Conti GP4000s v Schwalbe Ultremo R1s ??

Gazzaputt why are you not feeling the love for your R.1s ? Had a set on all summer and can't fault them. Each to there own i guess :?

relanium wrote:

Conti Force & Attack for summer.

They also ride pretty well in the winter too!

the 4000s are great IMO no complaints. Done over 2000 on present set, they grip well in all conditions roll well and seem pretty tuff, one puncture over 2000. Would like to try force attacks as people tend to rate them, not sure of the difference though.

I'd go with the R.1's. I know a lot of people like the GP's, but to me they are heavy for a high end tire and don't roll particularly well (all mine were almost 20 grams over claimed weight per tire) . The Ultremo's are lighter, faster, more supple and corner better. I've found the Ultremo's better at stopping things like glass, thorns, flint, and most small sharp objects, but the sidewalls are fragile and the 4000's are better at protecting against a greater variety of road hazards and are less likely to blowout. The Ultremo's also wear pretty fast, I get about 700 miles on the rear vs almost 1.5k on 4000's, and if you lock up a wheel they will shred themselves. Now if your are talking attack/force they are just as fast, if not faster and are closer in weight to a true race tire. I would run them more, but its hard to find a place that stocks the rear only for a reasonable amount of money, and I already have 2 un-used fronts since the rear wears out so much faster.

I used Ultremo's over winter and they're great, about as grippy as you could ask for in the wet and only a couple of punctures (flints). I have some DD's ready to put on this winter (for me the important factors are grip, puncture resistance, durability and reasonable weight and Ultremos tick those boxes for me).

As always though it's very much down to personal experience, I had a GP4000 sidewall split after 50 miles, it's easy to dismiss it as a crap tyre and never use one again but in reality it was likely just a bit of debris on the road that would have done the same to most/all tyres. It gripped well but I still think the Ultremo had the edge.

dcl10 wrote:

I'd go with the R.1's. I know a lot of people like the GP's, but to me they are heavy for a high end tire and don't roll particularly well (all mine were almost 20 grams over claimed weight per tire) . The Ultremo's are lighter, faster, more supple and corner better. I've found the Ultremo's better at stopping things like glass, thorns, flint, and most small sharp objects, but the sidewalls are fragile and the 4000's are better at protecting against a greater variety of road hazards and are less likely to blowout. The Ultremo's also wear pretty fast, I get about 700 miles on the rear vs almost 1.5k on 4000's, and if you lock up a wheel they will shred themselves. Now if your are talking attack/force they are just as fast, if not faster and are closer in weight to a true race tire. I would run them more, but its hard to find a place that stocks the rear only for a reasonable amount of money, and I already have 2 un-used fronts since the rear wears out so much faster.

So if you ride 200miles per week the Ultremo's would last less than a month and the 4000's 7 weeks or so? That cannot be right surely.

So if you ride 200miles per week the Ultremo's would last less than a month and the 4000's 7 weeks or so? That cannot be right surely.[/quote]

No, I said it was 700 vs 1.5k (as in 1,500), so they last about twice as long. I get about 2-3 weeks on the rear with the Ultremo's and 5-6 with 4000's.

You're doing something wrong. My rear Ultremo is virtually perfect. My front still has evidence of the centre moulding.

Just done LEJOG, 950 miles on the R.1's without a puncture and they still look good for the rest of the winter!