Touring Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix Urban

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  • Continental Grand Prix Urban
Performance compared to all other touring bike tires
(100% is best)
Pro Members get 11-point radar charts



Continental Grand Prix Urban road bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

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
TPI 3/180
Compound Black Chili
Bead Folding
ETRTO 35-622
Size Inch 28"
Width mm 35.00
Specified Weight 345 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi) 85
Made In Members Only
Available Sizes 35-622 (700x35c)

Continental Grand Prix Urban Test Results

Continental Grand Prix Urban Touring/E-Bike on a rolling resistance test machine

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements


Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight 345 grams
Measured Weight 342 grams
Measured Width 33 mm (un-round)
Measured Height 32 mm (un-round)
Tread Depth 0.8 mm
Total Tire Thickness Center 3.4 mm
Total Tire Thickness Sidewall Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 60 psi / 4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results


Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance
75 PSI / 5 Bar
15.2 Watts
CRR: 0.00456
Rolling Resistance
60 PSI / 4 Bar
16.9 Watts
CRR: 0.00507
Rolling Resistance
45 PSI / 3 Bar
Members Only
Rolling Resistance
30 PSI / 2 Bar
Members Only
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

Continental Grand Prix Urban Touring/E-Bike on a rolling resistance test machine
Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread 66 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness 3.4 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness Members Only

Static Grip Test Results

Continental Grand Prix Urban road bike tire on a grip test machine
Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average 68 Points
Wet Grip Center Members Only
Wet Grip Edge Members Only
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100
Tour/E-Bike grip test rim width = 23.0 mm

Conclusion


  • Continental Grand Prix Urban
Performance compared to all other touring bike tires
(100% is fastest - lightest - thickest - strongest)

Pro Members get 11-point radar charts

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).


Ad Buy Continental Grand Prix Urban at Amazon.com


RATING: 4.7 / 5
TEST VERDICT:
Highly Recommended


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