32c tubeless tires for road use... no gravel!

46 replies · 9,172 views

LewisQC
150 posts
#21Apr 2, 2019, 8:14 AM
oleritter wrote:Conti GP5000 or Schwalbe

Let us know how those 5000's go, please.

I've received my tires but haven't mount them. I'm on a ski trip to give you an idea of the weather around here! But I should be able to test them soon...
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LewisQC
150 posts
#22Apr 4, 2019, 2:05 PMedited
My GP5000 tubeless are now on my Dtswiss ER1400 (20mm inner width). They weighted 371 and 372 g on my Parktool scale. I have lots of tubeless experience (fat, 27.5, 29ers, gravel...) but I have never seen a tire like this one. Usually, I reverse a new foldable tire inside-out for one or two days to remove fold marks that can make the beads harder to seat on the rim. Even better is to mount the tire with a tube for 24h. But GP5000 keeps their shape when unfolded. No marks whatsoever. It took a little work to mount them on the rim (one strictly by hand the other I had to use one plastic lever at the end). The first one I tried to inflate with a floor pump (without soapy water like I usually do) because the shape is so great on the rim, I knew it would be easy... And so it was. Pressure quickly went up to 85 psi. With my small compressor it was not a problem either and I heard those reassuring "pops" when the beads seated (not quite the case with the floor pump but the tire looks perfectly in place).

They mesure 31.54 and 31.56 mm at the moment and I'll re-check later this weekend. I've use Finishline sealant because I wanted to get rid of my last bottle and prefer to use it on my road tires than on mountain bike tires (more on that in the finish line thread when I have the time...).

So for now, without a km on them I can say they're the easiest tires I have setup tubeless. So if ride quality and rolling resistance is on par with the reviews I read, I don't think I'll regret my purchase...
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Volsung
878 posts
#23Apr 4, 2019, 3:03 PM
Good to hear on the width. I have some 19i/28 external road rims on my road bike and it sounds like the 28s will be perfect
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chas
1,305 posts
#24Apr 4, 2019, 3:30 PM
sounds like a 32mm 5000 is almost the same size as a 28mm 4000, lol.

Yeah, the 5000 TL basically has an innertube molded into the tire - your description sounds a lot like mounting a G-One (which also has the inner lining).
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LewisQC
150 posts
#25Apr 4, 2019, 6:56 PM
chas wrote:sounds like a 32mm 5000 is almost the same size as a 28mm 4000, lol.

Yeah, the 5000 TL basically has an innertube molded into the tire - your description sounds a lot like mounting a G-One (which also has the inner lining).

I'm glade they are "real" 32. Didn't want them to be too close to my GK 38
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LewisQC
150 posts
#26Apr 11, 2019, 11:42 AM
I tried my bike around the block with the GPs so not a proper ride but I was surprise how comfy/compliant they are. They were around 65 psi. Boy my bike was handling quicker than in my memory (but I've been riding 4.5" tires on my fat for 5 months...). They are now down at 50psi after more than a week so not too bad (it took 2 weeks before my GK stop loosing air with finishline scellant)
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tolosans
2 posts
#27Jun 7, 2020, 6:56 AM
Hi Lewis, how is now the feeling after additional km on the GP5000? Did you check if your speeds went higher than running the GK 38mm?
Thanks!
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NoCoGreg
512 posts
#28Jun 10, 2020, 11:30 AM
LewisQC wrote:
I'm glade they are "real" 32. Didn't want them to be too close to my GK 38

The GP4000s II sizing is an anomaly in that the actual size is almost one size larger than the stated size (25's almost 28, 28's almost 32). I have many bikes setup with the Conti road tires (Gatorskins, Hardshell Gatorskin, 4-Season, 4000s II) and with the exception of the 4000s all of the other tires measured close to stated size.

Bicycle Rolling Resistance measures tire sizes & weights so that's a good place to check out actual sizes.

Once I go through my stash of 4000s I'm planning to try a set of the 5000. The 4-Season is definitely a more robust tire than the 4000 and is has worked fine for me on occasional and gentle use in gravel.

IMO, using a high performance road tire in gravel really comes down to the application: weight of rider & gear, road surface (ex. dirt vs sharp gravel used for railroad beds), and riding style (slow and careful vs high speed pack riding). Put another way, as 120 pound rider can get away with a much lighter and faster tire than somebody 100 pounds heavier.
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LewisQC
150 posts
#29Jun 10, 2020, 12:31 PMedited
tolosans wrote:Hi Lewis, how is now the feeling after additional km on the GP5000? Did you check if your speeds went higher than running the GK 38mm?
Thanks!

Yeah I have some time on my GP5000. They are still on my DtSwiss ER1400 (20mm inner width) and they are exactly 32mm wide. At the beginning of the season, I add 1 once of Finishline sealant in the back tire cause it was flat (In winter my bike is on the trainer so I was checking the front one from time to time but not the rear).

