Continental GP 5000
#26
Their German based factories have sometime produced garbage too when things got by the quality control. Continental also has many of it's tires made in India, Indonesia and other places too.
It's not really where the tire is made. It's all about how well the owners of the Brand holds the tolerances of the manufacturing processes no matter who does the actual manufacturing. And if the quality standards aren't checked by the Brand, then the makers will do whatever they can get away with.
It's not really where the tire is made. It's all about how well the owners of the Brand holds the tolerances of the manufacturing processes no matter who does the actual manufacturing. And if the quality standards aren't checked by the Brand, then the makers will do whatever they can get away with.
#27
Senior Member
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#28
They are pretty much a benchmark tyre in their class. Fast rolling, reasonably supple, good grip on dry and wet roads and slightly above average puncture resistance (for a race tyre at least).
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#29
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I like 'em. Definitely a little harder to mount than other major brands, but nothing terribly difficult.
Let us know what you think after a few miles.
Let us know what you think after a few miles.
#30
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#32
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I like this guy, he can take a joke!
Just BTW, that $100/pair price is about normal for the GP5K in case you were wondering. I think I've been paying roughly that amount since they came out, except in 2020, when you couldn't find a reasonable pair of tires anywhere.
#33
LBKA (formerly punkncat)
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The only thing I have found constantly irritating about them are the ones with the "natural rubber" sidewalls (I think there is actually a name for it, but escapes me at the moment). Within a fairly short time of use small strings begin to come out of the sidewall and get wrapped up in various things. I am fairly sure they now make a model with the black rubber sidewalls. Aside from this aspect Conti are a great tire and my preferred go to on my road bike.
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#34
Senior Member
You can expect very good wear from the non-tubeless GP5000 tires. The thickness is 2.8mm vs 2.3mm on the tubeless version. Since ca. 1mm of that is casing, the tubeless gives you about 2/3 the mileage as the tubed version. This back of the envelope calc squares with my real world experience. I used to routinely get 4,000 miles on the tubed version but cannot get 3,000 on the tubeless (I run only to the wear mark and get rid of them)
Just had to laugh at the QC comment as if someone is checking every tire against a spec. The problem with tight tires is a design issue around the last of standardization and who eats the cost of wear and tear on the molds but this should improve vastly with hookless carbon rims
Just had to laugh at the QC comment as if someone is checking every tire against a spec. The problem with tight tires is a design issue around the last of standardization and who eats the cost of wear and tear on the molds but this should improve vastly with hookless carbon rims
#35
The only thing I have found constantly irritating about them are the ones with the "natural rubber" sidewalls (I think there is actually a name for it, but escapes me at the moment). Within a fairly short time of use small strings begin to come out of the sidewall and get wrapped up in various things. I am fairly sure they now make a model with the black rubber sidewalls. Aside from this aspect Conti are a great tire and my preferred go to on my road bike.
#36
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Can you explain this a bit more? Are they really designing molds to make tight tires so they can make the molds last longer before they go out of spec?
#37
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#38
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I say it's more technique. Way less that the rim actually has anything to do with how easy they go on.
Though if you are putting any tire on a skinny rim with a tube that's taking up the space the tire bead should be in while being installed, then yes the rim might be an issue over a wider rim with a deeper spoke channel. But still, with good technique and practice even the worst of rims are easy enough to overcome without using levers.
Though if you are putting any tire on a skinny rim with a tube that's taking up the space the tire bead should be in while being installed, then yes the rim might be an issue over a wider rim with a deeper spoke channel. But still, with good technique and practice even the worst of rims are easy enough to overcome without using levers.
I have also installed tubed GPs on my Fondriest with other Mavic rims, and they were a breeze as well as the tubeless GP5000s on my newer bike. The rims do make a decided difference.
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Last edited by rsbob; 05-25-23 at 10:23 PM.
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#39
#40
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Won't buy the 25mm ever again. They measure only 23.5 and feel rock hard. They're fantastic on smooth pavement, but that's like 10 percent of the time around here.
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#41
Senior Member
I have used lots of tires over the years but keep coming back to Conti 4000 or 5000 or whatever is current at the time. The 5000 series seem more true to marked size than previous versions.
