Road Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix 5000 All Season TR 25

The Continental Grand Prix 5000 AllSeason (AS) TR is a new addition to Continental's tubeless road bike range. It offers more grip, puncture resistance, and better durability than the hugely popular Grand Prix 5000 S TR. The Grand Prix 5000 AllSeason TR is a tire we've been waiting for as we always felt a bit underwhelmed by the 5000 S TR (read our review) as it was a more racing oriented tire than the older Grand Prix 5000 TL it replaced.

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With the introduction of the 5000 AllSeason TR, Continental now gives you a choice between racing performance with balanced puncture resistance and grip (5000 S TR) or substituting some performance and get better puncture resistance and extreme (wet) grip in return (5000 AllSeason TR). And yes, our test results show grip is extremely good, making this the go-to tire for everyone unwilling to sacrifice grip for performance.

So what's different about the AllSeason TR when compared to the S TR? Both tires use Continental's Black Chili compound, but what's important, and Continental isn't clear about this, is that the AllSeason TR uses a different specification of the Black Chili compound that's more optimized for grip. We've had our suspicions of the existence of different specifications of the Black Chili compound for several years. After testing the 5000 AllSeason TR, we're now 100% sure different specifications of the Black Chili compound exist.

We're trying to understand why Continental isn't more clear about the Black Chili compound, as it would help many riders make a better choice when choosing Continental tires. Adding something like S for Speed, G for Grip, and X for balanced would help tremendously.

The other thing that's different on the 5000 AllSeason TR is the casing design. The sidewalls are much more robust and now have 4 layers of 110 TPI casing material instead of the 3 layers on the 5000 S TR. Under the tire's tread section, we still see only 2 layers of casing material, which is the same as on the 5000 S TR. The casing design corresponds with our test results as our puncture resistance test shows a 50% increase in sidewall puncture resistance, while the tread puncture resistance has only increased by 20%.

The increased tread puncture resistance mostly comes from the slightly thicker tread we find on the 5000 AllSeason TR, and this also means there is more tread to wear down. We're not sure if the tread will actually last more miles as we don't have a test to measure a tire's mileage, but given the different spec of Black Chili compound, it might be a bit softer. The actual mileage a tire can do depends on many factors, and sometimes a softer and better gripping tire can last longer due to less (micro) slippage under high loads.

The new Grand Prix 5000 AllSeason TR is available in 4 different sizes (25-622, 28-622, 32-622, 35-622) and we applaud the addition of the 35-622 size as it makes this an exciting tire for those that ride fast touring bikes. We've tested the 25-622 size and will compare it to the 25 mm version of the 5000 S TR and a bunch of other tires from competing brands.

We're really impressed by the performance of the Grand Prix 5000 AllSeason TR, as it offers extreme wet grip while only rolling marginally slower. The other significant improvement is found in the sidewalls, as sidewall puncture resistance and sidewall thickness have increased by 50%. The tread puncture resistance is only slightly higher than the 5000 S TR (read our review), and you still have to rely on tubeless sealant to seal small punctures.

For an all-season tire, the tread puncture resistance comes in lower than expected, and we see this as the main shortcoming you should be aware of. Still, we can see Continental's design choice of sticking with only 2 casing layers under the tread. Adding more layers results in less flexibility and ultimately less maximum grip potential; a stiff casing and high grip don't go together when it comes to bicycle tires. Continental seems confident that the casing is strong enough, and the pros outweigh the cons of this design. When you need maximum puncture resistance, we recommend filling it with 60 ml of sealant and replacing it every 3-6 months.

The Grand Prix 5000 AllSeason TR's performance sets a new benchmark for the wet grip performance of road bike tires, and it deserves a 5 out of 5 rating.