that good. My other friends that also now ride tubular Continentals ( friends I have personally converted from clinchers to tubulars have been riding them for several years not 26years) were raving about their pricier top of the line GP 4000's. I've always stuck to the GP Comps but decided to try the GP 4000 S to see what the fuss was about . I was expecting better traction, a more supple tire with better traction, better cornering , and less rolling resistance. I still don't know if those GP 4000 S features really are truly better than the GP Comp because they did not last a fraction of miles as have my GP Comps did. They have been suffering sidewall cuts on every one I've tried not just once but 4 pair. They basically are , in my experiences, a big FAIL in puncture resistance after having had sidewall cuts on 3 out of 4. I thought my flats were just bad luck, that perhaps I had run over debris somewhere that would cut any tire although I don't remember doing that . After all you can break anything if you do it right ! So I bought another replacement pair and tried again , it's heartbreaking to have a very expensive top of the line tire get tossed in the garbage with perfect tread with some of the little whiskers on it. I like my tires to match, I'm funny that way but it's true, which is why I bought a replacement . Well after reading all the other reviews tonight of GP 4000 S premature failure due to flats from sidewall cuts I see it as an obligation to have share my experience as had others. . No I'm not looking for or expecting any refunds ,nor any replacement tire, or a store credit or some other freebie , I'm just adding my name to that list of riders whose new or nearly new , top of the line tires were now garbage with thousands of mikes of perfectly good tread on them. It's one thing if you have a sidewalk cut after thousands of miles on a tire but one that's brand new still really sucks . I LOVE Continental tubular tires and will continue to ride the GP Comp model , but not the 4000s , for me it's not worth another flat nor the cost , I'm just saying .... &128545,

Just an OK tire that is heavily promoted and over-priced. Ride feel is pretty wooden, almost rough, vs other higher-end clinchers. Grip, rolling resistance, and tread wear are good HOWEVER the weak sidewalls are this tire's Achilles heel. This summer I personally witnessed the same poor guy have TWO sidewall failures with low-mileage GP4kS's during the same ultra (200mile) event on typical Midwest chip-n-seal roads. At 200k SAG stop his crew showed me the tires and both were clearly sidewall (not tread) flats in near new tires. Bad luck perhaps, but I heard of NO other such failures among hundreds of other riders during the event (60,000 total miles ridden). As others have noted here, reports of sidewall issues are not at all rare with this tire. Some have said this was just a bad batch early in production, but from what I hear this is on ongoing problem. Some really like this tire, but IMHO if you like Conti's then Gatorskin is your much better choice. If you are a serious racer (or triathlete) then AttackForce is your faster option.

Recreational ride, just out there getting exercise. I purchased the 23mm tires to go with my zipp 101's. I've been a long time user of conti gp 3000 and 4000 and loved them greatly as I got a good ride long wear and 1 puncture over 4 sets of tires. Pretty awesome if you ask me. So I was a little hesitant when the new gp4000 II's came out. My bike buddy who works at a store said it was just rebranded 4000's.

I beg to differ. In my limited short time using the gp4000 II's I've had 3 flats and most recently a sidewall blowout leaving me stranded. Ugh

have been racing in NYC local races, the roads are terrible here, lots of potholes and glass. they have proven to be very durable. flats are rare and the ride quality is great, very supple and grippy.

I used to ride on these tires exclusively. They offer a nice ride, good grip, and are reasonably flat resistant. They also have handy wear indicators on the tread.

But after THREE sidewall failures, I am done. Two of the failures was a large bubble that occurred in a nearly new tire that had no apparent exterior sidewall impact at all. The other was a rip that extended almost an inch from the center of the tire all the way to the bead. By some miracle, the casing didn't rip quite enough to allow the tube to exit. And this is the ONLY tire makemodel I have ever used that has had this kind of sidewall failure.

Several of my cycling friends have had the same experience ... unexplained sidewall failures. One of them is in the hospital as I write this ... from a front tire blowout while descending a mountain road.

Flat resistance, light weight, and a nice ride are all important of course, but nothing is more important than safety.

If you like Contis, the Gatorskin is probably a better choice. It has an extra Duraskin sidewall layer, and doesn't weigh much more than the GP 4000s.

I typically ride 50-100 miles on weekends on the narrow, cracked, potholed, broken, glass-strewn (are you sensing my rage?) pavement hell known of Boston exurbia - Bedford-Carlisle-Acton-Littleton-Boxboro-etc. I used to believe I could survive these rides only with tank tires - namely the incredibly uncomfortable but indestructible Vittoria Randonneur tires. These new contis are a revelation. Beautiful rounded profile with a narrow contact patch for the flats but awesome cornering traction. The 25s have enough volume that you can safely run them at 90 PSI for an incredible ride feel, even though they are rated to 120 PSI. My bike feels completely different. I rode a brutal (in terms of road conditions) century on Sunday and was grinning ear to ear the whole way. I can't yet say they are going to last as long as the Vittoria's, but at this price and with this level of performance, I would be happy if they last a few thousand miles. And since I also commute all season, I love the reflective sidewall option.