Road Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR (TdF) 25

The Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF (Tour de France) is a tire optimized to provide the absolute lowest rolling resistance and highest speeds during time trials or other events where speed is the most critical factor. The Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF is very similar to the well-known Grand Prix 5000 S TR (read our review) except for some key areas where Continental removed some material to make it lighter and faster.

Ad Buy Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR (TdF) at Amazon.com

The main area where Continental went shaving is the tread thickness, which has been reduced by 0.5 mm compared to the more all-round Grand Prix 5000 S TR. Both tires use the same 2/220 casing material with two layers under the tread and an extra layer of Vectran anti-puncture breaker to keep the puncture resistance to a somewhat acceptable level. This means the 0.5 mm reduction comes solely from a reduction in rubber thickness which reduces weight and rolling resistance but also means the expected durability (mileage) will be roughly halved.

The other area where Continental removed material can be found in the sidewalls as they are thinner and easier to puncture on the TT TdF version. If you've read our review of the Grand Prix 5000 S TR (read our review), you might know that the S TR comes with a 2/220 casing, but it's only two layers under the tread, while the sidewalls are made of three layers. On the 5000 TT TdF version, the tire is entirely made of only two layers, saving some weight and reducing rolling resistance.

We're not sure it's the lighter casing design, but inflating the TT TdF version was much more challenging than the S TR version we tested last year. While the S TR could be inflated with a simple floor pump, this was impossible to achieve with the TT TdF version, and we had to use a compressor and remove the valve core to get it seated. If you've had problems with inflating tubeless tires in the past, this might be something to consider.

The TT TdF version is only available in the 25-622 size, and when we compare it to the same sized S TR version, the reduction in tread thickness and sidewall thickness results in a weight reduction of 35 grams. 35 grams might not sound like a lot, but the reduced rolling resistance is what will really make a difference in the race against the clock.

We've run the Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF through all our tests and compared it to the Grand Prix 5000 S TR, Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 2.0, Schwalbe Pro One TT, and Michelin Power Cup TLR.

As expected, the lightened Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF is one of the fastest rolling tires, but it still comes in a couple of tenths behind the Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 2.0 (read our review). In nearly all of our other tests, the 5000 TT TdF and Corsa Speed G+ 2.0 trade places with each other, but the differences are neglectable most of the time. We do see the 5000 TT TdF performs better regarding tread width and tread cover, making it more suitable for use on the wider rims that some people use these days.

What concerns us the most is the availability of the 5000 TT TdF (Tour de France) edition, as we're not sure how long this tire will be available. Continental also describes this tire as a LE (Limited Edition) tire, and a quick look online also gives us the impression this tire is hard to find and only available from a select number of countries. On top of that, pricing also made a step up again, but we assume this is also because of the TdF and LE nature of this tire.

The Grand Prix 5000 TT TdF shows us what a lighter version of the Grand Prix 5000 S TR (read our review) can do in our tests, but maybe it's better to wait and see if Continental releases a regular - non-TdF, non-LE - Grand Prix 5000 TT.