Conti' GP 4000s side wall failure

apreading

Shame that they dont do the GP 4 Seasons with the Black Chili compound - that would be really interesting...

earth

ddraver wrote:

earth wrote:

I think it is a product that is hyped as being very high quality and the reality in many cases does not meet hype. When the quality is not as expected and Continental do not acknowledge that then all you will get is disgruntled people.

They re a race tyre that people are using as a training tyre and then expecting them to last for ages in all conditions. To be blunt it's not Continentals Fault if people don't/can't read the information on the back of the box...

It's the classic BR "recommend me a cheap but high quality, grippy but low rolling resistance, long lasting and tough but light tyre"

They are a race tire and I accept that there is a compromise. I don't expect them to wear as well as a training tire and I don't mind changing them more often because of that. But I have used other race tires that do not puncture half as often as these and I have never had any tire where threads start to come away from the sidewall.

thefd

I have noticed that my rear one has rubbed a little on one side. It seems that it may possibly rub a little at the apex of the frame by the pedals. Got me thinking of putting 23mm on the back and leave 25mm on the front. Anyone know if that is ok to run? I've heard folks who run 25mm back and 23mm front - but not the other way round!

slowbike

well - that teaches me to comment on tyres ... two punctures today - both sidewall splits - one in my back tyre - GP4000s (mileage unknown - but at least 400) and the other in my wifes front tyre - GP4Season - mileage about 400.

Both splits have written off the tyres - I had to line the tyre with a bit of paper from the quick patch box and the other one was with a jellybean wrapper ... interestingly enough, both splits on the nearside and the explosion occurred well away from any noticeable debris.

Fortunately (or that - it's not fortunate, just planned) I have 2 spare GP4000s in my toolbox. So we can get riding pdq .. but I'll have to replace those now ...

robbo2011

what could have caused those splits? broken glass?

slowbike

Probably either glass or shell - we did ride along a foreshore before the burst happened.
Clean cut though - almost as though someone had put a knife through them - not that they could've done cos it would've burst the tube straight away.

Tyres all swapped out for the brand new 4000s that I had spare - will see how they go.

Dmak

I can go hundreds of miles on the 4000's without issues then have 3 punctures in 30 miles. Just how it goes.

Problem is, you mentioned shells and I am now listening to this.

Oh dear.

plymouthsteve

Bought a new pair of 4000s to replace some Gatorskins. 2 rides in, one admittedly 100 miles, a hole appeared in a sidewall. Thought it was bad luck 'till I read this thread.
Too nervous to do 40mph with this, so bit the bullet and bought another new pair of gatorskins, and gave the holed tyre to a mate to use on his turbotrainer.

adamfo

I'm bemused by this thread. Most of the problems seem to be linked to the thin side wall of the 4000S race tyre. The standard Grand Prix has 40% more material in the side wall possibly making it a better choice for the UK's notorious road surfaces. It still has the black chili compound.
Help might be at hand though, a new GP 4000S II is available

http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle ... /News2014/

bompington

I might as well add my voice to the "satisfied customer" side - had 2 sets of these over the years, first set did about 3,000 miles and I felt I was being over-cautious in replacing them, current set have done about 1,000 and look like new. I am overweight (13 stone or so), and ride energetically around quite a few very lumpy country lanes (in fact they have done quite a few off-road miles this summer as my mtb is laid up). VERY few punctures, none on the current set and I think maybe one or two on the previous. Had far more in one winter on the Nokian studs I use for the snow and ice.
Sounds like too many unhappy punters to be coincidence though - faulty batches / inconsistent quality control perhaps?

