Continental four seasons rubbish

byrnem31

Bloody fuming. After getting rid of conti gp 5000s as they were about as durable as toilet paper, I bought a set of 4 seasons.

They were great up to now. One of the sidewalls has burst on it. I honestly will never buy another continental tyre again

Anything else decent, durable yet fast 28/32s in a road bike tyre please?

byrnem31

See here

magicbastarder

what sort of mileage on them?

07Lapierre

I have GP5000’s on two bikes... I think they’re a great tyre. Never had any issues with them.

koutoubia

Have had many conti tyres (abeit tubular) split at the sidewall like that.

magicbastarder

ah bollocks, you jinxed me. just copped my own front tyre (not continental!) is starting to delaminate.

Wishbone Ash

The sidewalls are the weak point in Conti tyres but that's what gives the beautiful ride quality.

saccades

Specialized Roubaix 30/32

Excellent tyre.

dahat

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

The sidewalls are the weak point in Conti tyres but that's what gives the beautiful ride quality.

I’ve had two Gp4000 in my bike life & one blew halfway through a threshold interval, never again.

My current brand rarely puncture with no blowouts ever.

Kaybaykwah

dahat wrote: »

I’ve had two Gp4000 in my bike life & one blew halfway through a threshold interval, never again.

My current brand rarely puncture with no blowouts ever.

Don't keep us hanging, come on, blurt it out. Lol

dahat

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

Don't keep us hanging, come on, blurt it out. Lol

Tufo calibra plus, not seen many here use them.

byrnem31

magicbastarder wrote: »

what sort of mileage on them?

Very little. Nearly brand new.

byrnem31

07Lapierre wrote: »

I have GP5000’s on two bikes... I think they’re a great tyre. Never had any issues with them.

I gave my set away on here for free. They were dirt. Rolled lovely and were fast but no durability in them and were a pig to get on and off.

byrnem31

byrnem31 wrote: »

See here

Can you get tyres repaired?

magicbastarder

byrnem31 wrote: »

Very little. Nearly brand new.

Refund?

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

Refund?

The damage could have been caused by sharp debris rather than a fault.

byrnem31

magicbastarder wrote: »

Refund?

Yeah I got them online and I've emailed them about the issue.

Wishbone Ash

I gave up on Contis a few years ago after multiple punctures/side wall damage. However, I decided to give them another go and in recent days fitted a pair of GP4000's to one bike and 4 Seasons to another. I have been using Durano Plus with hardly any punctures for the past few years but they are very 'dead' to ride on. Hopefully I'll have better luck with the Contis this time around.

(I've probably just jinxed myself now!).

breezy1985

byrnem31 wrote: »

I gave my set away on here for free. They were dirt. Rolled lovely and were fast but no durability in them and were a pig to get on and off.

I love Schwalbe but they are a nightmare to change. Keep ripping the hand off myself

magicbastarder

i bought a secondhand pair of GP4000s off Cram and got good use out of them; sold them on with a bike so they're with their (at least) third boardsie.

nicksnikita

My rear gp4000 sidewall split around 3000km ago. I put a puncture patch on the inside of the tyre as a fix. It’s been grand since.....I probably should replace it

ED E

saccades wrote: »

Specialized Roubaix 30/32

Excellent tyre.

Armadillo. If you're not racing puncture protection > negligible speed gains.

benneca1

dahat wrote: »

Tufo calibra plus, not seen many here use them.

Nice tyres and good value usually

Tony04

Michelin pro 4 endurance for training for me, nice balance between puncture protection and speed.
You just fant get a fast tyre that doesnt compromise on puncture protection op i think thats just unlucky.

magicbastarder

the tyre i posted above i've been very happy with; hutchinson fusion 5, bought in sept 2018 i think. they have the tubeless ready version for under €25 in decathlon IIRC.

byrnem31

nicksnikita wrote: »

My rear gp4000 sidewall split around 3000km ago. I put a puncture patch on the inside of the tyre as a fix. It’s been grand since.....I probably should replace it

Thanks for that. I gave it a shot. Ill see how it goes. Buried a load of glue into it and stuck a load of patches on it.

byrnem31

Tried the patch job. No luck. I have a set of halfords bike hut 35c there. I might just throw them on and see how I go. I'm sick of spending mad money on tyres that don't last.

