Continental GP 5000 tires

So as I have to do some quite long distance road cycling for charity, I thought I would invest in some continental gp5000 tires

I have never ridden full slicks before, but on my gravel bike it feels like riding on glass so long as the road is smooth. I really now can appreciate how the tour de France people keep the speeds going….

Anyway, for what it’s worth, I’m really impressed with the tires. They were very easy to install tubeless. And their rolling resistance appears to be virtually nothing. I have them pumped up to 73 PSI which apparently is their maximum and they’re still relatively comfortable as I have the 32 mm ones.

I think they might stay on the bike for a little bit longer. As for gravel paths, I think they’ll be absolutely fine as well.

I had a bike fit on Friday which I’ll post about in a separate thread if anyone’s interested., but combined with these tires – one of my friends had difficulty keeping up today 🙂 and that was after I’d run a half marathon this morning.

Q

They were very easy to install tubeless. 

Lucky you! That certainly wasn’t my experience or the mechanic at my LBS who I had to resort to…

I’d recommend that you wipe the tyres over with alcohol (or at least wash them with detergent) before using them. IME all tyres need the mould release coating removing before the tyres are proper grippy. Of course you could wear them in but road tyres can be a bit slippy in the wet until worn in.

I’ve never cleaned a tyre before use? Is that a thing?

They are good tyres – for race tyres they are robust. But remember they are designed for racing not longevity before you hammer it over gravel for miles.

I keep thinking about trying some of the others with the same rubber compound. The 4 seasons etc. don’t be fooled into thinking Gatorskins will be any good though. Lifeless and gripless in my experience!

I’ve never found the need to clean a set before riding them

Also found them ok off road too

I have them pumped up to 73 PSI which apparently is their maximum and they’re still relatively comfortable as I have the 32 mm ones.

Are you a ‘heavy’ rider?

I’m 12st/80kg and run 30mm tyres tubeless, >55psi front and >60psi rear.

Check out the Silca tyre pressure page:

https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator?PPC&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=20992258465&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4_K0BhBsEiwAfVVZ_8JMbdU7_1bcBQCl_ye-Am9dbsCqBnIekUNFg9IKg57z9CgqLTXZrBoC7wcQAvD_BwE

Have 23, 25 and 30c on various wheels. I removed the mould release with a thorough clean for my track bike wheels as they do slip on the boards. On roads, the first ride will do the same. I rode the 25c on a long gravel section in Majorca and they were fine. All of mine run latex tubes at 5-8 bar depending on width and application.  I think they are excellent tyres.

I’ve never had a problem with Conti road tyres and wearing in – they do it very quickly.  Schwalbe – not so much.

I have my 32mm tubeless GP5000 at 45/50 or 50/55 dependent on just riding or riding with luggage.  I’m 72kg.

I have them pumped up to 73 PSI which apparently is their maximum and they’re still relatively comfortable

Was going to say the same as intheborders, I run a 28mm GP5000 @ 75psi, but I weigh 90kg! I’m sure you will feel a big improvement in rolling if you drop the pressure a bit, it seems counter-intuitive but it really works!

But remember they are designed for racing not longevity before you hammer it over gravel for miles.

Also this ^ I’m nursing my rear tyre after slicing the shoulder tread, I think on a ride just after heavy rain when there was a lot of debris on the road. Am now definitely keeping them for summer best!

I get around 5000-6000km out of a rear before they’re down to the canvas.  7-8k km out of a front.  That’s riding all year round in all weather except snow on A, B, unmarked, gravel and cycle paths in the country and through towns and cities.  2 punctures which required an anchovy in 30-40k km and both of those when the tyre was at the end of its life.

Fantastic tyres for road riding.

Max pressure sounds very high for 32s. I’m 80kg and have over 1000 miles on 28s at 62/58psi front/back.

See if you can drop them down a bit for faster rolling and more comfort.

I use the SRAM pressure guide

https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure

I’ve been running some GP5000s TR in 30mm and I agree they are very nice to ride on. Installed easily without tyre levers and held air setup tubeless from the off. I always wipe down the inside with isopropyl before installing as I read somewhere that the release agent can prevent the sealant from coating the inside properly. I don’t bother with the outside but I also read that tyres such as Rene Herse or Challenge can benefit from a wipe down with vinegar before a wet ride – never done that on the GP5000s’ though.  72psi seems a bit high – as above see the Silca pressure guide or the SRAM one SRAM Tyre Pressure

I have just yesterday replaced both of them after about 4000km which I suppose is reasonable. TBF the front still had plenty of wear left but had a 3mm cut that would not seal – the cut was through the rubber but not the carcass and although it would seal at 50 or so psi, as soon as I pumped it up to 65, which is my running pressure, it would start to leak air during the ride. I took the tyre off yesterday to maybe put a mushroom plug in and the hole is really not visible at all from the inside – maybe it was too small to seal. The sealant had been in about 6.5 months though. Anyway while I had the tyre off I thought I would swap front and rear to even out the wear and I noticed that the rear was wearing thin on the shoulders and the canvass was becoming slightly visible so I thought I had better replace both. The wear indicators were fine though. The second set went on just as easily as the first, easier in fact they just rolled over the rim.

Great tyre though, with no issues running on the appalling condition roads in the north east during the winter. 3 punctures I think but tubeless sealant made it virtually hassle free apart from the above detailed one.