IMO they are faster than my GK slick (I can say most of my Pr on Strava are with my GP5000), so but are still pretty "allround" because they are very supple. Last week I did a 100K ride with probably 30K of crush stone bike path and they rode like a dream. In may 2019 I was in Ontario, Canada in the Georgian Bay area for a road bike trip with friends. We were surprised to found amazing gravel riding in the area. It was really smooth gravel and even my friends were able to ride it with 25c tires (well one did 3 or 4 flats but he's 235lbs and was on a 60mm carbon back wheel!)... The GP50000 were surprisingly good with lower pressure (less than 40psi but probably a little bit too low for my 200 pounds). Following my friends on their 25c tires was not a problem on tarmac. So for an allround tire (except for serious gravel) they're really amazing and once they wear out, I'll buy another pair without hesitation. Three downside: 1. it would be a PITA to put a tube on the side of the road 2. the price is steep 3. Compared to 40c tires for which my bike was design, handling is more fast/twitchy. But to be fair, that would be the case with any 32c and by road bike standard my bike probably still handle like a big Cadillac...

A pic from our Ontario trip...

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tolosans
2 posts
#30Jun 10, 2020, 12:43 PM
Thanks Lewis, that helps a lot. Looked like you had a lot of fun on this trip. It's always a great feeling ride on pair with road bikers and knowing that when tarmac ends, you are safe from flats and bumps.
I was between the GKs 32 and the GP5000 32mm, I will go for the second ones.

Greetings from a Spaniard living in Switzerland
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chas
1,305 posts
#31Jun 11, 2020, 11:51 AM
tolosans wrote:Thanks Lewis, that helps a lot. Looked like you had a lot of fun on this trip. It's always a great feeling ride on pair with road bikers and knowing that when tarmac ends, you are safe from flats and bumps.
I was between the GKs 32 and the GP5000 32mm, I will go for the second ones.

Greetings from a Spaniard living in Switzerland

I agree with the stuff posted above in the last couple of days. Previously I have used gatorsking and 4 seasons in that size. I liked the 32mm 4 season so much, I even bought a bike just for them.

I was shocked that the GP5000 is a lot faster than the 4 seasons. The rolling resistance is literally less than 1/2 of the 4 seasons, and that probably gives me 1mph at 20mph, or at my limit, it actually shows my heart rate about 5bpm lower with the GP5000. They ride better too, and lots better than the Gatorskins. Negatives - I wouldn't want to change a tire on the side of the road as I couldn't get the tire on and off in the wild. Looks like they'll last about 1/2 as long as the 4 seasons. They are vastly faster than the 48mm GK-SK (The GK-SK were "getting dropped from the ride" slower).

I was literally getting Personal Records (and KOMs) all over the place last summer when I got these tires.

Greetings from an American born in Spain. ;-)
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rgr692
25 posts
#32Jun 12, 2020, 9:13 AM
Hi Lewis,

I think if you switched to 28mm - 32mm road tubeless tires you'll see a huge difference in speed. I just recently mounted a set Continental GP 5000 TL 28mm tires (Reynolds Strike Wheelset) on to my Open UP. Night and day difference. Previously I was running 40mm Michelin Power Gravel tires on DT Swiss ER 1600 wheels, 33mm Michelin Power Gravel on Reynolds Strike wheels, and 650b x 2.0 Schwalbe G One Speed tires on DT Swiss G 1800 wheels. I thought those combinations were great on gravel and pretty fast on pavement. I had no problems riding with the weekly road group ride with any of those combinations. When I switched to the Continentals it amazed me how much faster they were. So yes, 28-32mm slick road tires are much faster than true gravel tires.

I think what surprised me the most was the difference between the Schwalbe G-One Speeds and the Continentals. The G-One's are fast but the Continentals are faster in both top speed and overall average speed by a good margin. Additionally I believe the Continentals rubber compound makes the side walls more supple than the gravel tires which equates to better ride quality, less road resistance, and ultimately faster speeds with less effort.

Of course all of this is based on my observations and experiences and not from a laboratory setting. The only real data I can point to is with the Continentals mounted, I have set new PR's on most of my road segments on Strava. I find that pretty compelling considering my previous road PR's were on a road bike with road slick tires.

Oh one last point, tire pressure is going to be key in finding the sweet spot for any tire whether it's gravel or road. I found the Enve tire pressure chart and the new Zipp (SRAM) tire pressure calculator to be pretty good places to start. Having used both, I find they pretty much come up with the same tire pressure. Based on the Enve chart and SRAM calculator I'm running 61 psi both front and rear with the Continentals mounted on the Reynolds (road use only..not gravel). Hope this helps.

Tony

https://www.enve.com/en/tirepressure/
https://axs.sram.com/tirepressureguide
1
LewisQC
150 posts
#33Jun 15, 2020, 4:05 PMedited
rgr692 wrote:Hi Lewis,

I think if you switched to 28mm - 32mm road tubeless tires you'll see a huge difference in speed. I just recently mounted a set Continental GP 5000 TL 28mm tires (Reynolds Strike Wheelset) on to my Open UP. Night and day difference. Previously I was running 40mm Michelin Power Gravel tires on DT Swiss ER 1600 wheels, 33mm Michelin Power Gravel on Reynolds Strike wheels, and 650b x 2.0 Schwalbe G One Speed tires on DT Swiss G 1800 wheels. I thought those combinations were great on gravel and pretty fast on pavement. I had no problems riding with the weekly road group ride with any of those combinations. When I switched to the Continentals it amazed me how much faster they were. So yes, 28-32mm slick road tires are much faster than true gravel tires.

