GP4000 and Conti Gatorskins

Serious Cat

Ive always used Conti Gatorskins for both winter and summer riding and Ive considered buying a pair of GP4000`s for summer use only. My question is what will I notice when the conti`s are swapped over ? If the answer is not a lot then I obviously wont bother. My wheels are handbuilt Mavic Open pro`s with 105 5700 hubs with 32 spokes on each.

meursault

I've just gone the other way, not enough puncture protection with the gp's, but I use for commuter and sportives, so don't need race tyres. As far as I could tell, better grip and a bit lighter are the main differences. I can't feel much difference in ride quality.

ugo.santalucia

German rubber has no soul...

meursault

ugo.santalucia wrote:

German rubber has no soul...

That's a fking good point. What Italian tyres do I want?

ugo.santalucia

meursault wrote:

That's a fking good point. What Italian tyres do I want?

Depends... what do you want them for?

Serious Cat

With the sizeable price difference what would I be getting if I bought a set of GP4000`s that I would notice ?

shmooster

Serious Cat wrote:

With the sizeable price difference what would I be getting if I bought a set of GP4000`s that I would notice ?

They're quieter than Gatorskins and a fair bit faster plus great grip. General opinion seems to be that Schwalbe Ultremos are better but there's not much in it.

Isn't there a gp4000 gt or something now that's like the S but with better puncture protection?

DiscoBoy

Serious Cat wrote:

With the sizeable price difference what would I be getting if I bought a set of GP4000`s that I would notice ?

Faster, more grippy and smoother.

i.e. They will feel less like riding on hosepipes than gatorskins do!

ianbar

i ride gators in winter and 4000 s's in summer. i think you would notice a big difference.

rattyc5

hi cat, sorry to hijack your post but I would like your opinion on the mavic open pros with the 105 hubs. looking buying some myself as I am a heavy rider. I only ride in dry weather on road bike. by the way, I ordered 4 continental gp 4000 s tyres for just under £26 each from wiggle today.

Serious Cat

ianbar wrote:

i ride gators in winter and 4000 s's in summer. i think you would notice a big difference.

Can I ask what difference YOU notice ?

wishitwasallflat

rattyc5 wrote:

hi cat, sorry to hijack your post but I would like your opinion on the mavic open pros with the 105 hubs. looking buying some myself as I am a heavy rider. I only ride in dry weather on road bike. by the way, I ordered 4 continental gp 4000 s tyres for just under £26 each from wiggle today.

I've got a set exactly the same but 36hole F&R built for me by Harry Rowland. I'm 17st 11 now but was about 19 6 when I got them and I've done about 5k all weather miles on them with no problems at all. My only complaint is that there is no wear indicator but I spoke to Harry about another set just before Christmas and he is very clear they are his preferred rim and they are way better than anything with a wear indicator so he really prefers them

Serious Cat

rattyc5 wrote:

hi cat, sorry to hijack your post but I would like your opinion on the mavic open pros with the 105 hubs. looking buying some myself as I am a heavy rider. I only ride in dry weather on road bike. by the way, I ordered 4 continental gp 4000 s tyres for just under £26 each from wiggle today.

The Open Pro rims have a very good reputation for a reason in that they are very much fit and forget in daily usage. Shimano 105 imo is as close to Ultegra as to be negligible , not as good as Dura ace but light years better than Tiagra and below. This makes 105 my go to jack of all trades when it comes to groupset componentry, its not as good as top of the tree Dura ace but does everything I need at a price im prepared to pay. My Open Pro / 105 wheels are hand builts and id recommend them to anyone , fit em and forget em . Id considered some more expensive wheelsets but I don't race and therefore seen them as a waste of money for my needs.

I say check the wheels out, I think you will like them.

wishitwasallflat

May I ask Serious how do you check rim wear and do you work to the 1mm thick rule?

Serious Cat

wishitwasallflat wrote:

May I ask Serious how do you check rim wear and do you work to the 1mm thick rule?

A guy in the club is a real old hand, I asked him to look at them and he told me I needed a new front wheel , simple as that and I had the original wheel for ages.

wishitwasallflat

Lucky you - you don't have the old wheel and would post a pic of the rim with a straight edge against it by any chance would you ( cheeky to ask maybe but I'm only asking no hard feelings if you don't or can't be bothered)"

ugo.santalucia

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Lucky you - you don't have the old wheel and would post a pic of the rim with a straight edge against it by any chance would you ( cheeky to ask maybe but I'm only asking no hard feelings if you don't or can't be bothered)"

Yes, do

Serious Cat

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Lucky you - you don't have the old wheel and would post a pic of the rim with a straight edge against it by any chance would you ( cheeky to ask maybe but I'm only asking no hard feelings if you don't or can't be bothered)"

Sorry, I chucked it when I got the replacement.

mrbrightside

Oh how dull, I've just ordered some gator skins for training. Usually use race tires/open tubs, looks like I could be in for a disappointment.

robbo2011

They'll be fine. There's a lot of nonsense written on this forum and often small differences are magnified out of all proportion.

meursault

robbo2011 wrote:

They'll be fine. There's a lot of nonsense written on this forum and often small differences are magnified out of all proportion.

Word.

mrbrightside

^^^ will report back, tbh the weight difference is circa 20g per tyre which kind of made my mind up

wishitwasallflat

Serious Cat wrote:

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Lucky you - you don't have the old wheel and would post a pic of the rim with a straight edge against it by any chance would you ( cheeky to ask maybe but I'm only asking no hard feelings if you don't or can't be bothered)"

Sorry, I chucked it when I got the replacement.

No problem thanks anyway.

cadseen

PBK are currently offering over 40% off GP4000S tyres.

http://www.probikekit.co.uk/home.dept

MattC59

There is a huge difference between the GP4000s and the Gatorskin.

The GP4000s has better grip and suppleness, and is lighter than the Gatorskin.
The Gatorskin has better puncture protection than the GP4000s.

The GP4000s is like a piece of hose pipe compared to it's competition.

taon24

ugo.santalucia wrote:

German rubber has no soul...

Fortunately an incorporeal spirit is not required in a tyre, and Continental makes very good tyres. I have tried a Lightweight Vittoria tyre which developed cuts very quickly. I will almost certainly not return to vittoria for tyres.
I was impressed with the puncture resistance of durano plus, but they have noticeably poorer road feel than the gatorskins (even the hardshell type).
The gatorskins are quite resistant to punctures, while the gp4000s is noticeably more lightweight, but I am more concerned about punctures (despite the lack of them so far).

Tiesetrotter

meursault wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

German rubber has no soul...

That's a fking good point. What Italian tyres do I want?

Winter Vittoria Robino Pro Techs
Summer Vittoria Corsa CX

Although I am now sticking to Robino's

FransJacques

MattC59 wrote:

There is a huge difference between the GP4000s and the Gatorskin.

The GP4000s has better grip and suppleness, and is lighter than the Gatorskin.
The Gatorskin has better puncture protection than the GP4000s.

The GP4000s is like a piece of hose pipe compared to it's competition.

100% agree. Gators are hard-riding, transmit a lot of road shock and under 3C the durometer of the rubber makes them slippery and ddangerous.

Of course you'll notice notice a difference. I do and I'm not a very sensitive rider. But I have 8 wheelsets and often swap wheels so ride them back to back.