Continental four seasons rubbish

fat bloke

I'm all for wheel manufacturers recommending tyres for ease-of-fit. We have wildly differing experiences on this thread of the exact same tyres, so the obvious, major big variable is that we're all talking about different wheels. I've been using GP4000 II's for years and years now and have rarely had issues fitting - the two occasions on which I did have major issues was with 2 different tubeless / tubeless ready wheelsets. I've also very very rarely had any punctures, and I can say the same for the 3 lads I've been training with for 10 years. Perhaps it's just the roads we ride - generally over the gaps and away from commuter tarmac, so the roads and hard shoulders are clean and debris-free.
I haven't used a 5000 yet but I've exhausted my stock of 4000's and they can't really be sourced anywhere any more so the jump to the 5k's is inevitable.

byrnem31

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-zaffiro-pro-v-g20-road-tyre

I've spent two hours on these tyres now across all sorts of roads and they are as good as gp5000 or 4 seasons. I thought I'd feel the road buzz more going from 32 4 seasons to a 28 tyre that is under half the price but they are just as comfortable. And they fly along. A great tyre for just over 50 quid a pair. That's me finished spending stupid money on tyres. I cycle endurance big miles so they are ideal for me.

magicbastarder

i wouldn't be able to make a decision on tyres after two weeks, let alone two hours!

CramCycle

Breezer wrote: »

Any experience with Schwalbe Pro One tubeless? I’ve a nice gravel bike coming and want to get a set of road wheels for it. I was looking at getting a set of Hunt Aero Disc 50s with those fitted.

Not the tubeless, but the tubed ones were not great but I fully accept that my n=1

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

i wouldn't be able to make a decision on tyres after two weeks, let alone two hours!

I was thinking more like 2 months!

byrnem31

magicbastarder wrote: »

i wouldn't be able to make a decision on tyres after two weeks, let alone two hours!

I'll rephrase it so. My initial impressions of the Vittorias.......

I can comment on comfort and speed and that's what I find. Fast and comfortable tyres and as good as anything that I've had on the bike previously, ie, gp 5000s that were as thin as toilet paper and 4 seasons that shat themselves.

Mr. Cats

byrnem31 wrote: »

gp 5000s that were as thin as toilet paper and 4 seasons that shat themselves.

I know that’s your experience, and fair enough, but I’ve used both of those tyres over extended periods and have found them to be puncture resistant, grippy and fast, with the 4seasons having excellent longevity. I had gp4000s which also lasted well.

Your mileage obviously varies, and that might be due to different terrain, storage, use etc or it could be just you’ve been unlucky (which the refund from bike24 acknowledging a fault seems to confirm) but you’ll find many satisfied users of those tyres. You’ll often see them listed as the most popular on sites like bike24 so I suppose that’s confirmation that there’s many presumably happy repeat purchasers.

byrnem31

Mr. Cats wrote: »

I know that’s your experience, and fair enough, but I’ve used both of those tyres over extended periods and have found them to be puncture resistant, grippy and fast, with the 4seasons having excellent longevity. I had gp4000s which also lasted well.

Your mileage obviously varies, and that might be due to different terrain, storage, use etc or it could be just you’ve been unlucky (which the refund from bike24 acknowledging a fault seems to confirm) but you’ll find many satisfied users of those tyres. You’ll often see them listed as the most popular on sites like bike24 so I suppose that’s confirmation that there’s many presumably happy repeat purchasers.

Yeah good point plus its economy of scale. They sell bucket loads of 5000s and 4 seasons so you will hear more issues about them.

I have a very good condition 4 season spare so you never know, I might buy another down the line and then I'll have a set. They are lovely to ride on. Shame the rear went on me. I'll stick with the Vittorias for now.

Breezer

magicbastarder wrote: »

there was another example in the last week or two where i picked up a chain for nice and cheap there recently, but it wasn't displaying correctly on their site. i got the last of the hutchinson fusion tyres on the shelf, but there were plenty of the michelin ones still on display there.

Thanks for that. I picked up two of the Michelins today and went out for a short spin on them this evening. Nice and comfortable, and definitely faster than the old basic Kojaks that came with the bike (about 8 W less rolling resistance per tyre apparently. I don’t race so I don’t know what that means, but they were definitely faster!) Hopefully they’ll stand the test of time as well.

07Lapierre

Road.cc say Continental are the best tyres….


https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/46-best-road-bike-tyres-2021-218046?fbclid=IwAR26o38N6Pprr6qwPGOlGCZUw-x2LHCZ_f4Py8u-tCapO3bVY5zE4H5IwnA

andy69

byrnem31 wrote: »

Decent reply from bike 24. They are refunding me the money for the 4 seasons and I don't have to return the tyre. See here:

Dear Mr. Byrne

Thank you for your e-mail.

We are very sorry that you have problems with tyre. It seems to be a manufacturer issue.

