bikemig 

Lots of anecdotes. I've used continental tires extensively and have had nothing but a very good experience with them.

FullGas

at 150 lbs, this matches my latest experience with a set of 4KSII almost exactly.

NJgreyhead

I just tried a pair of Continental GP4000 S II, 700 x 28, at 90 psi, and had a sidewall blowout (sounded like a gunshot) in the first 15 miles of use, while riding on decent road shoulder.
None of the other 8 single-file riders saw anything that could cause a problem. Mfg defect. I won't buy that brand again.

realyfishy

I've worn through 5 GP4000 S II's the past few years without any issues. My group probably has another 30-40 GP4000's also rolling without issue. Granted I'm in South Florida with somewhat pristine roads & I've seen flats with other tires, not Continentals!

qcpmsame 

Used Continental tires for 4 years now, primarily Gatorskins, and now the Grand Prix 4000S II, in the 700X25 size, all the miles are on my CAAD10. I am getting around 4000 miles on a set of 'Skins. I have had 3 total flats, all were punctures from road debris, and zero blow outs,+ on the Gatorskin tires to date, and a single flat from a puncture on the GP last Sunday afternoon from a needle like piece of stone I collected from a wash across the road after a rain. I plan to say with Continental since I have no bad experiences with them and their performance is quite satisfactory.

The ride of the Grand Prix 4000S II is really nice, but with the softer tread compound and more flexible sidewalls I don't expect as much distance on a pair as what the Gatorskins gave me. Barring some unseen quality issues in the tire's construction showing up I plan on sticking with the GP now, the ride is addictive. Is a side wall defect shows up, or any kind of shortcoming for that matter, I plan to contact the place I purchased them from, and go forward from there. Having a sidewall so quickly and no sign of any road hazard damage would lead me to work through the purchase point first thing.

Bill

AlexCyclistRoch

My experiences with Continental tires fall into 3 different models:

1) Sprinter tubulars: Ride nice, have good grip, but go on super tight, wear down quickly, cost a good bit, and the base tape delaminates too easily.

2) Giro tubulars: Nice ride and good grip, mounts a lot easier, and is a good value for the money, but they are quite puncture-prone.

3) XZX auto radial: Had a lot of issues with broken belts.

Kedosto

My experience with Conti tires has been pretty well covered by the comments of others; sidewall cracking, tread separation, reflective stripe falling off, etc..

What makes them truly special for me is that they're so damned difficult to mount. They're some of the tightest tires I've ever fought onto a rim.

To be fair, they ride nice while they're intact.


-Kedosto

Wileyone 

I bought a set of Giro Tubs in the Spring when my budget was lower. Absolutely the worst riding Tub I have ever ridden on. Tore them off after about 600k and put a new set of Michelin Pro 4's on. Tubular bliss.

Lakerat

I had some GP 4000S blow off the rim with some older rims. I've been using them on Mavic Open Pro rims without issue. Love them, my go to tire for my main bike. I replace a ThickSlick rear and a bald front (Vittoria I think) on my fixed gear with a pair of Grand Prix (no 4 season, no 4000) and they transformed the bike. So much better ride and lower resistance. I love Continental bike tires and get great ride and mileage.

AlexCyclistRoch

The problem with Giros is that they have been made for nearly 50 years, and a lot of online sellers are selling old stock. Your tire may have been 15-20 years old, and the rubber may have hardened. A new Giro actually rides 'reasonably well'. If you want a REALLY poor ride, try a Hutchinson Gold........

rob214

i have the conti 4000sII only about 1000 miles but i ride in and around new orleans, i love them so far not even a single flat. very smooth in my opinion but everyone has their own thoughts.

Wileyone 

These were "Brand New" bought from Chain Reaction Cycle. I think by now I can tell the difference between a New Tyre and one that is 15-20 Years old. Not sure about the Hutchinson Gold but the Vittoria Rally Tubular's are even worse. They can't even seem to get them round. Definitely a display Bike Tyre only. No riding on these.

AlexCyclistRoch

I made the mistake of buying a pair of Rallys about 16 years ago; they reminded me of a garden hose. After 200 miles of lumpy, hard, poor-riding, I pulled them off, and cut them up. I still use bits of them as chainstay protectors on several bikes...

shelbyfv

+1 I've never had one fail or even seen one that failed. The GP4000SII is by far the most popular tire among my riding friends. Inexpensive ($30 from UK) long lasting for a decent riding tire and not prone to flats. And that's my anecdote, FWIW!

02Giant 

My anecdote; I've ridden GP4kSII's for three years now, first year were 700 x 23's. the last two 700 x 25's. The first year on the 25's I apparently ran over something as I ended up with a 1/2" long cut in the tread, it didn't compromise the casing. This year I hit a rock that kicked the rear tire out to the side, when I got home and checked the tire/wheel I found a 1/4" long cut in the sidewall with the tube bulging from it. Neither of these were the fault of the tire.

byrd48

Thanks for all the input, I ordered the Michelin Protect + today. At 270g, it seemed to be the lightest tire with a bead to bead protection layer. I only ordered one, I'll still have the 4000sii on the front (as much as I hate mismatched tires). I just looked at the bad 4000sii and it has maybe 4 places where the reflective stripe was already coming apart in less than 100 miles. By the way, why do they have a reflective stripe on a racing tire anyway? Training in the dark? By comparison, my Big Apple and Marathon Supremes never had delamination of the reflective stripe after thousands of miles.
I'm not ready to denounce Continental just yet, maybe it's just my first experience with blowing a tire in less than 100 miles. Maybe I should send them an email and see what they have to say, maybe they will send me a gift certificate
Thanks again for the input!
Jon

GuyWood

I've always been pretty pleased with Conti tyres (I have the Grand Prix GT on my summer bike and the 4 Seasons on my winter bike) but I decided to replace the 4 Seasons with Michelin 'Endurance' (the Protect+ is American market only) and I'm very pleased. They feel quite solid compared to the 4 Seasons but the rolling resistance is amazing, much lower than the 4 Seasons even though they felt quite decent at the time.

Tombaatar

I have had good fortune with Serfas Drifter City. pulled out nails that did not puncture the tube. Also have a set of Continental Touring Plus that I have been commuting on. So far so good.