Touring Bike Tire Test: Continental Grand Prix Urban
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 16.9 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 66 Points
- Static Wet Grip: 68 Points
- Conclusion: 4.7 / 5 Highly Recommended
- Comments
- Continental Grand Prix Urban
(100% is best)
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
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
| 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
| 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
(100% is fastest - lightest - thickest - strongest)
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).
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RATING:
4.7
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Highly Recommended