Continental Grand Prix 4 Season Tire - Clincher

In my search for road bike tires that ride/roll great are not too heavy and still offer good puncture resistance I have tried a lot of tires and feel I can weigh in on this issue and possibly aid someone with similar issues. My riding is daily commuting of ~ 3500 miles a year and road biking for moderate to long rides of 40-70 miles on the weekends. I have tried the conti GP 4 season, conti gatorskin, conti gator hardshell, schwalbe spicer K, various vittorio's and here is my assessment. the conti gatorhard shell tires offer outstanding puncture resistance at a cost. they are bone jarring when pumped to recommended pressures. I find myself letting them drop down a few lbs to make the ride more comfortable. I use them on my commuter bike and have had 1 flat in ~ 1500 miles on them. I had the schwalbe spicer K's on that bike before and in ~ 3000 miles they gave up the ghost in spades toward the end. probably 7-8 flats in rapid succession but ride was much better overall than the hardshell's. have been using 28 mm tires so may go up to 32 mm's on the hardshell's if I continue with them. for my road bikes there doesn't seem to be much question in my mind that the conti GP 4 season's are not the right choice for me. in about 500 miles I had 3 flats then a complete tread tearing blowout 20 miles from home that caused me to have to ditch them. the ride was ok. smooth and grippy but somehow more firm/hard than the gatorskins. I have used the gatorskins for many years. to me they offer the best combination of puncture resistance, ride quality, grip etc. they seem to transmit much less vibration to the rider than the hardshell version or the 4 season's. I get very few flats on them. I frequently ride through glass, nails, sharp rocks, staples etc and have considered going nuclear with the schwalbe marathon's but the weight and ride are horrendous, but may work for commuting. I just prefer a tire that is somewhat like a road biking tire but still keeps me from changing flats all the time in the cold PNW rain.

They may be a little heavier than some other tires, but I rarely get flats. They are durable and don't seem any less nimble than top end race tires I have run. I regularly pick our glass out of the tires, but see a flat maybe once a year. The handle great too.

Use these tires all year round. I live in the Northeast and deal with rain, snow, ice, gravel and dirt. These tires have great traction and handle well in the conditions. I also use this tire a lot on a trainer and the tires have not shown any extra wear.

After many miles on too many tires to name, this tire takes the cake. It may be a bit on the expensive side but to me it is the most complete tire. It handles long training miles on beat up chip seal roads along with racing use. Puncture protection like a gatorskin but the comfort, grip, weight, and low rolling resistance like a GP 4000s2.

Got these for my husband, who says: I got these tires after the set of Mavics I had on my bike were shredded by the roads around Park City. The 4 Seasons are perfect for the variable conditions I ride in (unsealed roads, gravel trails, general rocks/gravel/whatever leftover from winter) and I’ve had zero cuts, tears or punctures over the course of about 1000 miles. They’re not as supple or comfy as something like a Vittoria Corsa but you know that going in with these tires and while you give up a little bit of comfort, you get durability and grip in pretty much all conditions you can throw at a road bike. Definitely a great tire.

Lighter than expected yet thick and with a soft ride. Excellent quality. Will buy again.

I used mavic, schwalbe, michelin, several other brands of tires before and usually upgrading to Continental tires. I am very please with the performance of this particular Continental brand. Compared to gator skin, this one has better grip at cornering and descending. I have put less than 300 miles so far and it feels brand new everytime I ride. I would recommend these tires. Good price as well.

Listen, all the top cycling tire companies (Vittoria, Continental, Michelin, Schwalbe, and a few others) make great top-of-line race tires. But all those tires have very little flat protection (if any). They are meant for timed applications on clean, smooth roads.

What about the roads most of us actually ride on most of the time??

What if you want a great, fast, training road tire with some real flat protection?

These are the best I've found. The German-engineered (and made) Continental Grand Prix 4-Season.

Conti GP 4S tires feature *two* layers of Vectran tread protection, wraparound DuraSkin sidewall protection, plus the latest German rubber compounding for optimum wet and cold weather performance. And they weigh only 241g for size 25, and 280g for size 28. That's light for a performance tire with double tread protection.

