TYRES

amycollins

I'm looking to buy a new set of tires. Id like for them to last me for as long as possible and be as good as possible, Lightness isn't a necessity but rolling resistance and puncture resistance needs to be top draw.

Tyres looked at so far:
Gatorskin hardshell
Continental GP400s
Vittoria Open pave CG iii
Michelin Krylion Carbon
Continental GP 4Season

All have good reviews but which ones
Thanks for your help.

Grill

Go with the Conti GP 4 Season.

amycollins

Grill wrote:

Go with the Conti GP 4 Season.

Ive heard bad things, rolling resistance is meant to be terrible and side wall fails

ai_1

The list doesn't really match your criteria.

Gatorskin hardshell - should last well and hold up well to punctures but not great for rolling resistance.
Conti GP4000s (I presume 400 should be 4000?) - should be good for rolling resistance with some puncture resistance and medium life.
Open Pave - I don't think these will last all that well from what I've heard.
Krylion - Not sure but I think Pro 4 Endurance would be a better choice from Michelin

Like Grill I would think GP 4 seasons are probably the best match to your criteria if you can get them on sale.

amycollins wrote:

Grill wrote:

Go with the Conti GP 4 Season.

Ive heard bad things, rolling resistance is meant to be terrible and side wall fails

Very few people will agree with that I think. Definitely not my experience.

Grill

amycollins wrote:

Grill wrote:

Go with the Conti GP 4 Season.

Ive heard bad things, rolling resistance is meant to be terrible and side wall fails

Errrrrm, not in my experience. Sidewall failure is more widely reported in the GP4000s, but the fact is that any tyre can fail in this way as there are good ad bad batches. They roll really well, certainly quicker than Gatorskins and Krylions, but they're obviously not as fast as the GP4000s or Pro4 SC. Another big selling point for me is that the 25c actually measure bang on whereas many others come out quite a bit wider (I have clearance issues on the bike in question).

markhewitt1978

GP4 Season will be the best, all round performance with excellent puncture resistance.
GP4000S is better and grippier but a softer compound.

It's notable too that GP4000S is a bigger tyre for the same marked size - I've ridden them both in 23mm.

amycollins

Ai_1 wrote:

The list doesn't really match your criteria.

Gatorskin hardshell - should last well and hold up well to punctures but not great for rolling resistance.
Conti GP4000s (I presume 400 should be 4000?) - should be good for rolling resistance with some puncture resistance and medium life.
Open Pave - I don't think these will last all that well from what I've heard.
Krylion - Not sure but I think Pro 4 Endurance would be a better choice from Michelin

Like Grill I would think GP 4 seasons are probably the best match to your criteria if you can get them on sale.

amycollins wrote:

Grill wrote:

Go with the Conti GP 4 Season.

Ive heard bad things, rolling resistance is meant to be terrible and side wall fails

Very few people will agree with that I think. Definitely not my experience.

It does say 4000 .
i think its probably between GP4season and GP4000s at the moment.

markhewitt1978

I use GP4000S in the summer and GP4 Season in the winter.

Grill

If you want puncture protection and longevity then get the GP 4 Season.
If you want one of the fastest tyres on the market with exceptional grip get the GP4000s.

amycollins

i think its going to have to be the GP4000s

amycollins

Now the next thing is. GP4000s or GP4000s ii ??

Grill

Whichever is cheapest. The difference between the two is negligible.

amycollins

think its decided then. thankyou everybody for helping!

markhewitt1978

amycollins wrote:

Now the next thing is. GP4000s or GP4000s ii ??

They are the same, there is literally no difference between the two, so get whatever is the best deal. You've made the right choice BTW.

Now you have to decide, 23, 25 or 28mm?

ai_1

amycollins wrote:

It does say 4000 .

In the first post, not the poll. Not that it's important. I know what you mean!

amycollins wrote:

Now the next thing is. GP4000s or GP4000s ii ??

