Conti GP 4 Seasons - do they size up small?

[nammynake]

I've recently been using Conti GP4000s in 23mm size. Excellent tyre but following 2 p*nctures in 3 rides I decided to fit some GP 4 Seasons in 23mm. I have Crud Road Racer mudguards and the GP4000s had only minimal clearance but the 4 Seasons are significantly smaller, obvious by a lot more clearance.

I'm wondering if the 25mm 4 Seasons would have been a better choice. It's strange that two tyres from the same manufacturer can be so different when the quoted size is the same.

[TheLemming]

Couldnt praise the 25s highly enough. I'd offer to measure mine but they are on very wide rims so that won't likely apply to you.

[nike 5]

Not sure if this helps - they seem to think that they come up small too.

http://www.bikeradar.com/au/road/gear/category/com...

[bakerstreet]

nammynake said:

I've recently been using Conti GP4000s in 23mm size. Excellent tyre but following 2 p*nctures in 3 rides I decided to fit some GP 4 Seasons in 23mm. I have Crud Road Racer mudguards and the GP4000s had only minimal clearance but the 4 Seasons are significantly smaller, obvious by a lot more clearance.

I'm wondering if the 25mm 4 Seasons would have been a better choice. It's strange that two tyres from the same manufacturer can be so different when the quoted size is the same.

I've had four seasons since July and I've just chucked them in he garage and put my gator skins back on. So many punctures since I put the four seasons on.

To answer the original question, I didn't see a difference in size and I ran 23mm gator skins and 23mm 4 seasons.

[TheLemming]

bakerstreet said:

I've had four seasons since July and I've just chucked them in he garage and put my gator skins back on. So many punctures since I put the four seasons on.

To answer the original question, I didn't see a difference in size and I ran 23mm gator skins and 23mm 4 seasons.

Ironically I had more punctures on the Gators I took off than I've ever had on 4seasons.
4seasons are grippier, lighter, roll better - but have less puncture protection.
I suspect luck accounts for more than the difference in protection - unless youre punting it through city gutters etc, then you need all the protection you can get.....

[simonk68]

nammynake said:

I've recently been using Conti GP4000s in 23mm size. Excellent tyre but following 2 p*nctures in 3 rides I decided to fit some GP 4 Seasons in 23mm. I have Crud Road Racer mudguards and the GP4000s had only minimal clearance but the 4 Seasons are significantly smaller, obvious by a lot more clearance.

I'm wondering if the 25mm 4 Seasons would have been a better choice. It's strange that two tyres from the same manufacturer can be so different when the quoted size is the same.

Could easily be the case. I ran 4 Season 25s on my spare last winter and am running 25 GP4000S this, they certainly look bigger to the eye and the clearance is just about OK. Hope the wheels stay true.

For what it's worth, in my experience the 4 Seasons aren't that much better in terms of puncture protection, though they don't cut up so much and the grip is better in the wet, which probably makes them a better winter bet overall.

Best winter racing and training tyres I've had though are Vittoria Pave - sadly they seem hard to find in the run up to P-R and Flanders...

[bakerstreet]

TheLemming said:

Ironically I had more punctures on the Gators I took off than I've ever had on 4seasons.
4seasons are grippier, lighter, roll better - but have less puncture protection.
I suspect luck accounts for more than the difference in protection - unless youre punting it through city gutters etc, then you need all the protection you can get.....

The 4 seasons have softer side walls, so therefor you get more tyre contact on the road compared to a gatorskin. However, that means you have more rolling resistance and I don't think they are as agile as gatorskins. Based on that I don't really see how you think they roll better.

As other people say, its also a luck game too.

[yellowjack]

Sorry bakerstreet, but I agree with TheLemming.

I had a pair of Gatorskins on my road bike, and absolutely hated them. Uncomfortable, with terrible ride quality, absolutely unforgiving. They also punctured readily, and were almost completely devoid of grip of any kind.

They are now on and old steel framed bike in the garage, simply to protect the rims from contact with the garage floor.

By contrast, the 4Seasons went on and they've stayed on through the last two winters and the intervening summer. They inspire nothing but confidence cornering on wet roads, and they've proved plenty resistant to p***tures despite being ridden on the poorly maintained and flooded roads near me. They're not the most comfortable ride ever, certainly not as compliant as a quality summer tyre, but they're head and shoulders above the nasty Gatorskins they replaced. They are extremely resistant to 'cutting up' and the only real issue I've had was when the one on the back wheel started to look worn and tired before the front one, but that was remedied by simply swapping ends.

I run 25mm width, and have to say I'm more than happy with them, but I'll consider the 28mm size next time if it's the case that they come up a little small. I didn't pay close attention when I fitted them, and can't say that I've ever noticed them to be 'small' in any way, although to be honest I never looked to hard at them in that way.

In my opinion, the Grand Prix 4Seasons are the best tyre I've used for winter conditions, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for winter rubber. Just be sure to buy them when they're on 'sale' prices, as they are a bit pricey at RRP.