I ride 5-10,000 miles a year. Less so now with Covid and working from home. No commuting. I have been riding mostly Gator skin duraskin or hardshell for commuting the last 10 years. Continental 4000 for road. Like most note the 4000 blew out on the sides after awhile, have a pair of 5000 which have not had the same issue but they are fairly new. Switched to the 4 seasons on my gravel bike, commuting bike and one of my road bikes. Only tire I buy now. I am not racing or going for time so a little slower roll is an acceptable pay off for me. The extra grip with these is nice on some tight down hill corners I ride in the summer along the bluffs. Love those S curves. These roll well, are a bit grippy and good puncture resistance. In town our roads suck so on my commuter and gravel bike I do add some of the Ultra-thin Tuffy tape. Not one flat in 2-3 years since I switched!! Awesome! If you want a super clean roll, speed and time are a consideration for you the 5000s are probably a better tire for you. If you want a tire with decent roll, bit of extra grip, and some decent puncture protection these are the tire for you. They last longer than my other tires too which is a bonus.
Yeah they're a smidge heavier. The weight equals out once you wear the tire down a bit. The tire looks amazing on my carbon wheels. We're they a challenge to put on? Yes. But I warmed them up in the bathroom heat and they went on with determination. I usually ride 25s so the size wasn't limiting for me like it might be for you. I use tubes on the road but for you tubeless folk this might be an issue for you. I think Conti has another tire coming with tan sidewall that'll work for y'all. Get em on sale and you won't be sorry. Or you can blame me over coffee.
I have been using these tires for the past 7 years while riding my bike to work in San Francisco. I put about 50 miles on them during the week with Monday - Friday riding. I'm on my fourth pair and have ridden thousands of miles all over California. In that time, I have only gotten two flats, never a blowout, just small punctures, both times I've been able to patch the tube. These tires have solid traction and I am usually able to get 1,500 - 2,000 miles per tire. These are the gold standard when it comes to durability and flat tire protection. You won't be disappointed!
Tires are awesome, they are wearing down a bit quickly, I've put around 800 miles on them and the rear tire is getting a bit flat on the contact surface, I've seen 4 and 3 small punctures on the tires respectively it is unsure if they made it all the way in as I have not seen a significant decrease in tire pressure. The tires do drop 10-15 psi every 2-3 days, I'm inflating them to 100psi and using stans racing sealant. This tire does it seem to have a lot of life, the wear dimples seem pretty shallow. Lastly these tires were difficult to install. Overall a great tire, only time will tell how they wear vs what I've seen.
