When I started cycling over 15 years ago, everyone raved about Continental GP4000 tyres, so, of course, these were what I fitted on my first road bike. For those British roads during the winter months, I’d go for a set of 4 Seasons. Back to 2024, and the flagship GP5000S is one of my go-tos. They’re so heavily discounted this Black Friday at Merlin Cycles that I’ll be stocking up myself.
You can check out a review of the Grand Prix 5000 AS TR tyres, which have a fairly similar ride feel, but are tailored for all seasons with improved grip, durability and puncture protection. The GP5000 S TRs are really designed with summer in mind, that said, I’ve taken them on the odd gravel adventure so they’ll cope alright on winter tarmac.
Why do I love these tyres so much? Well, they feel great — they’re nice and supple and super grippy, even on wet roads. They’re also really fast. The way they feel out on the road is down to Continental’s Black Chilli compound, which has been the compound of choice since the release of the GP4000s and is clearly still going strong.
There’s better puncture protection in this tyre than the TL predecessor, with stronger sidewalls so they will cope better on poor roads, or even sections of gravel. I took some older GP5000s (set up with inner tubes) to Strade Bianche and they survived just fine. The Vectran breaker used in Continental tyres is also highly tear resistant.
Being tubeless-ready, I can set them up on either my old Dura-Ace C24 rim brake wheels with inner tubes (although it does increase rolling resistance so not ideal), or my tubeless-compatible Hopes. Tubeless tyres can be tricky to fit, but these go on ‘fairly’ easily (it’s all relative I suppose, but I’ve had far worse!) and were easy to seat. There are a range of widths available too, from 25mm to 32mm, though 30mm is the widest currently available at Merlin with this stonking offer.