Kaybaykwah

breezy1985 wrote: »

I love Schwalbe but they are a nightmare to change. Keep ripping the hand off myself

I just got my first flat on the back wheel of my Giant Quick-e bike The tires (tyres) are Schwalbe G-Ones. According to the technician that fixed it, they are not great on durability, and the walls seem very thin and dried out. Still, I have 2300 km on them, can't complain. I had the tube changed and kept the tire because the ones I will be getting later weren't available.

crosstownk

I've used Michelin Pro4s for years. Never any issues. Yes they get a few nicks and the odd puncture but they're reliable.

Last year, I decided I'd give GP5000 a whirl. They roll really well and are somewhat quicker than the Michelins. But I'm switching back to Michelins as soon as the GP5000s pop. I don't expect them to wear out - they'll most likely suffer irreparable damage before then.

Every Michelin I've ever used (over 7 years and two bikes) was replaced because they wore out. While I've only being using Contis for just over a year, all have been replaced due to failure/damage/whatever and I accept that the failure may have been caused by whatever was on the road.

But I'm starting to see a trend hence my decision to switch back to Michelin. I've two brand new GP5000s in the shed so maybe they'll influence my decision.

EDIT: The Contis are an absolute ba$tard to mount. The only tyre for me that has ever broken a tyre lever.

MojoMaker

Whatever about using a tyre lever to take a tyre off quickly, don't tell me folks are using levers to put a tyre on!!

HTFU as they say :pac:

ednwireland

vittoria rubino pros used the for years in their various guises. can be a bit puncture prone (esp thorns) and a nightmare to put on my fulcrum racing 6 tyres (a cinch on bontrager aeolus 5 though). have a control on the back after wearing out one, after about 3000km not the hardest wearing tyre out there !

magicbastarder

just back from decathlon; picked up a michelin pro4 endurance for €30. if you are there, just keep an eye out for what it scans in at; the price on the shelf said €30 but it scanned in at €34 which they changed when i mentioned it.
had been planning on picking up two hutchinson fusion 5s but they only had one left in stock.

also, the queue outside was quite long. we arrived ten minutes after opening and queued 25 minutes to get in.

07Lapierre

Spot the wear indicators on my GT5000’s... great tyres. The only issue I have with them is they can be very hard to fit to some rims. I currently have them on a set of Fulcrum carbon rims and my wife has them on. Set of Zipp404’s. On these rims they can be fitted and removed by hand (without tyre levers).

dastardly00

MojoMaker wrote: »

Whatever about using a tyre lever to take a tyre off quickly, don't tell me folks are using levers to put a tyre on!!

HTFU as they say :pac:

Conti GP5000s can be an absolute pain in the a*se

byrnem31

dastardly00 wrote: »

Conti GP5000s can be an absolute pain in the a*se

I had mine on a set of hunt aero 33s. They broke my heart. 2 punctures in two weeks and pig tight. Gave them away on here for free practically new. Didn't want the hassle of them ane more.

07Lapierre

byrnem31 wrote: »

I had mine on a set of hunt aero 33s. They broke my heart. 2 punctures in two weeks and pig tight. Gave them away on here for free practically new. Didn't want the hassle of them ane more.

We’re they difficult to put on or take off? Or both?

magicbastarder

07Lapierre wrote: »

Spot the wear indicators on my GT5000’s

i can't?
in that, isn't the wear indicator usually a dimple in the tyre?

07Lapierre

magicbastarder wrote: »

i can't?
in that, isn't the wear indicator usually a dimple in the tyre?

That’s the point! Tyres are worn below indicators and still going strong. No side wall failure.

magicbastarder

aha!

byrnem31

07Lapierre wrote: »

We’re they difficult to put on or take off? Or both?

