By Simon Bromley

Published: Monday, 04 October 2021 at 12:00 am

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Continental has announced the Grand Prix 5000 S TR, a new version of its popular and highly-rated tubeless road tyre, the Grand Prix 5000 TL, and the tyre used by Sonny Colbrelli en route to victory in Sunday’s epic edition of Paris-Roubaix.

Despite the existing GP5000 TL being widely considered as one of the best road bike tyres currently available, and certainly one of the best tubeless tyres, Continental is boldly claiming a 700x25c GP5000 S TR is “20 per cent faster and 50g lighter” than its predecessor.

Thanks to a new two-ply construction, the GP5000 S TR is also said to offer 28 per cent better sidewall protection and compatibility with hookless rims.

The new tyre will be available in a range of sizes up to 32c and was used by a number of teams at both the men’s and women’s editions of Paris-Roubaix, including the Bahrain Victorious team of Colbrelli and Team Ineos-Grenadiers.

Continental also says the tyre was used by Filippo Ganna to retain his title in the individual time trial at the recent road world championships.

Following the release of the GP5000 clincher tyre with transparent sidewalls, the new GP5000 S TR is now available with both black and transparent sidewall colourways.

Lighter, faster, stronger and easier to use?

Typically, bicycle tyres have to balance speed and robustness.

Rolling resistance and weight usually go hand in hand (making a tyre lighter tends to make it faster, as it requires less energy to deform), but improving these characteristics usually means a trade-off in durability or puncture protection, and vice versa.

Continental appears to be claiming we can have our cake and eat it with the GP5000 S TR.

Continental

We’ll cover claimed weights for every tyre in the range in a moment, but the headline figure is 250g for a 700x25c tyre. For comparison, the current Grand Prix 5000 TL weighs 300g in the same size.

The German tyre giant says it has achieved this Goldilocks balance by reinventing its approach to tubeless tyres for road bikes.

The GP5000 S TR, it says, is a whole new tyre with a completely new construction – switching from three-ply on the existing model to two-ply here – and not simply a minor update to the existing GP5000 TL.

Continental

Along with the headline figures on reduced rolling resistance, lower weight and improved sidewall protection, Continental is also claiming the GP5000 S TR is easier to mount on tubeless-ready rims than before.

This is also the first road-specific tyre Continental has approved for use on hookless rims, though the maximum permitted road bike tyre pressure for hookless rims is capped at 5.0 BAR / 73 PSI.

Continental GP5000 S TR maximum inflation pressures
Tyre Size	700x25c	700x28c	700×30/32c	650×30/32b
Max inflation pressure on hooked rims	7.5 BAR / 109 PSI	6.5 BAR / 94 PSI	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI
Max inflation pressure on hookless rims	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI	5.0 BAR / 73 PSI
Maximum internal rim width	21c	25c	25c	25c

Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR specifications, claimed weights and availability

The new Continental GP5000 S TR is available with black or transparent sidewalls, in sizes from 700x25c to 700x32c.

The transparent sidewall tyre is also available in 30c and 32c sizes for 650b rims.

Continental

Priced at €79.90 per tyre, Continental says the GP5000 S TR is available now.

We’re eagerly awaiting a sample set, to see if Continental’s claims stand up to testing. Look out for a full review soon.

Continental

GP5000 S TR transparent sidewalls

• 700x25c – 250g
• 700x28c – 280g
• 700x30c – 300g
• 700x32c – 320g
• 650x30b – 280g
• 650x32b – 300g

GP5000 S TR black sidewalls

• 700x25c – 250g
• 700x28c – 280g
• 700x30c – 300g
• 700x32c – 320g

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