Continental Grand Prix 5000 AS TR

A tyre for all seasons, that's the thinking behind the new Continental Grand Prix 5000 AS TR. The AS – All Season – is a more robust version of the company’s performance range of tyres for use year-round. It offers great grip and impressive rolling resistance, and seems very durable. It'll cost you, though.

For other (cheaper) options, check out our guide to the best road bike tyres.

Many bike brands spec Continental's Grand Prix 5000 S TR tyres on their high-end models, and with good reason – they are very good indeed in terms of performance.

With this AS model Continental has aimed to keep as much of the 5000 S’s performance as possible, but with the durability of its Grand Prix 4 Season.

Conti has tweaked its Black Chilli compound to increase grip in wet conditions and has gone for a thicker tread for longevity and durability. Beefed-up sidewalls also add to that.

Over the last month of wet roads and thorns from hedgecutting, the AS TRs have stood up well, covering hundreds of miles without showing any signs of cuts or damage. That could just be luck, but they have certainly given me confidence while out riding on the back lanes while I've been waiting for spring to arrive.

Performance-wise, the AS TRs feel great. They are carrying a few grams over the S TR, but only about 50g in total, so not enough to change the feel when it comes to acceleration or rolling resistance.

The compound has a sticky feel to it, and gives great grip even in the wet and cold, inspiring plenty of confidence in the bends or when travelling quickly through roundabouts.

The ride is supple too, even with the boosted sidewall protection; unless you were to run the S and AS tyres side by side, you'd struggle to notice the difference.

In fact, I'd go as far to say that you could race on these tyres during the summer and train on them in the winter.

They’re designed for tubeless setups and are also compatible with hookless rims – something that is becoming more commonplace.

I fitted them to a couple of different rims; they fitted easiest to the narrowest ones, with an inner rim width of 19mm, needing a bit more finger power to get them on the wider wheels.

Once on the rim, setting them up tubeless was very easy, with the bead popping into place with the use of a powerful track pump.

Value

The biggest issue for me, though – and I doubt I'm alone – is the price: £89.95 each!

Panaracer's Agilest TLR tyre was given a 9/10 by Steve in his review – they are not only light and fast, but he also said they are tough enough for winter roads. All that for just £59.99.

And the Corsa N.Ext TLR tyres from Vittoria were also highly rated by Aaron, who said that they were impressively puncture resistant, grippy, and fast rolling. At £69.99 they’re a tenner more than the Panaracers, but that's still a £20 saving over the Contis.

Conclusion

From a performance point of view, there’s little to fault with the Grand Prix 5000 AS TRs. They feel every bit as good as the standard S, but with the added protection to cope with poor road conditions. They’re very expensive, though, and with many other tyres on the market offering similar performance at a much cheaper price, the competition is tough.

Verdict

Very impressive performance blended with durability, but oh so expensive