Both. I'd say different wheels might be easier.

byrnem31

I ended up getting zaffiro pro graphene 2.0 clinchers 28c. A set for 53.20 in cycle superstore. Fairly impressed with them so far. Going to throw them on and wait for continental to get back to me about warranty for the burst 4 seasons.

Daroxtar

Definitely wheels as opposed to the tyres. I have no problem with Contis on my Bora wheels but they're very tight on the Ultegra rims.

nicksnikita

byrnem31 wrote: »

I ended up getting zaffiro pro graphene 2.0 clinchers 28c. A set for 53.20 in cycle superstore. Fairly impressed with them so far. Going to throw them on and wait for continental to get back to me about warranty for the burst 4 seasons.

Good price for the Vittorias

byrnem31

nicksnikita wrote: »

Good price for the Vittorias

I fitted the front one backwards. They are actually very comfortable and roll very well.

magicbastarder

is your front wheel directional? that's a trivial question if it's a disc brake bike, but treads on road bike tyres are purely decorational.

CramCycle

byrnem31 wrote: »

Very little. Nearly brand new.

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

I just got my first flat on the back wheel of my Giant Quick-e bike The tires (tyres) are Schwalbe G-Ones. According to the technician that fixed it, they are not great on durability, and the walls seem very thin and dried out. Still, I have 2300 km on them, can't complain. I had the tube changed and kept the tire because the ones I will be getting later weren't available.

I used the schwalbe ones for a few weeks and then never again, wore through like a knife through butter with very low mileage.

crosstownk wrote: »

EDIT: The Contis are an absolute ba$tard to mount. The only tyre for me that has ever broken a tyre lever.

For all of those saying they are a b*st*rd to mount, is it possible you are doing it wrong, as, hands up, I was for years. You need to sit the tyre rim into the middle before you push the other rim over. I used to bitch and moan about Schwalbe Marathons and now I can mount them with relative ease. It can be a pain on some rims to get the first rim to sit in the middle so once it is nearly done, you need to go around the wheel again and pop it out from being seated. Just something to try. Nearly all tyres should be mountable by hand.

JimmiesRustled

Big thing with GP5000'S that I've seen is the rim tape. Some tubeless rim tape is thicker or sits prouder. Something to look at maybe. That being said, the side walls on the GP5000 TLs look like they'd last an apocalypse.

byrnem31

magicbastarder wrote: »

is your front wheel directional? that's a trivial question if it's a disc brake bike, but treads on road bike tyres are purely decorational.

I changed it around. Took 5 minutes. Really surprised at how good the zaffiro pro graphene 2.0 are for the price. Going to leave them on and see how I get on with them.

crosstownk

CramCycle wrote: »

For all of those saying they are a b*st*rd to mount, is it possible you are doing it wrong, as, hands up, I was for years. You need to sit the tyre rim into the middle before you push the other rim over.

Even using this technique, GP5000s won't mount to Zonda 2 way rims without levers. I'm sure the rims are partially to blame but Michelin Pro4 SC will mount by hand - just about.

Macy0161

I find my GP4000's nearly as hard to mount as Marathon Plus. Albeit it was cold and wet, but broke a lever as me (and a few others on the spin) couldn't get the final bit over.

It was glass, so the GP4000 was goosed - ironically enough I put back on quite an old Conti 4 seasons from the winter bike! Have GP5000's ready to go ahead of the club league.

Mr. Cats

Just fitted a pair of 5000s today and didn’t find them too bad to mount but I agree it depends from wheel to wheel. I can’t believe though that nobody’s mentioned the biggest issue with them. The graphic with “5000” and the little German flag is offset on each side. This means that if you line up one side with the valve, the other side will be off. Not good for my ocd!! I’m guessing you’re supposed to mount them with the valve just before text on both sides but this just means that both sides would be ‘wrong’ so even worse!! In the end I just lined the valve up with the middle of ‘Continental’ on opposite side which will have to do :-)