VeloPeo

Likewise. I've put my GP4000S through some really shite road and weather conditions and they've handled admirably. Don't even bother with "seasons" in the winter

bill_gates

Does anyone have any experience of returning a tyre with sidewall damage and getting a successful replacement or refund? I've just discovered I have a GP4000S with less than 50miles on it that has develop this exact same fault.

rickeverett

AHHHH Sh*t...

just checked my GP4000 tyres this morning and there are threads of black fibre/strings coming loose around the sidewall near to the join with the rims. :x 500miles

Southgate

Oddly enough I've never had a problem with GP4000S, but this winter I tried Gator Hardshells and (probably just bad luck) but... pop... pop... pop! After training this morning, my back tire was, for once, still inflated, but it looked like it'd been attacked by a knife-wielding maniac. I popped (haha) into bikefix on Lambs Conduit Street, London, to buy another one and they told me they'd stopped selling Contis on account of them being sh*t and persuaded me to try a Schwalbe Durano Plus. Hmm... well, we shall see what the difference is, if any.

my_grandadʹs_bike

Bill Gates wrote:

Does anyone have any experience of returning a tyre with sidewall damage and getting a successful replacement or refund? I've just discovered I have a GP4000S with less than 50miles on it that has develop this exact same fault.

Yep - got replacement sent out by Wiggle along with three new inner tubes to replace the ones that kept puncturing as I tried to get myself home from a longish ride. Had to return the tyre and the inner tubes though as I suppose Wiggle will have wanted to take it up with Continental. If I can get the photo off my phone I will try and post it to show the side wall damage. Like you this happened after only fifty miles or so.

Sprool

Bill Gates wrote:

Does anyone have any experience of returning a tyre with sidewall damage and getting a successful replacement or refund? I've just discovered I have a GP4000S with less than 50miles on it that has develop this exact same fault.

I posted a thread last month re rubber perishing on rear tyre (gp4000s) after about 5 months, maybe 1200 miles, crack running round about 70% of the circumference. To me, a once-polymer chemist, it looked like the rubber compound had not mixed or cured properly. Although I could not remember where the tyre was bought, I returned it to the Cambrian rubber factory in Wales and they sent me out a replacement, which was decent of them. The front tyre, bought at the same time as the faulty rear one, is still fine.

Baxter-Smythe

Well I'm glad I started this thread, if just one reader has avoided a nasty injury or worse through checking his / her tyres out then its been well worth it.
My remaining 4000s are now just used on the turbo.

ManOfKent

rickeverett wrote:

AHHHH Sh*t...

just checked my GP4000 tyres this morning and there are threads of black fibre/strings coming loose around the sidewall near to the join with the rims. :x 500miles

I think the occasional batch is bad. I had two GP4000s that deteriorated in this way; I just cut the threads off and carried on using them. The most recent pair, bought at a different time, have been absolutely fine, but while loading a clubmate's bike into my car the other week I noticed a loose thread on his front tyre.

Over the coming months I'll be trying Schwalbe Ultremos and Duranos on my other bikes and will be interested to see how they compare. My weight and ability don't exactly push tyres to the limit.

bill_gates

my grandad's bike wrote:

Bill Gates wrote:

Does anyone have any experience of returning a tyre with sidewall damage and getting a successful replacement or refund? I've just discovered I have a GP4000S with less than 50miles on it that has develop this exact same fault.

Yep - got replacement sent out by Wiggle along with three new inner tubes to replace the ones that kept puncturing as I tried to get myself home from a longish ride. Had to return the tyre and the inner tubes though as I suppose Wiggle will have wanted to take it up with Continental. If I can get the photo off my phone I will try and post it to show the side wall damage. Like you this happened after only fifty miles or so.

Posted my return today so will hopefully get some notification from them over the next week or so to advise if it will be replaced or refunded. I've had GP4000S's and not had many issues until this one so I expect it might be from a 'bad batch'.

bmwsport

Hi All,

Another one here who's probably done over 2k on a set of GP4000s (I did actually get mine second hand but were pretty much as new) in all sorts of conditions as it's my only bike, I'm a big fan of how they perform and sure they've done their part in keeping me upright a few times now, I've not had one puncture either.

