Conti' GP 4000s side wall failure

Baxter-Smythe

So I was checking the bike over yesterday getting ready for today's Sunday club ride, when I noticed some weird s..t going on with the tyres, on closer inspection I found the side wall on the front on one side and also on the rear nearly all the way round had failed, the reinforcing fibers are clearly visible and it looked as if the inner tube could present itself at any moment :shock:

A little googling soon made it clear this is not unusual with this tyre, as its quite a common choice I wanted to bring this to your attention ppl !!

the tyres are just a few months old with just a few hundred miles on them and were run at the recommended 110 115 psi !

if you have 4000Ss go check 'em out.

iPete

My GP 4 seasons had a few, replaced them with 4000s and took about a week for a split to appear in the front that repeatedly punctured. Same for my mate who runs them.

Have got a boot patch in there at the moment but not ideal long term. Seems pretty common...

binsted

I seemed to be in the minority on here by moaning about GP4000s but this weekend was the final straw, 1 puncture on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, they cut up badly and seem to have no puncture protection at all. They have done about 1K miles and are by a distance the worst tyres I have ridden and yes one has had side wall failure. They are destined for the bin on Monday.

kettrinboy

Are you on about a split that appears about 2mm above the wheelrim, if so that has happened on all of the 5 pairs of 4000S ive used so far over and have a few thousand miles up, seems to be an age related thing, the pair on my hybrid with 7500 miles up have got it, sometimes you can pull strands of fibre off the split but they still work perfectly well, on my road bike that pair have 600 miles up and the split hasnt appeared at all yet, if yours is this type of split i wouldnt worry about it as ive never had anything untoward happen.

petemadoc

I had two continental ultra race tyres where the sidewall split after very little mileage. I contacted Continental and got no reply. I don't buy Continental anymore.

Baxter-Smythe

kettrinboy wrote:

Are you on about a split that appears about 2mm above the wheelrim, if so that has happened on all of the 5 pairs of 4000S ive used so far over and have a few thousand miles up, seems to be an age related thing, the pair on my hybrid with 7500 miles up have got it, sometimes you can pull strands of fibre off the split but they still work perfectly well, on my road bike that pair have 600 miles up and the split hasnt appeared at all yet, if yours is this type of split i wouldnt worry about it as ive never had anything untoward happen.

Well if it was on a car and it presented for MOT it would fail, So for me I'm not going to trust them they are in the bin.
a front or rear tyre blow out on a decent at 35 mph plus could kill me, I'm just not going to take the gamble.

Baxter-Smythe

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels ... 97382.html

sungod

i use gp4000s on my commute bike, never had this issue, they wear down to the bottom of the indicator dots and i change them

check rims are ok, no burrs etc., check brake pad position, if the pads are a smidge high they'll destroy the sidewall, don't run at crazy high/low pressures, make sure they're not exposed to nasty chemicals

the rubber contributes almost nothing to tyre strength, as long as the carcass isn't compromised a tyre will be fine

tiredofwhiners

Baxter-Smythe wrote:

I found the side wall on the front on one side and also on the rear nearly all the way round had failed, the reinforcing fibers are clearly visible and it looked as if the inner tube could present itself at any moment :shock:

I have had that on several tyres and none have ever gone on the side walls. personally I think its just rubbish manufacturing and all you are seeing is the outside layer of reinforcement, not the only layer. My front wheel on bike 2 is decidedly 'furry' at the moment but it is rarely used.

bigpikle

mine split 1st ride in under 20 miles - v pissed and contacted the Conti distributor to be told tough luck!

earth

binsted wrote:

I seemed to be in the minority on here by moaning about GP4000s but this weekend was the final straw, 1 puncture on Saturday and 2 on Sunday, they cut up badly and seem to have no puncture protection at all. They have done about 1K miles and are by a distance the worst tyres I have ridden and yes one has had side wall failure. They are destined for the bin on Monday.

You might be in the minority but you are not alone.

I had a pair GP4000 and a pair of GP4000S. Both punctured about every 10 miles and threads started coming off the side wall close to the bead and they cut easily. I don't go near them anymore.

robbo2011

I don't know where the guys with puncturing GP4000s are riding, but the roads must be terrible. I have done over 6000km on my set without a single puncture and they are still going strong.

Perhaps a set of Marathon Plus may be more suitable for these guys?

Dmak

Mine have been pretty good of late. 1 puncture, shard of glass. Otherwise great and fingers crossed I get some decent miles out of them.

Any fault in a tyre and I'll bin it. IMHO it's just not worth the risk.

Tempted to try Pro 4's next. These are all "race" type tyres but I'd rather spend a little more than regret using less grippy tyres whilst sliding down the road on my face.

earth

robbo2011 wrote:

I don't know where the guys with puncturing GP4000s are riding, but the roads must be terrible. I have done over 6000km on my set without a single puncture and they are still going strong.

Perhaps a set of Marathon Plus may be more suitable for these guys?