Folks do complain about difficulty mounting, but I have found them easier than many, once you learn the technique. Year ago I ran Michelin tires and they were almost impossible to put on. Conti's are way better than that, and ride better too.
It's like car tires: the first two times out you will notice every little thing. Then....it's just a tire.
Folks do complain about difficulty mounting, but I have found them easier than many, once you learn the technique. Year ago I ran Michelin tires and they were almost impossible to put on. Conti's are way better than that, and ride better too.
It's like car tires: the first two times out you will notice every little thing. Then....it's just a tire.
#42
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Expect blisters on your thumbs when installing without levers, and to come up with new and innovative swear words.
#43
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I run the 32mm on my single-speed and they're great. Hard to mount initially as others have said, but otherwise they pretty much rock.
(Of course they're no Rene Herse, but that's a whole nuther discussion.)
(Of course they're no Rene Herse, but that's a whole nuther discussion.)
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#44
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Mine measure 24.8mm on Mavic Open Pro rims @90psi. Drop your tire pressure (10psi for me) and the compliance is better. I consider the Conti5000 to be the gatorskins of high end tires, which is good for people who desire that protection at the cost of suppleness. Won't be buying again. Veloflex and Vittoria are my fave, not enough miles to judge the Pirelli tires I recently purchased.
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#45
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But I do not ride road bicycles with suspension seatposts or stems or headsets or zertz inserts, etc - or gelatinous saddles.
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#46
Senior Member
Hooked rim molds (carbon) wear out and the moulds themselves are made of different materials than hookeless. It is desirable to get the most wear as possible from a mold due to cost. Both the tire mfg and rim mfg have tolerances or ranges for their specifications. Thus, there is variation on fitment in the real world. With hookless moulds, the mandrel can be made from hard steel with better process capability resulting whereas hooked moulds have more pieces and to make the hook, part of the mould has to be flexible resulting in lower process capability irrespective of mould wear. Wider process variation (lower Cpk) makes tolerancing a challenge when trying to match an equally variable product (tires). So, what do you do? You go for safety (tightness). RH tires go on easily by hand but they also blow off. I have tried to mount Conti GP5000 on some rims and they could be mounted by hand whereas the same exact tire on another rim was an absolute nightmare. On my Firecrest 303 hookless, I do not need to use tools although they are tight, I can mount them.
In practice this means some know it all BF members could have a combination of tire/rim that is indeed not too hard to mount and another BF member could have the same rim and tire with both towards the end of spec and that is enough to make them a bear to mount.
#47
Senior Member
The other thing to realize WRT Conti, is the GP5000 (tubed), GP5000 TL and GP5000 S TR are all quite different in terms of bead dimensions and strength. Apples to Oranges when it comes to mounting challenges. The GP5000 TL was "not approved" for use on Enve wheels but the GP5K S TR is Enve approved, for instance
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#48
Expired Member
It's always interesting to read about manufacturing processes. I've read that hookless rims are cheaper to manufacture but I haven't seen the info about hooked rim molds wearing out and causing dimensional variations. Link please?
#49
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I run 25mm and 23mm GP 5000s on my new bike and vintage bike, respectively. The new bike uses Fulcrum Racing 3 (17mm inside) wheels and the 5000s mount easier than Gatorskins. On the vintage rims these are easier to mount than Gatorskins too.
One way the rolling resistance is reduced on the 5000s and the ride smoother is the softer more flexible rubber. Unfortunately broken glass can stick a little better and it comes around and hits the brake bridge or fork crown and makes cuts deeper than usual. If you ride clean roads they last long but I have never been able to experience this due to all the mini liquor bottles discarded in the bike lanes here in San Diego. The ride so much nicer I take the risk. I got flats with gatorskins too.
One way the rolling resistance is reduced on the 5000s and the ride smoother is the softer more flexible rubber. Unfortunately broken glass can stick a little better and it comes around and hits the brake bridge or fork crown and makes cuts deeper than usual. If you ride clean roads they last long but I have never been able to experience this due to all the mini liquor bottles discarded in the bike lanes here in San Diego. The ride so much nicer I take the risk. I got flats with gatorskins too.
#50
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Tubeless tire shot or still rideable? 3 years old with good tread.
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