Continental Grand Prix GT Tyre

by Simon · 10/11/2014

Continental Grand Prix GT Tyre

Simon Whiten

Preview of the Continental Grand Prix GT clincher tyre

Continental UK reckon the Grand Prix GT is the tyre for UK cyclosportives…

By that they mean a tyre that can handle far from ideal road surfaces; a reliable tyre that will get to the end of your event puncture free, yet is light enough not to feel like lead on the hills and is quick so as not to jeopardise that all important time.

Summer sportives aren’t too much of an issue, but Winter, Spring or Autumn events require extra protection. Add in a bit of commuting on the same bike, when you can’t be bothered to change tyres or wheels, and then you also need some serious durability.

Continental say that the GT is ‘ideal for fans of the longer sportives who require extra reliability without losing tread performance’. They go on to tell us that the GT is a combination of the reliability of the Gator Hardshell and the performance of a GP4000S with BlackChili, which is where the GT (Grand Tour) moniker, usually used in conjunction with luxurious, mile munching, yet still fast performance cars, came from.

What makes the GT into an all-rounder? The Grand Prix GT has Conti’s Hardshell casing, the same as you get on Conti’s ‘Gator’ tyres but adds the fabled BlackChili compound tread, which we know works well on the rough British roads we ride on. In fact, I have already had a spin out on these tyres and it is odd that, when you reach really smooth tarmac is the only time you remember you’re not on pure race rubber; on the rougher, ‘normal’ roads they feel plenty quick and zip along quite happily.

There is a PolyX Breaker anti-puncture protection under the tread and in this particular tyre it’s a reassuringly extra wide layer. A continuous 3 ply casing gives 50% more sidewall thickness – without adding much weight we are assured – than you get on the standard Grand Prix to give you extra durability.

Our 25mm wide example weighed 260g, a tad over the claimed 250 but close enough. We’ll get a few more miles on these then report back with a full review.