I haven't seen any claims from Conti that the new tyres are significantly improved compared to the existing version besides a different way of incorporating colour stripes and some additional sizes.
Since black is just fine with me, I've taken advantage of the reduced prices on remaining stock of the outgoing model and bought some for about 40% off the price.

Incidentally, it was a close call for me between Michelin Pro 4 or Conti GP4000s. Both were selling with big reductions a couple of weeks ago. I like 25mm and the Michelin Pro 4 seem to come up small in 23mm and very large in 25mm so I went with the GP4000s.

slowbike

Obviously a bit late into this - but I agree with Grill ...

GP 4 seasons are excellent - I have had a sidewall slash on these - but then I've had them on 4000s and Vittoria tyres too - from something sharp in the road.

I'm currently riding on 4000s as they were cheaper than the 4 seasons - but I'd happily put the 4 seasons back on for anything other than the TT bike.

Grill

Tyre size guide:
Pro4 23c - = or < 23
GP4000s 23c - 23.8
GP 4 Season 25c - 25
GP4000s 25c - 25.8
Pro4 25c - > 27

ai_1

Grill wrote:

Tyre size guide:
Pro4 23c - = or > 23
GP4000s 23c - 23.8
GP 4 Season 25c - 25
GP4000s 25c - 25.8
Pro4 25c - < 27

Useful info Grill - Thanks
Just checking but are you sure the > and < are the right way around for the Pro 4s? From what I'd seen reported it was the other way around. i.e: Pro4 23c actually closer to 22mm on standard rims and Pro4 25c between 27mm and 28mm again on standard rims.
Either way GP4000s 25c should suit me nicely.

Grill

Oops, yeah wrong way around!

djhermer

GP 4 season every time. Avoid Gatorskins - I've purchased and used 4 of these and have had bad experiences with every one of them. Splitting, easily shredded, side wall failure. All at unacceptably low mileage.

marcusjb

GP 4 Seasons - best tyre on the market for big miles; plenty of p***ture resistance, very grippy, roll pretty well.

I use them on the distance bike and the commuter, so 12-15000km a year on those bikes - and never have issues. They last very, very well.

However, I am currently riding 4000s II on the distance bike - only done a couple of shorter rides on them so far, so no data on longevity or p***ure resistance (other than I haven't had any in 450km!). They do roll very fast it seems!

drlodge

Grill wrote:

If you want puncture protection and longevity then get the GP 4 Season.
If you want one of the fastest tyres on the market with exceptional grip get the GP4000s.

This ---^ or an alternative to the GP4000S is Michelin Pro 4 Service Course.

I have GP4Season 25c on the winter bike, and GP4000S now Pro4 SC 23c on the Rourke.

patrickf

I was pretty happy with the 4Seasons. Decent puncture resistance and seemed to roll well enough. That's until the tread area started de laminating. I did get a few thousand crappy commute miles out of them though.

Also worth looking at are Schwalbe Durano and Durano Plus (depending on how much resistance you want)

DiscoBoy

Ai_1 wrote:

Grill wrote:

Tyre size guide:
Pro4 23c - = or > 23
GP4000s 23c - 23.8
GP 4 Season 25c - 25
GP4000s 25c - 25.8
Pro4 25c - < 27

Useful info Grill - Thanks
Just checking but are you sure the > and < are the right way around for the Pro 4s? From what I'd seen reported it was the other way around. i.e: Pro4 23c actually closer to 22mm on standard rims and Pro4 25c between 27mm and 28mm again on standard rims.
Either way GP4000s 25c should suit me nicely.

Here is my size info for 23mm and 25mm pro4 SC fitted to my RS80 C50s:

23MM PRO4 SC WIDTH (100PSI) (mm) 23.44 23.92 23.97 23.74 23.51 23.65 23.76 23.80
23MM rim+tyre height (mm) 72.00 71.74 71.80 71.98

25MM PRO4 SC WIDTH (100PSI) (mm) 26.69 26.91 27.22 27.21 26.81
25MM rim+tyre height (mm) 75.38 75.53 75.54 76.07

Measurements were taken at random intervals around the rim.

