Road Bike Tire Test: Continental Aero 111 29

Continental developed the Aero 111 in collaboration with DT Swiss and Swiss Side, and its primary purpose is to cut through the air like never before. The tread design is entirely new, and it comes with 48 precision-formed, vortex-generating cavities that create controlled turbulence and ensure prolonged airflow attachment to the rim. According to Continental, this reduces aerodynamic drag and improves crosswind stability.

We're not aerodynamic specialists, but the Aero 111 is also an interesting tire for us. At first sight, you might think the Aero 111 is simply a GP 5000 S TR (read our review) or GP 5000 TT TR (read our review) with a different tread pattern, but our tests have found something quite interesting. We feel the Aero 111 might be a sneak peek into what to expect from Continental's next iteration of the Grand Prix X000 series.

When we look at the casing design, the Aero 111 comes with the same casing design as the Grand Prix 5000 S TR with two layers + Vectran breaker under the tread while the sidewalls are made up of 3 layers. This casing is a bit tougher than the GP 5000 TT TR casing, and it means Continental already made the first decision not to go for the absolute lowest possible rolling resistance.

As always, the compound is Continental's Black Chili compound. What's most interesting, and something we know because of our tests, is that it's not the same Black Chili compound as used on the GP 5000 S TR and GP 5000 TT TR. We know of at least two versions of the Black Chili compound, and we think of them as Black Chili S(speed) and Black Chili G(grip). We also know the Black Chili compound is continuously improved with the latest advancements, and the Aero 111 definitely uses all the latest updates.

The Aero 111 is available in the 26-622 and 29-622 sizes, but take a look at our size and weight measurements, as they've already taken wider aero rims into consideration. We've tested the 29-622 version, and you'll find our test results and conclusion below.

The Continental Aero 111 definitely comes with a different compound than the good old Grand Prix 5000 S TR. When we forget about the aerodynamic differences and only look at our test results, we clearly see a slightly higher (3 to 8%, depending on the air pressure) rolling resistance but a massive increase in wet grip. The Aero 111 is now the best gripping road bike tire in our wet grip test, and it even outperforms the Grand Prix 5000 All Season (read our review) in this test.

When we combine all test results, it looks like the Aero 111 uses the casing of the regular Grand Prix 5000 S TR, with the high grip compound of the Grand Prix 5000 All Season. This is important to know for everyone interested in the Aero 111. However, if the aerodynamic reduction is more significant than the slight increase in rolling resistance, you'll still gain time.

When it comes to wet weather performance, there is no contest, as the huge increase in wet grip will save you more time than what you lose by the increased rolling resistance.

We think the Aero 111 is a preview of future Continental road bike tires that might see significant improvements when it comes to wet grip.