All that to say, you aren’t going to lose your local race because you have Grand Prix 4000 S II tires on your wheels. It's still available from some retailers but the Grand Prix 5000 TL has been nominally replaced by the Grand Prix 5000 S TR. We'll keep these details until retailers run out. They're "variable" when fitting them too, some are so tight you wouldn't want to risk using them on a ride because the idea of sitting at the roadside in 5 degrees and rain attempting to get the thing off the rim is just too awful to contemplate.

In theory that means sealant isn't required, but Continental recommend you use 30-60ml of sealant to protect against punctures. Everything else being equal that extra layer also means increased rolling resistance, but it seems everything else is far from equal. According to Jarno Bierman at bicyclerollingresistance.com, the tubeless GP 5000 has very low rolling resistance, second only to the Vittoria Corsa Speed Open TLR, which has thinner tread. Grand Prix 5000 AS TR is a new all-season GP5000, adding some extra protection, grip and longevity to the fast GP5000 road tyre lineup. Even though this is the heavier of the two new GP5000 tyres, it is perhaps more exciting for those who enjoy a little speed boost in everyday conditions and not while racing. NOTE: Grip test data is only available on tires tested after November 2018. You can find more information about our grip test here: Introducing Grip Testing Static Grip Test Results At the end of 2018 the big news in Continental tyres was the introduction of a successor to the Grand Prix 4000 S II, unsurprisingly named the Grand Prix 5000. Not only did Continental replace arguably the most successful clincher tyre of all time, but they finally produced a tubeless version.But this isn't a massive range expansion. There has been a TT version of the GP4000 or GP5000 for some time, so it makes sense to make a TR version of that. And then, why not a tougher version for those who want to go fast on less than ideal roads or compacted gravel that would/could result in punctures if running the standard version of the tyre.

Performance in the rolling resistance test is great. At an air pressure of 120 psi, rolling resistance is a low 12.2 watts, which is excellent for a Tour / Race type tire. Dropping air pressure to 100 psi results in a rolling resistance of 12.9 watts. Lowering air pressure even lower results in a rolling resistance of 13.7 watts at an air pressure of 80 psi.Of course, it's always possible to slice open and puncture any tyre on a first ride, (it's sods law) but the likelihood is much lower on these. We've managed entire summer seasons rolling on these with no punctures - and only a handful of flats when running them even in winter. The rear tyre is a 28mm GP4000S2 so I decided a 23mm tyre would be fine for my requirements on the front. With regards to grip, the Conti sits in the middle of the field. Like the Schwalbe, it provides good control at the limit and a predictable grip threshold. The sidewalls are relatively stiff and can sometimes cause the tire to feel skittish on uneven surfaces. We ran the tire at 6.5 bar, which already feels plenty hard, so we strongly recommend keeping the pressure below that mark. However, according to Conti’s recommended pressure settings, that is already at the lower end of the scale.