I’ve been riding the Continental 4000s the past few years as my main training tire. I know it has good RR and decent puncture protection, but I’ve had many sidewall issues. I picked up some Michelin Pro4 SCs cheap and like the road feel. Not as good as the Vittoria Open Corsa CX, but I felt they were better than the Continentals. I only have one ride 60+ mile ride on the Michelin’s, but was wondering what folks thought of the 2 tires. Thanks!
-Pete
Specialized turbo cotton is the best tire esp on wide rim. They’re similar but conti is polly more aero it tests really well
The rolling resistance of the Pro4 is not nearly as good as the 4000S:
I’ve definitely seen a few people have sidewall issues with the 4000S, though my wife and I never have. I’m not sure if there was a bad batch, or if some wheels have too sharp of an inner edge. Rinard suggested using a file or something to smooth the edge of the rim a bit to alleviate this problem.
I’ve been riding the Continental 4000s the past few years as my main training tire. I know it has good RR and decent puncture protection, but I’ve had many sidewall issues. I picked up some Michelin Pro4 SCs cheap and like the road feel. Not as good as the Vittoria Open Corsa CX, but I felt they were better than the Continentals. I only have one ride 60+ mile ride on the Michelin’s, but was wondering what folks thought of the 2 tires. Thanks!
-Pete
On both my clinchers wheel sets I’ve been using the Pro 4 Service Course ever since they came out and they are great. Knock on wood I never had any issues, love the grip and the feel of the road with them. On my tubulars I run with the Continental Sprinter… They’re both Awesome tires in my opinion…
The sprinter tubular has really bad crr too:
http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf
Much faster options are available.
On both my clinchers wheel sets I’ve been using the Pro 4 Service Course ever since they came out and they are great. Knock on wood I never had any issues, love the grip and the feel of the road with them. On my tubulars I run with the Continental Sprinter… They’re both Awesome tires in my opinion…
I have the pro 4 on my training wheels and the 4000 on my race wheels. I can’t tell any difference really between the two on feel and the pro 4 have never had a flat.
I usually tell people that if you are going in a straight line the GP4000 is good. If you have to do any turning the Pro4 is a better option. The feel of the Michelins on the road are pretty tough to beat, especially if you live in the mountains.
Going to jinx myself here, but I’ve only had one flat in the past two years running Michelins. I do go off road quite a bit as well.
I usually tell people that if you are going in a straight line the GP4000 is good. If you have to do any turning the Pro4 is a better option. The feel of the Michelins on the road are pretty tough to beat, especially if you live in the mountains.
Going to jinx myself here, but I’ve only had one flat in the past two years running Michelins. I do go off road quite a bit as well.
This^^
I took the 4000s’ off my road bike the first time I tried to road race in the rain.
For me, the Pro4SC seems a little more susceptible to cuts in the tread, but has a softer, smoother “feel”…even if that isn’t reflected in CRR.
I train on a 25mm Gatorskin rear, since it a great all purpose trainer tire and training tire that lasts foreever (I must have at least 6k miles on my current rear tire, 3/4 or that on a trainer) a bit squared, but still has tread left. Never flated, and with a heavy duty tube it only needs air added a couple times a month.
Up front I ride 4000S only because I have them as race wheel “take-offs”. Tires that have too many miles on them to race anymore since the aerodynamics drop off after just a few hundred miles. I usually rotate the front to the rear, then the rear to my training wheel.
Well without a control group, you don’t know that they were any worse or better, in the rain.
Judging tire grip can be really tricky, sometimes the roads when wet just don’t have grip, no matter the tire. Sometimes they have tons of grip, no matter the tire.
The 4000S may indeed have less grip than the Pro4 in the rain, I have no idea. But it certainly isn’t hopeless in the rain either. It ranks better than average in the objective testing I’ve seen, and I’ve gotten 2nd place in a rainy crit on them.
What is odd about the 4000S though is the very tall, pointy shape. This can feel very different than other tires, even if grip is fine. I don’t think it makes you go through corners any slower, but it might feel bad to some.
Either way, there are lots of watts to be saved from the Pro4, with a variety of options other than the 4000S. Specialized turbo cotton, schwalbe ironman, vittoria, zipp to name a few.
I took the 4000s’ off my road bike the first time I tried to road race in the rain.
Been doing the same circuit race on Pro3/4s for years. First one I did in the rain on the Conti my rear wheel skidded out twice. Certainly not a test that can stand up to scientific scrutiny, but at this point I no longer trust the Conti’s and that counts for something. I’m faster on the Michelins just because I trust them.
If I’m not mistaken that’s some pretty old data. The sprinter now at least has black chili.
If I’m not mistaken that’s some pretty old data. The sprinter now at least has black chili.
It is, and it ranks bad even though lots of tires on that list, like the 4000S, also got better.
Conti tubulars in general are not winners, because no latex.
I have always trained on the Pro 3 and Pro 4SC. I use 4000S on my racing wheels as they are the fastest tire for my set of wheels.
Both tires are great. I’ve had 2 flats in four years. One was a Pro 3 when I hit a nasty hole. The other was glass on a Pro 4 this year.
Sort of off topic but related; The chart shows Conti GP4000S with butyl tubes at a Crr of 0.0042 as opposed to a Crr of 0.0034 which I assume is with latex tubes. Does latex get you that much?
Haven’t used latex yet but intrigued by being a few minutes faster on a 70.3 bike leg.
Funny, I was going to post this same topic. My bike came with Pro4SC’s and I’ve got a small cut in the sidewall on front, and was weighing the options to either buy a replacement or switch to 4000s II’s. Amazon had the Pro4’s for $29.99 (prime), but just today they are up to $38. Based on the positive comments here, I went ahead and bought the Pro4, bc even at $38 that’s a great price (and free with rewards points).
Thanks!
Sort of off topic but related; The chart shows Conti GP4000S with butyl tubes at a Crr of 0.0042 as opposed to a Crr of 0.0034 which I assume is with latex tubes. Does latex get you that much?
Haven’t used latex yet but intrigued by being a few minutes faster on a 70.3 bike leg.
YES… Its that much faster! Plus the tube doesn’t really impact puncture resistance any. If a cut gets through the tire, it’s almost always going through the a thin butyl tube as easily as a latex tube. But… with sealant, latex reseals minor punctures better that butyl. Ride is dramatically better too.
Only drawback is having to pump up tires in the morning, and tricky mounting. You really, really need to take your time. You have to be absolutely sure the tube can in now way be under the tire bead. It will lift it off and you’ll have a blowout at the worst moment… could even be days after installation. Usually when the tire warms up and the rim expands and the bead stretches a little and pressure rises.