chas58

Taking a cue from the wider is better trend, and finding my personal sweet spot for bad asphalt and light gravel is 35mm, I’ve managed to get my GP5000 up to 36mm

The wheels are 29 internal, which means they should not be used for tires under 35mm. These tires just squeeze into that and reportabley are beautiful aerodynamically with the wide 3T wheels. But what I love about them is how darn fast they are compared to anything else I’ve ridden, and yet at the same time so cush and a recommended 38lbs. They glide over crap asphalt, don’t get the pavement pinch flats I so often see here, and love to go explore hardpack class 1 and 2 gravel. The downside to this is that the sidewalls get exposed to potential damage, so no chunky gravel for this set (admittedly I’ve got sidewall scars from 32mm tires on 21internal rims, so 40mm+ tends to be my goto for chunkier gravel rides.

Alternatives:

35 mm Grand Prix Urban
compare the 35 mm Grand Prix Urban to the largely similar 25 mm Grand Prix 5000, and compare them at similar comfort levels (Urban = 75 psi / GP 5000 = 100 psi), we do see quite a big difference in rolling resistance – like about 50% more rolling resistance (8.9 to 15.2) Besides, its not tubeless is it?

Challenge Strada Bianca Pro HTLR 36

Schwalbe Pro ONE TLE 700c. GP5000 is reportedly better, but this one is very close, and should be a bit wider. “Rated 4 out of 5 because the Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL seems to be the better choice in almost all aspects.” -BRR. I'd rather have the width than the marginal gains of the GP5000

chas58

That looks like a great option, thanks!

interesting choice Yah, but no.
I've done the 4season thing for years. These are slightly slower tougher tires somewhere between the Gatorskin and 4 season. The GP5000 are so so much more fun to ride on my bike. For my riding style, cutting the rolling resistance in half is HUGE. It was a tempting choice though. Besides, it's not tubeless is it?



so the OG 5000 TL was a PITA to mount. Biggest nightmare I have ever seen (I gave up for the first time in my life). The new one (S TR) mounted fine, although I have them on different rims. Nothing unusual about the mounting process. They have extra sidewall protection which is a bonus for tubeless tires seeing light gravel. Both the original TL and new TR models do have much tougher sidewall's than the tubed version (those are paper thin).

mstateglfr 

I didnt realize the GP Urban is slower than a 4season.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...and-prix-urban
This shows a 35mm GP Urban has 16.9 watts of rolling resistance at 60psi when run with tubes.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...-tr-comparison
This shows a 32mm GP 5k S TR has 9.8 watts of rolling resistance at 65psi when run tubeless.

I used those PSI since they basically match what a calculator says I should ideally run for both tire widths on my rims. So yeah there definitely is 7 watts more rolling resistance with the GP Urban.
I didnt realize the GP Urban is tube only. That alone removes it from consideration.


Interestingly, in this review a 32mm GP 5k S TR in 32mm only measures to 30mm. It also has 16.6 watts of rolling resistance at 44psi with a tube. In the GP 5k S TR comparison article, a 32mm tire at 51psi has 10.8 watts of rolling resistance in tubeless setup. I get that 51psi and 44psi arent the same, but if the tubeless setup were measured at 44psi, it would be another .5 watt most likely. So 16.6 watts at 44psi with a tube or 11.3watts at 44psi tubeless. Vittoria has said butyl tubes add 5 watts compared to latex, and tubeless is quite similar to latex.
Anyways, if the GP Urban were tubeless, then using that info it would drop down to under 12watts.
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...x-5000-s-tr-32



Cool talk.

chas58

Good points mstateglfr

I got pretty confused with the wide spread of numbers for the GP5000 32mm - since it is tested so many times.

Bottom line: The "gravel" tires are tested with tubes in them. With that size tire, a tube adds about 4 watts (this can be as little as 2 watts on a 25mm tire). So the GP5000 can measure any where from 8 - 14 watts. 2 watts could be from high pressure and 4 from a latex tube.

(For any tire listed in the gravel tire section, you can knock off ~4 watts running tubeless (or using a latex tube). Ya have to normalize for pressure sometimes, so a 25mm version running at 100psi would have similar % tire drop as a 40mm tire running at ~60psi.)

msu2001la

I would love to see photos if you have any.
The GP5000 tubeless makes a good gravel tire, but as you note 32mm is a bit too skinny for anything other than really smooth/packed.

I'm curious if you considered any of the RH tires. I think Jon Bon pass is supposed to be fast and tubeless - 35mm?

chas58

A bulk of my gravel is class 1-2 and rough chip seal in the summer. Yes, for longer off the beaten path rides and winter/spring I go bigger. I tend to swap back and forth between 32 and 40 (sometimes 50 up front). so I thought I'd split the difference with 35-36. RH is a good option and I've been tempted, but as I hear are not very durable. They sometimes blow off the rim when seating, they weep sealant, low pressures cause the casing thread to unravel, not particularly puncture resistant, etc. That is for the ultraight. For a more durable version, I'd just go Gravel King Slick.

GP5000 32mm on 29mm internal vs 25mm on 21mm internal

msu2001la

Wow. Like a Ballpark Frank (or since you are in Michigan, like a Koegel's Vienna) on a hot grill.