They are my go to road tyre. First set I had  I fit the day before the Fred Whitton, where it was hoofing it down, on to some Mavic Ksyriums (no issues fitting, but don’t get me started on the ID360 freehub and its penchant for dying for no reason). Never had any issues with grip from new and set a PB down Kirkstone and Hardknott.

Snapped nearly all my Park Tool tyre levers though getting them on my Aeolus rims, so when they wore out on that I replaced with Bontrager R3 TLR, which went on a dream. They are not as good, but I’m still mentally scarred from trying to get the Contis on those rims.

Mine are 25mm, never seen the need for anything bigger, although I think my Emonda can take 28mm (2018 rim brake model).

Great tires.  Fast and plush ride. Esp the non tubeless version.

I’ve been mulling over trying a pair of these in TR form for a few weeks now but they are a pretty hefty investment and this is coming form someone with a collection of fat bike and plus tyres 🙂

Dim question coming …

I’ve never ridden a proper road tyre. The closest I have at the moment is a Gravel King Slick in 40mm.

Will a 32mm GP5000 feel (and be) faster in a like for like comparison?

80% of my ride riding is B roads – are they okay (as okay as a slick tyre can be) on washed out debris?

Oh and if bought they would be going on some Hope 2ofive rims … should I buy some additional tyre levers at the same time?

Could try the AS variant if they’re going to be subject to rough terrain.

I have them pumped up to 73 PSI which apparently is their maximum and they’re still relatively comfortable as I have the 32 mm ones.

Isn’t that the max hookless pressure. Hooked you can go much higher.

NB I run mine at 60psi.

I’ve never ridden a proper road tyre. The closest I have at the moment is a Gravel King Slick in 40mm.

Will a 32mm GP5000 feel (and be) faster in a like for like comparison?

80% of my ride riding is B roads – are they okay (as okay as a slick tyre can be) on washed out debris?

They will be faster! They are one of the best road tyres out there, generally the one everyone tries to match.

Fine on B roads, I run them all winter on gravel strewn B roads.

The only downside is I get about 5000 km out of  them before the wear markers have vanished, so get through at least  4 of them every year.

Just to thrown in a curveball (and not to detract from the GP5000 as I agree it’s great too) but actually a Gravel King Slick in the same/similar width is also bleddy fast and light despite having a filetread and therefore looking like it should be slower, and this is reflected in the bicycle rolling resistance.com tests. I run these in 32mm in place of GP5000’s due to availability at the time and they’re comfortably as quick in feel and the (non-scientific) data from my rides backs up the stats from BRR.

They’re also half the price normally! I was considering going to the GP5000 AS next time round, but not for any real reason.

80% of my ride riding is B roads – are they okay (as okay as a slick tyre can be) on washed out debris?

Most of my rides on the Welsh boarders have some section of heavily washed out roads, or sections like below. (this is / was a tarmac road)

*TYRES

Thank you all for your advice. I think I will be taking some pressure out of them tonight. I am not a heavy rider and I just set them at the highest pressure as I thought that would give me the lowest rolling resistance

It seems I was wrong so I will try and set them to the correct weight for me. I’m only 62 kilos so perhaps I can take them down to 50 psi or so (I don’t have the chart to hand)

Q

I ran mine at about 50psi at 70kg (28c width versions) and they were super comfy and fast. Lower than that they were a bit squirmy when climbing out the saddle.

At 95Kg with latex tubes on an endurance road bike that puts far more weight over the rear wheel, I run rear GP5000s  30/32mm at 85-90 PSI. On the front, for 23/25mm I’ve been using similar, maybe +2 higher.

I always change my tyres on the road bikes front to back at about 2k miles then replace both at 3.5k-4k miles. I tried to squeeze a few too many extra miles out of a set at the weekend with the inevitable alarming shotgun noise followed by the call of shame to International Rescue (AKA SWMBO).

I use both Contis and the Schwalbe equivalent, tubed and tubeless dependent on what’s available at the time. I might be a philistine but I can’t really tell much difference between the high end stuff as they all feel really good.

I ride with 32c GP5000 AS TR on an all-road / light touring bike.  They replaced 35c G-Ones, which in turn replaced 28c GP 4Seasons.  All have been fine on B-roads and light gravel but I think the geometry, build and wheels make more difference to road speed.

The 25c tyres I run on my other road bike (classic road geometry, deep section wheels) wouldn’t make this all-road bike nearly as quick.

Tyres are expensive now!

I have one on the rear, set up tubeless was easy and hasn’t yet cut up at all in a few months of commuting and weekend rides, unlike the Schwalbe Pro One tubeless it replaced (and remains on the front) which seems to like to ingest glass fragments regularly with the associated slices to the rubber. The Pro One has a seemingly softer compound. It was also an absolute pig to get on the same wheel and the bead was almost impossible to snap in which prompted the switch. Will replace the front with a GP5000 once I’ve killed the current Pro One.

Just moved to these from Pro One TLR tyres. Went onto the Zonda wheels a treat, a bit of wriggling to get the Revo sealant to hold pressure on first inflation of the front (went on very tight). 15 minutes of waiting while everything gets filled with sealant and then holding pressure well. No need for rim tape either for the first time. (Rear wheel went on with just thumbs and behaved better than the fron on first inflation to 2.5 bar).

I’m running around 66psi rear and 60 front at 88kg, very confortable ride indeed and fast rolling too.

80% of my ride riding is B roads – are they okay (as okay as a slick tyre can be) on washed out debris?

If it helps, a fair number of Pro’s ran them for the Paris-Roubaix…