CX/Gravel Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix Urban 35

The Continental Grand Prix Urban is a new addition to the Continental "Grand Prix" range of bicycle tires. Having "Grand Prix" in the name is promising by itself as Continental usually reserves this name for their best-performing road bike tires. Even though the Grand Prix Urban comes very close to being a road bike tire on paper, we've classified this tire as a "Touring/E-Bike" tire and will compare it to other tires in the same class.

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EDITED: It turns out the Grand Prix Urban makes use of a 3/180 casing instead of the 3/330 casing that the packaging indicates.

When we look at the specifications, the Grand Prix Urban uses the same 3/180 casing and Black Chili compound that's used on the Continental Grand Prix road bike tire. Also the same is the PolyX breaker that is a bit harder to puncture than the Vectran breaker that's used some other tires from Continental.

The Grand Prix Urban is only available in the 35-622 size which makes it the first "Grand Prix" that comes close to the size of touring bike tires. As the Grand Prix 5000 maxes out at the 32 mm size, we're curious how the 35 mm Grand Prix Urban performs as we know many people are looking for a high-volume, high-performance tire.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Continental
Model	Grand Prix Urban
Year	2021
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	0101575
EAN	4019238002447
TPI	3/180
Compound	Black Chili
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	35-622
Specified Weight	345 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	85
Made In	Pro Data
Available Sizes	35-622 (700x35c)

Continental Grand Prix Urban 35 Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	345 grams
Measured Weight	342 grams
Measured Width Casing	33 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	mm
Measured Height	Pro Data
Tire Circumference	Pro Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.0 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	3.40 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Pro Data
All size measurements are taken at high air pressure on a 18 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Measured Width	33 mm
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 33-35 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 36-38 = 54 psi/3.7 bar 39-42 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 43-46 = 46 psi/3.2 bar 47-50 = 42 psi/2.9 barHigh Air Pressure (60 psi / 4.1 bar)	Pro Data
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 55 psi/3.8 bar 33-35 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 36-38 = 45 psi/3.1 bar 39-42 = 42 psi/2.9 bar 43-46 = 38 psi/2.6 bar 47-50 = 35 psi/2.4 barMedium Air Pressure (50 psi / 3.4 bar)	Pro Data
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 44 psi/3.0 bar 33-35 = 40 psi/2.8 bar 36-38 = 36 psi/2.6 bar 39-42 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 43-46 = 31 psi/2.1 bar 47-50 = 28 psi/1.9 barLow Air Pressure (40 psi / 2.8 bar)	21.8 Watts CRR: 0.00653
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 33-35 = 30 psi/2.1 bar 36-38 = 27 psi/1.9 bar 39-42 = 25 psi/1.7 bar 43-46 = 23 psi/1.6 bar 47-50 = 21 psi/1.4 barExtra Low Air Pressure (30 psi / 2.1 bar)	Pro Data
The CX/Gravel section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	66 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Pro Data
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Pro Data
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Pro Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness	3.40 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Pro Data
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Pro Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Pro Data

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	68 Points
Wet Grip Center	Pro Data
Wet Grip Edge	Pro Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.0 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 CX/Gravel grip test rim width = 23.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

The Continental Grand Prix Urban isn't a traditional touring bike tire, but it's more of a high-volume road bike tire. When compared to other touring bike tires, it's incredibly light, and rolling resistance is very low. To make it a bit more of a touring bike tire, Continental beefed up the puncture protection of the tread by changing to a PolyX breaker and also increased the tread thickness to 3.4 mm. The sidewalls are the weakest point as they are much weaker than typical touring bike tires.

When we compare the 35 mm Grand Prix Urban to the largely similar 25 mm Grand Prix 5000, and compare them at similar comfort levels (Urban = 75 psi / GP 5000 = 100 psi), we do see quite a big difference in rolling resistance. At these pressures, the Urban comes in at 15.2 watts and the 5000 at 10.7 watts: it looks like the thicker tread and PolyX breaker do add quite a bit of rolling resistance.

Very fast tire, but we give it a slight downgrade for the thin sidewalls (rated as a touring bike tire).

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RATING: 4.7 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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