These GP 4S tires are fast, ride beautifully (smooth & supple), grip really well, and have excellent puncture protection.

Coming from Vittorias that excel at smooth & supple (but cut and flat easier), I am really impressed by these Continentals!

Continental makes OEM tires for Porsche. The sidewalls are proudly stamped, "Handmade in Germany." These tires reek of high quality.

I just switched onto these for my winter tires, replacing a pair of fast but worn Vittoria Corsa Evo CX II's. The Vittoria's were 25mm but measured 26mm on my American Classic Victory 30 wheels. I opted for the 28mm Continentals, knowing that they measure a little narrow, but they were even narrower than expected at 25mm!

For tubes I got some of the Continental Race 28 wide tubes which are advertised for 25-32mm tires. The Contis were very difficult to get over the rim, and I pinched my rear tube a bit when getting it on, only to discover the tube was flat the next morning. I happened to have a regular Continental Race 28 for 20-25mm tires, which fit much better, and wasn't a risk for a pinch because of the narrower profile when putting back on. I'll also switch out my front for a narrower tube soon.

While I'm a little bummed that my winter tires are narrower than my summer tires, I really like the confidence in the corners on both wet and dry roads. I've been testing different inflation psi, and haven't got it dialed in exactly yet, but they are comfortable and still fast at 95-100 psi. Closer to max inflation, they were a little rougher riding. Also, I have noticed a little more rolling resistance and slightly slower spin-up than my last tires, but I was expecting this as a trade off of the grippier cold-handling compound and heavier weight.

All in all, a fine shoulder and winter season tire, and I definitely feel safer in the rain in these which counts for a lot on those dark winter commutes. Next summer, I'll get some racier tires again, but these will last me fine until then.

I have had issues with sidewall cuts/tears on the GP 4000S tires and finally got fed up with going through a tube a week. I bought the GP tires and have over 900 miles on them without any issues. None. It may be marketing but yes, these tires are not ready to roll up to the start line at your local crit, but I have no issues cornering down mountain descents at high speed, they grip well and are durable. Not a single issue despite lots of roadside debris, etc.
If you want a long wearing, highly puncture resistant tires from a great tire company, throw a pair in your cart now.

Before I bought these tires I had switched to another brand and had about 8 flats in 3 months costing me quit a bit of money. I purchased the Continentals a little over month ago and I haven't had one flate. Will definitely buy again.

I've been using these tires all around the San Francisco Bay Area. I typically ride through wet, dry, cold, hot conditions on smooth, bumpy, rocky, trails all in a single ride. These tires hold up perfect for it all. The tread feels grippy in the corners and on wet surfaces. I bought an extra set while they were on sale so I can continue using them as long as possible.

I am not a veteran road biker and so have tried to get equipment that will last long and still perform well without breaking the bank. I think these are great value, have never had any problems with them, no flats thus far so thumbs up for sure

Smooth and no punctures. Could not be happier.

I bought these tires in a 25mm... I've got pretty wide rims so they actually measure out to just under 28mm. Simply pu, I love them! I use them from the last race of the season(sept) through the winter. Living in Colorado we get a lot of sand and nastiness on the roads during the winter and so far I've only had one flat due to a staple. I pair them with qtube's road tube(another solid buy from backcountry). Rolls much better than the gators skins and is more durable than the gp4000s which I usually race on. I like that they are still sticky enough in the corners but with added durability for training. I've put 2500 miles on the pair I have now and they probably have at least another 2500 miles left in them.

I've tried everything out there and have had the best luck with these as my commuter. Tacky, durable, and last forever. Can't go wrong.

These are my go to tires when the roads are covered in salt and cinders during the winter. Over thousands of miles ridden (on several sets) I have had one flat due to a sharp piece of glass. The only other bad occurrence was losing the rubber down to the puncture belt after hard braking on an older tire. These tires are just as puncture resistant as Gatorskins, but they don't last quite as long. They have great grip in the wet. They have lower rolling resistance than Gatorskins, but are still nowhere near summer race tires. When the going gets extra tough I recommend these.

I get months (about 700 miles each month) on these tires. Probably 3 or 4 months. When I get a flat, it's usually because I need to replace the tires. I ride on chip seal in Texas.