Just been for my first ride on my new Continental Grand Prix 4000 tyres, and thought I'd let you know about them. I know it's only a first use test, but will update this review when I've had them for a while. Also, I've assumed that if you're reading this, you have some interest and/or knowledge of bicycles. I hope that's OK...
Continental have over 100 years experience in the development and production of road and mountain bike tyres, at the Continental Two-Wheel division's technology and development centre in Korbach in Germany.
The Grand Prix 4000 road/race tyre is the sucessor to the excellent Grand Prix 3000 that I've had on my bike for 2 years or so. It's a "clincher" tyre (as opposed to a tubular tyre), so
should fit most road/race wheels/rims. It was a bit of a narrow decision between these and the Continental Attack/Force combination, but these won - primarily on price - but also I don't think I really need the super-high performance of those all-out race tyres, at the cost of a reduced puncture protection...
The GP4000 has a patented "Vectran" anti-puncture layer to prevent punctures - certainly none this morning ! It supposedly has more cut resistance than aramid, and is five times as strong as steel ! Vectran fibers are used by NASA for space mission airbags and tow ropes, so should stop those little glass slivers, pins & flints that can ruin a morning's ride !
The GP4000 is available in 650x23 size (ERTRO 23-571) in black only (for you time trialists), 700x23 (ERTRO 23-622) in Black, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Metallic Blue, Blue, Conti yellow, Red(my choice) & Lemon yellow, plus a slightly wider 700x25 (ERTRO 25-622) in Black, Black Reflective, Blue, Red & Lemon yellow. The tyre sidewall for all these colours is black, unlike the old 3000's where multi-coloured sidewalls were available :(
(Apparently, the gold, silver and bronze options ("Xserallic" colours, developed by Merck) represent the medals that were won on Continental tyres at the world championships and Olympic Games !)
There's an "Activated Silica Compund" in these tyres that's supposed to provide lots of grip, but low rolling resistance, and a new anti-cracking formula should prevent UV light from damaging the rubber - this was a certainly bit of a problem with my previous tyres, GP3000's, so let's hope this works. Watch this space...
Continental claim that these tyres weigh 205g each (I've not checked this on the kitchen scales yet), but they're certainly pretty light. Out of the box, the colour's very bright (my bike colour scheme is silver and red, so the red tyres look great !) and they have smooth, an almost greasy feel.
They were very easy to mount on my wheels, although being a foldable tyre with kevlar bead, they're all "floppy", and don't keep a round shape by themselves ! They popped right onto the wheel rim with just the slightest help from a couple of tyre levers. I pumped them up to the recommended pressure of 120psi; and they were solid and looked great ! You'll probably need a proper track-pump to get up to that pressure, it would be pretty hard work with a smaller pump.
Out for a quick spin around Richmond Park, these tyres felt solid and secure. On a bit of recently resurfaced road they were super smooth, and coming fast down a twisty hill they were definitely confidence inspiring at almost 40mph. I try and avoid riding in the rain (who wouldn't ?) but will update this review when I have some wet weather comments...
There's a slight patterned "tread" on these tyres, although this serves no real grip functtion, it's the tarmac that digs into the rubber, and you'd need to be riding at about 300mph for aquaplaning in the wet to be an issue ! They're more so you can see at a glance how much the tyres are worn - they'll look totally smooth when the rubber's worn a bit thin (like my old 3000's...)
Check bikepimp for current best prices, but I got mine from probikekit for £39 for the pair, with next day free delivery too !
Overall, these are great tyres, light and bright, and will make you go faster (or at least feel as if you are) on your road/race bike.
I hope this helps...
Pictures of Continental Grand Prix 4000
GP4000
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Continental Grand Prix 4000 Road Tyres: The Grand Prix 4000 works on every road surface, ... more
transforming the demands of different styles of riding and supplies extremely long-term performance. It also achieves expectations in precision and production qual...
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