As you can see, the 25mm version are a little over 3mm wider, and about 4mm higher than the 23mm.

Tom Dean

GP 4 seasons. The best compromise IMO.
Wear rate is superb.
I think the balance between strength/puncture resistance and weight is extraordinary.
Rolling resistance: who knows? I suspect the actual effect of this is overrated. All conti tyres feel like hosepipes anyway. There are no nice feeling tyres that fit the criteria. They are pretty good when you consider how strong they are. I race on them on all but the nicest clean roads.

I have found the sidewalls of GP4000S to be very fragile.

amycollins

i can only fit 23c on my bike unfortunately as its purely race geomatry.

I think its going to be the GP4000s or GP4season depending on the English forecast and prices.

Overall ive got the jist that GP4000s are brilliant for summer/dryer/racing conditions and the 4seasons are for wetter/training/harder conditions.. Hope im right with my choice, i am purchasing some on the weekend so will update on how i get on with them thats the GP4000s

ai_1

amycollins wrote:

i can only fit 23c on my bike unfortunately as its purely race geomatry....

Most race bikes will manage 25mm. There are perhaps a few that have very small clearances that may not.

drlodge

amycollins wrote:

i can only fit 23c on my bike unfortunately as its purely race geomatry.

I think its going to be the GP4000s or GP4season depending on the English forecast and prices.

Overall ive got the jist that GP4000s are brilliant for summer/dryer/racing conditions and the 4seasons are for wetter/training/harder conditions.. Hope im right with my choice, i am purchasing some on the weekend so will update on how i get on with them thats the GP4000s

25c can be tight, on my Rourke the tightest bit is clearance to the rear brake caliper where I have about 2mm clearance using 23c tyres.

I have found GP4000S to be fine in moderate winter use, I would take the winter bike out if its raining but have taken the Rourke out on wet roads on occasion and didn't suffer any P*****s

rolf_f

amycollins wrote:

i can only fit 23c on my bike unfortunately as its purely race geomatry.

Lol - is that what they told you in the shop?!

Coach H

Based on lots of love for the GP 4 Seasons on here, I got one last Autumn to replace a worn out Krylion Carbon on my Winter bike. I was not convinced that the Pro4 Endurance was an exact replacement (as Michelin literature stated it had been upgraded from the defunct Krylion) and wondered if the GP4S was as good as every body seemed to think.

My experience was that the GP4S (25mm) felt like a cheap bit of hosepipe compared to a Krylion and I hated it from day 1. Hated it even more as I considered low long they were reputed to last before I could change it out.

Thankfully(ish) I suffered my 1st flat in 8 years in March on the GP4S that killed it. To be fair it would have probably killed most tyres. I took the chance to replace it with a Pro4 Endurance and harmony was restored.

If you had asked the same question 7 or so years ago on here, you would have had as much recommendation for the Krylion Carbon (now Pro4 Endurance) as you are now getting for the GP4S. The Krylion only fell out of favour due to supply issues when Michelin moved the machinery from France to Thailand to make way for another Pro3 Race machine. As you could not get a Krylion Carbon for love nor money for about 9 months (perhaps longer) people started switching to the GP4S.

IMHO the Krylion Carbon/Pro4 Endurance rolls far better than a GP4S, feels far more supple, in its Krylion guise is long lasting and puncture resistant (my Pro4 Endurance hasn't been on long enough to confirm that the last 2 points are as good as its previous iteration)

wallace_and_gromit

amycollins wrote:

Overall ive got the jist that GP4000s are brilliant for summer/dryer/racing conditions and the 4seasons are for wetter/training/harder conditions.

That's what my wife goes for and she has very demanding standards - except in husband, fortunately!

Joking aside, the GP4000s do suffer from relatively weak sidewalls, which isn't the case with the 4 Seasons. The GP4000s are lighter and grippier though.