In this case we have decided to refund your money. The refund is already arranged
A confirmation mail was sent separately. It is not necessary to return the defective item, please dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way.

We would like to apologize for the inconvenience.

Yours sincerely

Thomas Neumann

Bike24 Service Team

yeah was going to say that it's possiby a manufacturing fault on this particular tyre - I've been using GP4-Seasons since late 2010. Done an Etape du Tour on them, done a Marmotte on them, even did Geneva to Nice on them, followed by an Italy boarder to Toulon spin...not to mention all the big mileage in advance of those events for training, and riding in very hot conditions in Spain, and freezing cold wet weather here at home.
Only once I think I had an issue where the tread seemed to be separating from the carcass in a couple of spots, but it was a fairly worn tyre by that stage IIRC.

(obviously I'm not riding the same pair SINCE 2010, just in case it looks like that was what I was saying :P )

byrnem31

andy69 wrote: »

yeah was going to say that it's possiby a manufacturing fault on this particular tyre - I've been using GP4-Seasons since late 2010. Done an Etape du Tour on them, done a Marmotte on them, even did Geneva to Nice on them, followed by an Italy boarder to Toulon spin...not to mention all the big mileage in advance of those events for training, and riding in very hot conditions in Spain, and freezing cold wet weather here at home.
Only once I think I had an issue where the tread seemed to be separating from the carcass in a couple of spots, but it was a fairly worn tyre by that stage IIRC.

(obviously I'm not riding the same pair SINCE 2010, just in case it looks like that was what I was saying :P )

How do you find them fitting wise? I find them tight enough. I had them on two different wheelsets now and had to use gorilla tyre levers and a small bit of washing liquid each time to get them on.

smacl

byrnem31 wrote: »

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

Loving my Gravel king 32c slicks at the moment, very handy to get on and off too, though more of a rough bohereen muncher than a slick asphalt surfer.

andy69

byrnem31 wrote: »

How do you find them fitting wise? I find them tight enough. I had them on two different wheelsets now and had to use gorilla tyre levers and a small bit of washing liquid each time to get them on.

emmmm.....yeah depends on the rims I think. I recall nearly losing skin from my thumbs on my wife's Spynergy wheels, but then on my Mavic Cosmic's I think they were a breeze to fit/remove.
On my FFWDs I think they weren't too bad, but I think I did have to use plastic tyre levers to finish the job. Now, that said, I wouldn't be the strongest of people: like I'm mid-fifties, an office worker for decades, and with upper body strength of an average field mouse....so I'm probably not a great reference point

Alanbt

I’ve found them a good reliable tyre but they are a complete **** to get on initially.
Even using washing up liquid (which I carry in a tiny bottle with spare tubes when out)
Fewer punctures better go hand in hand given the faff to fit them

Flaccus

A few websites including rollingroadresistance have said the Pirelli P Zero Race TLR are almost as fast as GP5000's but beats it in all other categories including punture protection

DaveyDave

On the topic of tyre fitting, do tyres loosen up over time? My Michelin Pro4 Endurance are very soft and easy to mount to Zondas (2,000km or so) whereas my Pirelli Cinturato Velo (200km) are stiff and an absolute ballache to fit to Fulcrum Racing 4s at the moment. Almost couldn't get them back on after a puncture and I honestly had flashbacks to Marathon Plus even after trying to get the tyre in the middle of the rim and working each side of the last section to try 'roll' it over the rim. Wrists were in bits afterwards.

Wishbone Ash

DaveyDave wrote: »

On the topic of tyre fitting, do tyres loosen up over time?...

In my experience - yes.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

had been planning on picking up two hutchinson fusion 5s but they only had one left in stock.

just fitted this to the bike (cf. post number 6) - even though it's tubeless ready and i was reading elsewhere they can be a pig to fit with tubes, as i did, it went on no hassle at all. got it on by hand, and no faff with the bead not seating correctly (though i did my usual routine of inflating to about 20psi and popping the bead all the way around on both sides first).

Macy0161

Fitted the GP5000 to the bike over the weekend (and moved the front GP4000). Was impressed with the feel over the weekend long spin anyway. Both absolute untcs to fit though, even the old GP4000 moving from front to back!

CramCycle

Hands up, after all my talk, put on a new GP5000 on my race wheels as the other ones were getting flat patches (nearly 2.5 years of racing and a good bit of commuting on them). Only checked after this thread and the wear indicators were gone from them. Tougher to put on than I remember, got there but not as easy as I had made out in the thread earlier.

Macy0161

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In my experience - yes.

Sorry missed this - generally yes. As above, well worn GP4000's were still hard to fit. Whereas, on my gravel bike the Gravel Kings that were very hard to first time, haven't been as hard subsequently.

I think it is all rim dependent - I just run stock wheel on my main bikes as things stand, and both disc and rim brake versions of the Giant PR2 I find much harder to fit compared to the rims on my Gravel bike, commuter, cx/ daughters, other daughters "city" bike with the same tyres.