Looks like the Conti 5000 in theory is one of the best all around racing tire now.
However, for some reason, the 4000’s “feel faster” to me than the 5000; Hard to explain, the 4k’s feel more “supple” and that have a “hissing” sound when rolling that I got accustomed to in the years racing on them. This is missing on the 5000;
But nothing I can actually measure. So based on published results, I am going with 5000’s current and on future racing tire purchases for improved rolling resistance, running them w latex tubes. Upsized to 25mm on the 5k’s compared to the 23mm I was getting on the 4k’s.
I did have one of each yesterday (5000 in back, 4000 out front) at Pterodactyl, but just happened to be what was on these race wheels.
For the power I put out, my time did not compare extremely well with several past results (2nd highest power, 8th or 9th best time) but there was a lot of other factors at play including a different frame (still an SC with same aero position)…
p.s. I raced for a while on turbo cottons and a season or 2 on CorsaSpeed… felt fast (and had good splits) but felt too fragile and not lasting at all. After a few races, they were done.
I feel like the conti’s I last very long in comparison, then when done racing them I can re-purpose them as training tires or even for my trainer in the winter (still a computrainer user). So I get a lot of value out of them and it makes up (in my book) for the fact there might be slightly faster option out there.