Road Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix 4000S II 25

NOTE: We have a test available of a newer version of this tire: Continental Grand Prix 5000 2018

The Continental Grand Prix 4000S II 700 x 25C, also known as the "GP4000S II", is the best clincher road bike tire in the Tour / Race class Continental has to offer. The GP4000S II is a facelift of the original GP4000S, which already was a popular road bike tire. It has the Black Chili compound for reduced rolling resistance, more grip, and higher mileage. A patented Vectran Breaker layer under the tread gives it the highest possible puncture protection at the lowest weight.

Because this is one of the most popular road bike tires of the moment, it was at the top of my list of tires to test. I already knew it has a finely tuned balance between rolling resistance, puncture resistance, grip, and durability. This will make it an excellent baseline to compare rolling resistance and puncture resistance with other road bike tires. (view all reviews)

The Grand Prix 4000S II used for this test has a weight of 215 grams, which is 10 grams lighter than the claimed weight of 225 grams. The lower weight should be an advantage in the rolling resistance test because less rubber means less rolling resistance. I must say that every Continental tire I've had on the scale weighed less than the specified weight. +1 for Conti.

As noted previously, the measured weight is 215 grams which is less than the 225 grams specified by Continental. The Grand Prix 4000S II is also quite a big tire with a width of 27 mm and a height of 25 mm on a 17C rim. All in all, not bad for a tire with a weight of 215 grams.

Performance in the rolling resistance test is great. At an air pressure of 120 psi, rolling resistance is a low 12.2 watts, which is excellent for a Tour / Race type tire. Dropping air pressure to 100 psi results in a rolling resistance of 12.9 watts. Lowering air pressure even lower results in a rolling resistance of 13.7 watts at an air pressure of 80 psi.

Noteworthy is the very flat rolling resistance graph of this tire, dropping air pressure to 80 psi increases rolling resistance by only 1.5 watts per tire. This is a great feature because rider comfort will increase greatly at 80 / 90 psi at a very low cost.

With a puncture resistance score of 11, performance in the puncture resistance test is slightly below average. Most other tires in the same class seem to score just a little bit higher in this test. In my opinion and taking into consideration the very flat rolling resistance response, this is a good trade-off because I like fast tires. If you happen to hate flats, you might be better off picking a different tire.

While the tread puncture resistance score is slightly below average, the sidewall puncture resistance score of 5 points is slightly better than most other comparable tires. The Schwalbe One V-Guard (review) is a tire which comes very close to the Grand Prix 4000S II in the rolling resistance test. The Schwalbe One has a better tread puncture score (12), but a lower sidewall score (4).

After putting the Grand Prix 4000S II through all of our tests, I totally understand why this is such a popular tire. This tire can be run at an air pressure of 80 psi / 5.5 bars at the cost of just 1.5 watts (Crr: 0.0004) of rolling resistance per tire. This is a very slight drop-off and shows the quality of this tire. At 60 psi / 4.1 bars, performance is still excellent as well. It scores 11 points in the puncture resistance test which is lower than average but should be adequate.

If you want fast tires that still offer some puncture protection and are willing to pay for it, the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II is a great choice. From personal experience, I know wear and wet grip of the Black Chili Compound is great as well. I would buy a pair of these if I were in the market for some road bike tires.