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Continental Grand Prix 4-Seasons

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  • November 2, 2016 at 3:22 pm #26457
    newtonk

    I recently read an article which recommended you should check your tyres for foreign objects at least weekly, so I thought I’d give my Conti 4-Seasons a quick once over (they’ve now been in service for 3&1/2 years!).  During this time I’ve commuted apprx 900-10,000 miles in London and had 2 pinch-punctures, nothing more…

    I am AMAZED at the sheer amount of metal which is lodged in my front tyre – it’s just unbelievable that none of this has made its way through to the tube.   By contrast the rear has a lot less hardware newly installed, not sure what the reason for this might be!

    In short – I just wanted to give these tryes a bit of praise and a hearty recommendation if anyone is looking for hard-wearing winter tyres (well, year round for me – I’d say they roll well too, comparable to the 4000s puncture collectors which I had on before).

    …I’m gonna puncture on the way home now aren’t I? 

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  • November 7, 2016 at 5:27 am #881307
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    macrophotofly

    They have a very soft rubber

    They have a very soft rubber compound on the 4-seasons tyre which gives them ,

    1. quite a lot of grip
    2. a short life (wear out quicker than other harder rubber compounds)
    3. a sponge like tendancy for foreign objects whilst still having a good inner belt to avoid those objects going all the way through at any more or less rate than one of Conti’s other semi-protected tyres (e.g. Conti 4000)
    4. a slightly soft or dead feel which is sometimes interpretted as being slower than a similar tyre

    I think most of the comments are addressed by the softness of the rubber.

    As to the rear verses the front, I suspect if you have a hover-like tyre picking up the debris on the front, and the rear follows the exact line of the front 75% of the time, then there’s that answered?

    November 5, 2016 at 6:25 pm #881305
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    StraelGuy

    Just measure my 25mm Conti 4

    Just measure my 25mm Conti 4 Seasons on a Hunt wheel with 17mm internal width and they’re a knat’s pube under 27 mm. I find that odd given they look more like a 24mm compared with my Grandprix GT on my summer bike.

    November 5, 2016 at 12:50 am #881303
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    gunswick

    I ran 28mm gp4s over mid 2015
    I ran 28mm gp4s over mid 2015 to mid 2016 in Scotland, puncture resistance was OK, particularly when new, but I still got a fair few January punctures (both pinch and object). Grip is good, ice still a mono. Longevity was OK, they did about 5000 miles before really being dead (lots of cuts, becoming more puncture prone).

    I am currently running schwalbe s-one tubeless and liking it ALOT. Maybe try them?

    November 4, 2016 at 10:51 pm #881301
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    andyspaceman

    Plasterer's Radio wrote:

    Plasterer's Radio wrote:

    Continental are liars too. 28mm? No, they came up 26mm. To make them appear lighter than rivals, I’d say.

    Always found tyres from Continental over-rated.

    Michelin shit on them and are always on offer somewhere too. Win-win.

    I’ve not run Michelins, but I do find that higher end Control tyres are genuinely very good. Disagree on the width generalisation too. The Grand Sport GT 25s come up at well over 26 on DT Swiss R460s with a 17mm internal width.

    November 4, 2016 at 9:40 pm #881299
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    dottigirl

    Tyre width depends on the
    Tyre width depends on the width of the rims you’re putting them on.

    November 4, 2016 at 8:46 am #881297
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    Russell Orgazoid

    Continental are liars too.

    Continental are liars too. 28mm? No, they came up 26mm. To make them appear lighter than rivals, I’d say.

    Always found tyres from Continental over-rated.

    Michelin shit on them and are always on offer somewhere too. Win-win.

    November 3, 2016 at 5:58 pm #881295
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    andyspaceman

     

     

    I’ve had a few pairs in 25C for winter duty.

    They’re good in terms of grip in cold and wet conditions, but obviously not impervious to ice.

    Road feel is OK for that kind of tyre but I did find them a little slow. Punctureproofing is OK but nothing spectacular.

    I’m trying Conti Grand Sport GTs now instead, which sacrifice the cold-weather grip compound but a much nicer-riding, and faster.

     

    November 3, 2016 at 12:22 pm #881293
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    drosco

    To this day I can’t really

    To this day I can’t really explain it. They were in the sale, so maybe a bad batch. I have a mate who swears by them as it happens, so they can’t be all bad.

     

    I quite liked the Schwalbe Durano plusses. You could ride over anything, however that came at the cost of weight. I suspect if someone is looking for a spritely ride, these aren’t really the tyre. 

    November 3, 2016 at 9:19 am #881291
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    newtonk

    I guess to a certain extent

    I guess to a certain extent the ride depends a lot on your bike as well – I certainly don’t feel it’s a dead ride (though they are 23mm as opposed to your 28’s and my bike can be a bit over-lively in general anyway!).

    Issues with tyre quality/longevity on the other hand seem common across the board.  It seems if you read the online customer reviews of most tyres one person loves them and the next has had one disintegrate like drosco above.  Certainly no sign of lumps coming off my set, they must have set the machine to ‘nukeproof’ that day!

    cheers guys. 

     

    November 2, 2016 at 7:02 pm #881289
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    drosco

    I ran them for a year
    I ran them for a year commuting. Puncture resistance was OK, but they disintegrated after a bit less than 12 months. The tread came off in lumps, like chewing gum. Considering the premium price, I wasn’t that impressed.

    Now running Pro4 endurance, which seem to be lasting better with similar puncture protection and speed.

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