Road Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix Attack II 22

NOTE: From November 1, 2022, the road bike category has been updated to support multi tire sizes. Because the measured width of this tire is wider or narrower than the original values, the rolling resistance test results have been revised.

The Continental Grand Prix Attack II is the front tire of the Grand Prix Attack II/Force II road set. Its smaller 22C size should provide an aerodynamic advantage when used as a front tire while the slightly bigger 24C Force II provides increased comfort and grip as a rear tire. Both these tires are very closely related to the popular Grand Prix 4000S II as they use the same 3/330 casing and Black Chili compound.

As I've already mentioned in the GP Force II (review), it's important to consider rim width as well if you want to gain an aerodynamic advantage from the smaller front tire. Just mounting a smaller tire to a rim that has been aerodynamically optimized to be used with a bigger tire isn't going to give you an advantage. When you're going through all the trouble to gain those last few tenths, you should use a smaller rim on the front wheel as well.

The specified weight of the 22C Grand Prix Attack is a low 175 grams. My sample came in at 182 grams. The measured width and height on a 17C rim, at an air pressure of 100 psi is 24 mm and 21 mm respectively. The sizing seems to be in line with the other Conti tires which mostly come in 1-2 mm wider than specified on my rim/air pressure.

The total thickness of the tire at the center of the tread comes in at 2.2 mm which is slightly less than the GP Force which came in at 2.3 mm. 2.2 mm is on the thin side for a road bike tire as most all-round tires seem to come just shy of 3 mm while the no-compromise time-trial tires come in closer to 2 mm. The GP Attack/Force definitely won't come near the mileage a GP 4000S II provides.

At very high air pressures, rolling resistance of the Attack II is slightly higher than the Force II 24C, but lower than the GP4000S II 25C (read review). When dropping air pressures, rolling resistance starts to go up faster than most other tires which can be attributed to the lower volume. Like already noted, the 22C Attack is the smallest sized tire on this website which means it will be harder to compare to the rest of the tires. Overall, rolling resistance appears to be a bit higher than the GP Force.

In the puncture resistance tests, the GP Attack performs equally in both the tread and sidewall tests. With a score of 9 points in the tread test, both the Attack and Force offer less puncture resistance than the popular GP4000S II which came in at 11 points.

Overall, rolling resistance of the Grand Prix Attack is slightly higher when compared to the Grand Prix Force while providing the same tread thickness and puncture resistance. Compared to the Grand Prix 4000S II (read review) or Grand Prix TT (read review), the Attack doesn't appear to offer any advantages. Keep in mind to use a wheel optimized for 22C tires on the front and a wheel optimized for 24C tires in the rear if you're looking to gain an aerodynamic advantage from a smaller front tire.

I rate the Force/Attack front/rear combo 4 out of 5 because most people have the same width rims front/rear which will make it hard to gain an aerodynamic advantage from these tires. Also, going with a 23C/25C Grand Prix TT combo will give you the same advantage while providing a much lower rolling resistance.