tankist

Yeah, the ride is great. But in my experience they will flat from about anything.

markynels

In light of discussion surrounding the 5000's, can anyone suggest a comparable (+/- minimal rolling resistance difference, similar puncture/tear resistance) with tan sidewalls other than Turbo Cottons or Vittorias which seem to be the most popular?

I see some folks on the Challenge Elites, but reviews haven't been great. Hutchinson also have a tan wall option, but clueless as to how good/bad they may be- any thoughts?

CyclingFool95 

The Schwalbes I mentioned above are available in tan sidewall. No idea how good or bad. Ask me in a few months (I got the black ones though)

markynels

Good point, thanks! Interested to hear how they hold up! Reviews have generally been pretty good, especially tubeless..

sw20

how about the gp4 seasons, I rode those on my last bike and only had 1 flat which was a piece of flint that I don't think about tyre could withstand! I recently switched to Corsa g and have so far had 2 flats, wish i had stuck with the 4 seasons!

CyclingFool95 

I mounted up the Schwalbes this afternoon and took them out for a quick ride (mainly to adjust the new saddle I put on the bike as well). The comparison to anything else is unfair though because the wheels are new to me Hed Ardenne Plus SLs with crazy 25mm width. These 25mm tires measured out at 28mm wide at a paltry 85 psi, as compared to 23mm GP4000s IIs at around 24.5mm and 23mm Gatorskins at around 23.5. So, no surprise that the ride was ridiculously plush and cornering crazy glue like. I'm aiming for 50 miles on them tomorrow so should put them through a good test.

Tacoenthusiast

Red white and blue, appropriate for tomorrow

markynels

What's the verdict? Seems like they're comparable in measured vs. real width to the GP4000s. The GP5000 fit true to size and make matching them to an appropriate rim width ideal. Interested to hear how you found them at speed.

Fox Farm

Too bad that you have had this experience. Very different from mine. I would say that flats are partially due to tire quality but more toward installation, riding style, inflation, etc.

CyclingFool95 

Continental just announced GP 5000 in tan sidewall (25mm only, I think, and a limited release).

CyclingFool95 

I've finally put a couple of hundred miles onto the pair of 25mm. I have 23s mounted up on my Neutron Ultras but haven't tried them out yet. It's still tough to compare my experience with 23mm Gators on 15mm wheels, against these 25s on 21mm rims. They are certainly noisy on the roads I run, but they also seem quite quick. The ride I did yesterday packs all the climbing up front with a nice gently downhill trending run that lasts for several miles - had some sustained runs at 20-30 mph and they seemed very nice and smooth. On the same ride, I hit a couple of bits of road debris, one metallic, that I sent shooting across the road - no tire damage that I can see. Handling through sharp turns is really quite good, but I have to wonder how much of that is the tire and how much the wide rim and lower pressures. I'm going to try to get a comparison run on the Neutrons in the next few days. I'm happy enough with them so far that I ordered two more pairs from Merlin - they seem hard to beat at the price.

markynels

Happy to hear so far so good! Ya, tough to isolate impressions with the added noise of rim width, but I'm sure the tires are contributing greatly. Looking forward to the 2000+ mile longevity review
The road conditions on my routes of late have been pretty poor (Mix of gravel, hardpack, potholes everywhere, glass, junk etc..). After seeing all the GP5000 sidewall and puncture issues on this forum, my butt is puckered in waiting... How are the road conditions where you ride habitually? Curious to see how they align especially with regards to longevity on this new tires.

Regarding the Conti tan wall release, THRILLED!!!
Finding them locally, or in Canada is a different story..

CyclingFool95 

I put a set of 23s onto my Neutron Ultras and paired them up with the Litespeed (which I haven't ridden yet this year). I ran them around 100-105 front and 105-110 rear. Much quieter than the 25s were at the lower pressures. And, they certainly seem faster than the Gatorskins, and the ride seemed quite smooth for the high pressures I run. Cornering was crisper than with the wider wheels/tires but smoother than with the Gatorskins (which is what had been on these wheels). The usual road junk, and, in a moment of inattention, I ran straight over a large enough piece of gravel that I hit it with both wheels without it appreciably moving. Not a mark on the tires yet.

I've been seeing the Conti tan walls listed everywhere but they're expensive. Very expensive.

canklecat

If you can't find the Conti GP5k cream sidewalls, check out the Conti GP Classic skinwalls (also 700x25 only). I've been riding a set for a year, over 3,000 miles, with remarkably little wear, a single nick on the rear tire and no penetration to the puncture shield. The ride is even better the past month after switching to latex tubes.

The reddish brown skinwalls are translucent, apparently very thin, but no problems with sidewall damage. I don't ride that bike on gravel and try to avoid debris, which may help.

The tread is old school, very '80s, reminiscent of some tires I bought back in the 1970s-'80s for my Motobecane. Raised center tread with sipes, shallow chevron tread on shoulders, which may be a tight squeeze with some road bikes. When new the GP Classic center tread slightly scraped the bottom of the rear brake bridge on my '89 Centurion Ironman with Suntour GPX brakes. That stopped after a couple of rides. Switching to another brake might help.

The specs aren't quite comparable to the GP5k -- 180 tpi vs 330 tpi -- but the GP Classics are about half the price too. Prices went up from around $30-35 each to $45 due to the pandemic slowdown, but recently dropped back to $32 so I grabbed another pair this week. Looking forward to putting them on a second road bike.