That said I do know what others are talking about, for those confused by this here's a pic, the separation to me appears to happen where the the two 'types' of rubber join if you like, the actual side wall and the bead which is of a more textured type, I assume this is to give it more purchase on the rim. I should add this is the only point on both my tyres that you can see any thread, and I haven't touched it at all:




My view is that yes while you could argue that this is a manufacturing fault, we all know what this tyre is meant to be used for and many of us use it for general duties/commuting which isn't the intended purpose so problems really should be expected, the fact that it can be used to commute on for thousands of miles/perform great in all weathers and then turn it on when you up the pace to me just shows what a great tyre it is. This issue is indeed a flaw, but it's the only one this tyre has and wouldn't put me off!

rickeverett

bmwsport wrote:

Hi All,

Another one here who's probably done over 2k on a set of GP4000s (I did actually get mine second hand but were pretty much as new) in all sorts of conditions as it's my only bike, I'm a big fan of how they perform and sure they've done their part in keeping me upright a few times now, I've not had one puncture either.

That said I do know what others are talking about, for those confused by this here's a pic, the separation to me appears to happen where the the two 'types' of rubber join if you like, the actual side wall and the bead which is of a more textured type, I assume this is to give it more purchase on the rim. I should add this is the only point on both my tyres that you can see any thread, and I haven't touched it at all:


My view is that yes while you could argue that this is a manufacturing fault, we all know what this tyre is meant to be used for and many of us use it for general duties/commuting which isn't the intended purpose so problems really should be expected, the fact that it can be used to commute on for thousands of miles/perform great in all weathers and then turn it on when you up the pace to me just shows what a great tyre it is. This issue is indeed a flaw, but it's the only one this tyre has and wouldn't put me off!

Mine are the same although they have only done about 500 miles or so.

About 1.5-2mm wide in places of the thread have come loose all around both tyres.

My main issue is I'm finding the threads in wrapped up in the the sprocket and rear jockeys :x

koontz

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I just had a blow out on the front tyre and it is exactly the same. The side wall has Split and blew up the innwrtube. Luckily I was on the flat and didnt come off but shit myself. Have only done around 400 miles on the tyre as they came with new bike canyon endurace. The tyre is very grippy but I have noticed quite a few cuts in the tyre so don't think they will last long were I ride.

itboffin

i stopped using conti tyres over two years ago now as all of mine had threads coming off but worse still is how dead conti tyres feel compared with just about any of the major brands

jscl

I've been riding Conti for several years now and I've simply never seen any issues with any of my GP4k S2's.

My only issue with Conti is the lack of a good looking tanned sidewall

Fingerbobs

I've had two conti 4000s and an 4000sII side wall failures, the last one during the steepest descent I do on my favourite local route, ie was going quite quick. Fortunately it was the rear that went and managed to keep it up. No more Conti's for me I'm afraid.

robbo2011

Earlier this year, one of my riding friends had a sidewall blowout of a 4000s while descending the Grimsel pass in Switzerland.

He was knocked unconscious and was found by a passer by who called an ambulance. He had to spend the night in hospital, but fortunately, no serious injuries. He was very lucky.

He doesn't use Conti tyres any more.

milemuncher1

I have had issues with the folding bead 4000s 2's, on one of my bikes. They are a very good, but fragile choice I find. I had one side wall failure, which I believe was down to catching a ( pretty small ) pothole, and I've had a front tyre become unusable due to all over damage, after 1 unplanned excursion onto some gravel. They don't seem to be particularly durable, but I suppose they're not really designed for long haul use.

iPete

The comparable Michelin Pro4 SC are serving me better than my experience with the contis.
8,500 miles on the front; 5,000 on the rear.

Bordersroadie

JSCL wrote:

I've been riding Conti for several years now and I've simply never seen any issues with any of my GP4k S2's.

+1

shimanobottombracket

Baxter-Smythe wrote:

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.

Dont exaggerate. You would probably just end up fully paralyzed thats all. Killed lol.