I think what surprised me the most was the difference between the Schwalbe G-One Speeds and the Continentals. The G-One's are fast but the Continentals are faster in both top speed and overall average speed by a good margin. Additionally I believe the Continentals rubber compound makes the side walls more supple than the gravel tires which equates to better ride quality, less road resistance, and ultimately faster speeds with less effort.

Of course all of this is based on my observations and experiences and not from a laboratory setting. The only real data I can point to is with the Continentals mounted, I have set new PR's on most of my road segments on Strava. I find that pretty compelling considering my previous road PR's were on a road bike with road slick tires.

Oh one last point, tire pressure is going to be key in finding the sweet spot for any tire whether it's gravel or road. I found the Enve tire pressure chart and the new Zipp (SRAM) tire pressure calculator to be pretty good places to start. Having used both, I find they pretty much come up with the same tire pressure. Based on the Enve chart and SRAM calculator I'm running 61 psi both front and rear with the Continentals mounted on the Reynolds (road use only..not gravel). Hope this helps.

Tony

https://www.enve.com/en/tirepressure/
https://axs.sram.com/tirepressureguide

100% agree about all that, except the part that I would be faster because I'm already on GP5000 32c!!! Thanks for that SRAM tire pressure app. I like the fact that you can go from road tire all the way to fatbike. Really an interesting tool. With four person in our family (all different weight and riding style) and 9 different bikes (and 12 wheelset) from fat to road, gravel, mtb 29er, 27.5 and 27.5+ I will use it a lot...
RadDogRoadWarrior
93 posts
#34Jun 17, 2020, 11:13 PM
I saw some mention of weight, but at 220 lbs something like this probably would not be a good option for anything but the simplest of dirt roads. I do like the GP tires.
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CC
56 posts
#35Jun 18, 2020, 12:03 AM
chas wrote:

I agree with the stuff posted above in the last couple of days. Previously I have used gatorsking and 4 seasons in that size. I liked the 32mm 4 season so much, I even bought a bike just for them.

I was shocked that the GP5000 is a lot faster than the 4 seasons. The rolling resistance is literally less than 1/2 of the 4 seasons, and that probably gives me 1mph at 20mph, or at my limit, it actually shows my heart rate about 5bpm lower with the GP5000. They ride better too, and lots better than the Gatorskins. Negatives - I wouldn't want to change a tire on the side of the road as I couldn't get the tire on and off in the wild. Looks like they'll last about 1/2 as long as the 4 seasons. They are vastly faster than the 48mm GK-SK (The GK-SK were "getting dropped from the ride" slower).

I've always wanted to try the 32mm GP5000s. But riding in Las Vegas, puncture protection becomes the most important consideration, so I've stuck with the 4 Seasons for the last 4 years.

Do the 32mm 4 Seasons measure true? The 28c pair I have both measure 30mm.

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chas
1,305 posts
#36Jun 18, 2020, 4:24 PM
CC wrote:

I've always wanted to try the 32mm GP5000s. But riding in Las Vegas, puncture protection becomes the most important consideration, so I've stuck with the 4 Seasons for the last 4 years.

Do the 32mm 4 Seasons measure true? The 28c pair I have both measure 30mm.

with sizing, it depends. I think these tires (4 season) are measured for traditional (narrow) road rims.

my 28mm measured about 27mm on 17c and 19c rims.
My 32mm measured pretty big on my 22c rims. Noticeably bigger than my 32mm GP5000. the 5000 was true to size on that rim, but the 4season was probably 34mm if I recall. I'm guessing it was about 32mm on 17c rims though.
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chas
1,305 posts
#37Jun 19, 2020, 3:21 PM
CC wrote:
I've always wanted to try the 32mm GP5000s. But riding in Las Vegas, puncture protection becomes the most important consideration, so I've stuck with the 4 Seasons for the last 4 years.

I'm running the 5000 tubeless, and its been great. Better than my maxis ramblers. Its tougher than I would think (although has about 1/2 the life of the 4seasons).
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widerisfaster
253 posts
#38Jun 21, 2020, 8:40 PM
LewisQC wrote:
I'm glade they are "real" 32.

Conti based the size printed on the GP5000 on a 19mm inner diameter rim, which was a popular rim width when released in 2018, and is still common today.
Back when Conti released the GP4000 II in 2008, the common sized rim of was only 15mm inner width, and that is what their printed size was calculated from. On a 2008 rim, their sizes are pretty true. On wider modern rims, the 12 year old design runs 'big'.

2
chas
1,305 posts
#39Jun 22, 2020, 1:57 PM
Yep, they are following the ETRO standard for road bike tires (hence the relatively narrow rims).
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IronmanGravelGrinder
9 posts
#40Jun 24, 2020, 5:57 PM
May be late to the party but...

I recommend without any hesitation Hutchinson 32's!
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