I've ridden them on a variety of road around the country. The result is always the same. Not to mention the other people who have punctured are from a different places around the country. Besides where do you ever find well maintained debris free roads in the UK?

iPete

robbo2011 wrote:

I don't know where the guys with puncturing GP4000s are riding, but the roads must be terrible. I have done over 6000km on my set without a single puncture and they are still going strong.

Perhaps a set of Marathon Plus may be more suitable for these guys?

According to Strava I've only got 850 miles on mine, that's central London BUT I think they are very puncture resistant and do a great job EXCEPT they split so easily & when they do, it is a pain in the...

cougie

I've thousands of miles on mine and not a single 'P' to report. My innertube perished before the tyres gave in !

Monty Dog

Gave up on GP4000s years ago - they are highly prone to sidewall cuts / failure. Conti tyres are an in-joke on our groups rides because it's almost guaranteed that folks riding GP4000s are going to get a puncture. They're not tough enough as training tyres and there are better performance tyres out there.

tuktuk

I was just about to order a set of these, glad i havent now!

What would you guys advise as an alternative ?

petemadoc

tuktuk wrote:

I was just about to order a set of these, glad i havent now!

What would you guys advise as an alternative ?

I just went for some 25mm Rubino Pro 3 for the winter bike £17.50 at Ribble. I also like Vredestein tri comp.

Summer bike is a different matter, Vittoria open corsa, Veloflex master/corsa, all nice tyres with good prices at Ribble or planet x. Team up with some latex tubes for a nice sound and smooth ride but they can cut up so avoid gutters full of glass shards. Good for Sunday rides on country roads, not city commuting.

flasher

All very strange, I ride 3 sets year round and have only had 1 pinch flat this year, and in the 4 years I've been riding them can only think of 3 punctures and no side wall issues at all.

I must be lucky!

petemadoc

Flasher wrote:

All very strange, I ride 3 sets year round and have only had 1 pinch flat this year, and in the 4 years I've been riding them can only think of 3 punctures and no side wall issues at all.

I must be lucky!

The GP4000s is widely regarded as a good tyre and often gets recommended, reviews on the interweb are generally very good.

However the sidewall complaint seems to come up every now and then and gets mentioned on various forums. I'm sure there are many happy Conti fans about, it could be a dodgy batch or just 1 in every 1-2K tyres fails, who knows.

thefd

I had the side wall split on one of mine after 900 miles (25mm). I bought it from Wiggle who were really good. Sent it back and got a new one from them. No problem. However, I have noticed the other one is heavily worn all the way round the sidewall, but as yet still ok. I'll keep an eye on it.

I was thinking 4 seasons next time round.

petemadoc

I must say it is amazing how many people have reported the same problem on this thread in the space of a couple of days and it gets mentioned elsewhere fairly frequently too.

It's not the tyres themselves that put me off conti it was the lack of service when I reported the problem.

binsted

tuktuk wrote:

I was just about to order a set of these, glad i havent now!

What would you guys advise as an alternative ?

Well the cynical side of me says go for the cheapest and I think that is going to be my approach to riding in Hampshire from now on, the lanes are awful and strewn with gravel and flints. I will keep a set of Michelin Pro4s for best.

adamfo

Monty Dog wrote:

Gave up on GP4000s years ago - they are highly prone to sidewall cuts / failure. Conti tyres are an in-joke on our groups rides because it's almost guaranteed that folks riding GP4000s are going to get a puncture. They're not tough enough as training tyres and there are better performance tyres out there.

What's the most popular training tyre ?

ddraver

I did that tw@ting them into a kerbstone trying to be cool. Put a bit of gaffer tape over the split and used them for a further 1000 odd kms (at least a year)

If you want a tough tyre then don't get a race tyre...

robbo2011

If you don't want GP4000s, my recommendation for a tough, yet reasonably fast rolling training tyre that grips well in both wet and dry conditions would be the Schwalbe Durano. I have them on my CX bike, they last for ages and are very puncture resistant (ridden on both UK and Swiss roads). They can also be bought quite cheaply.

Dmak

I only went and bloody jinxed it. Puncture today in the pissing rain. :oops:

Going tubeless when these are done.

Just to add I will say that having tried quite a few other tyres these are the best so far in terms of grip and durability.

Sharp things will go through rubber/fabric, unless of course this tech can be embraced. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYIWfn2Jz2g

keef66

Bloke at the sportive on Sunday punctured 3 times then borrowed a tyre from the organisers. He was on GP4000s'. He still finished before me!

orangepip

as an alternative I can't recommend the Schwalbe Durano S. On my second set now riding 6 days a week about 6000 miles a year and have had no issues. Replaced the first set when they wore out. Even then I wasn't getting any significant punctures really.

drlodge

orangepip wrote:

as an alternative I can't recommend the Schwalbe Durano S. On my second set now riding 6 days a week about 6000 miles a year and have had no issues. Replaced the first set when they wore out. Even then I wasn't getting any significant punctures really.

Sorry, you can't or can recommend them?