The tyres have just been reviewed on Bicycle Rolling Resistance and rank (comparing via the BRR pro view) as the 14th fastest tyre in all categories.
So what’s stopping you?
For me, 3 things:
Price: Car tyres and bike tyres shouldn’t be this close in price
Wheels: I am running reserve 52|63s so these tyres will measure 38mm - wheel external is 32mm does this negate the deep wheels?
Speed: Will they be faster in my situation? It’s not clear looking at best bike split or asking for some number crunching from one of the AI LLM overlords.
I’m a 3w/kg rider, 100kg system weight, riding gran fondos and shorter audax events. These are hilly courses usually riding alone. I love the idea of making equipment related performance improvements as a very average performer, but it’s not clear if these tyres are faster for me.
So have you got a set? How do you rate them?
Are you going to buy them and what swung your choice?
At 3 w/kg, 100kg total weight and bad road conditions you described I’d never count watt savings/rolling resistance between 32 and 35 S TR.
You will be more than happy with AS TR (endurance line of Conti 5000) or other brands analogs.
Not close at all. Check the price of a Pirelli P Zero tyre for car rallies vs the P zero bike tyre, for example. Remember that we’re not speaking of random bike tyres with the GP5000s, but top end race rubber. The fact that they’re even a consideration is a privilege for the sport imo.
BRR is amazing, I love them, but that’s where you go to optimize performance on good surfaces. More volume and lower pressure helps with poor road conditions, but there’s no road tyre that is designed to handle a muddy trail and you shouldn’t choose a road tyre based on that use case. Allroad/gravel - yes, but then you’re looking at tradeoffs for the sake of versatility.
Check the price of a Pirelli P Zero tyre for car rallies vs the P zero bike tyre
Perhaps I’m being too facetious. Is the price, ~£70/70€/$100 a factor for you?
no road tyre […] is designed to handle a muddy trail
Yes, of course. Across a ride/event there might be some bad quality roads intermixed with normal and good quality roads. The image I shared was part of a route suggested by Komoot and at the bottom of a very steep hill. I would have benefitted from wider tyres and also been less worried about flatting. The rest of the ride was adequate but not comfortable for my 28mm and 32mm GP5000 clinchers.
This is what I mean, if those tyres aren’t for me, who are they for? Is it a racing spring classics tyre only? Are they too big for road but too small and fragile for all-road?
I’ve been using the AS version of the GP5000 35mm as my everyday tire - it handles road and light gravel very well. I could see using this tire for the same, but the durability compared to the AS version would be my question mark. Who are they for? Anyone who can fit them I assume.
I’m interested to know if compared to 28mm or even 32mm AS TRs if the 35mm S TRs come close to puncture resistance. Similarly to the gravel trend of very light casing and fast rolling XC tyres being popular with some riders over 40mm and 45mm gravel tyres.
The price absolutely is a factor, but I realize that I’m shopping for the best of the best in a racing scenario. In the car world, that would be 10x times more (more tires, faster wear, more expensive).
A fair comparison to a common car tyre would be an urban bike tyre: something sturdy, probably with wired bead and a reflective strip. Plenty of choice in the 15-30 EUR range, including tyres like the Schwalbe Marathons which people swear by. The Conti equivalent would be something in their Contact series.
As for the 35mm GP5000s, they might well be for you. As I said, the volume/pressure does wonders on bad roads. I’m just saying that going through the mud is ultimately up to handling and stubbornness. I just got triggered by the unfair comparison of race rubber vs urban rubber and got carried away, please excuse me for that.
I’d personally use the 35 mm version on a gravel bike since they wouldn’t fit on my road frame/fork. The lack of tread would indicate courses that are mostly paved (broken asphalt is fine) with stretches of hard packed dirt. I’d decelerate with caution anytime it gets loose or muddy.
