Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons tyre review: Truly a great option for year-round riding

The Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons tyre is actually an evolution of sorts of the old GP4000 S II race tyre from the brand, but beefed up and designed to be far more puncture resistant, almost to the same level at the Continental Gator Hardshell it shares its Duraskin outer layer with. Both are winter road bike tyres, with the aim of providing increased puncture protection over roads that are more likely to be debris-strewn.

Where things differ are that the Grand Prix 4 Seasons have far better traction in the rain, and a far more supple overall feeling that leads to a tyre that feels nowhere near as sluggish. It can’t compete with the rapid rolling of the pricier sibling, the GP5000 AS TR, but for a mix of hard wearing, decent performance, and reasonable value, it’s a truly superb training tyre that can venture out on some faster paced group rides.

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Design and specifications

The Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons tyre is quite similar in its make-up to the Gator Hardshell tyre but with a few key differences. Construction starts with a total of 5-plys of casing, designed to reduce the incidence of anything penetrating all these layers to reach the inner tube within. On top of this, a sixth ply is present in the form of the same Duraskin layer that is found on the Gatorskin tyres, going from bead to bead and visible externally.

Atop this, not one, but two layers of Vectran breaker has been added. This is similar in construction to a Kevlar vest, being a mesh of densely woven and difficult to penetrate. It is also wider than what can be found on the likes of the GP4000 S II this tyre is based on, or the more modern GP5000 AS TR tyres. Finally, the tread uses not the top tier Black Chilli compound, but a Black "Max Grip Silica" which is designed to be better for wet weather grip, extended tread life, and greater suppleness specifically in colder conditions.

It is not tubeless or therefore hookless compatible, instead it’s a tube-type clincher only. Sizes start at a very classic 23mm, with 25, 28, and 32mm options available.

Performance

First things first, as always, fitting the tyre. Being a clincher tube type tyre, clearances are not as tight as tubeless offerings. This made fitting these to the 21mm internal width test wheels – Shimano 105 ones, if you're curious – an absolute breeze. No faff with sealing tyres and removing valve cores. Fit and pump, job done. Pumped up to 80psi (a bit higher than you’d generally want to go for tubeless to avoid pinch flats) these 28mm tyres came in at 30.54mm, a fair bit larger than advertised but with plenty of clearance in the Cannondale Topstone frame I use.

In terms of construction and feel, there are a lot of similarities between the Grand Prix 4 Seasons and the Gator Hardshells. The Duraskin outer layer is present on both giving the gridded patterning. Meanwhile the tread follows a similar shape and size, but the Grand Prix 4 Seasons have a tackier feel to the tread and deeper grooving in them.

A common misconception is that the grooves in road bike tyres are there for water displacement, which isn't the case. The more grooves you have the more the tyre tread can deform with each rotation, which heats up the rubber and allows it to grip better. It's why grooves tend to be on the shoulders, with slick centres.

Wet and colder are areas where these tyres perform far better than their more rugged reptilian sibling, offering a good level more grip. I think that has little to do with the tread pattern and far more to do with the tread construction itself. This tyre is a little long in the tooth, but it’s built around the fantastic GP4000 II tyres, one of the previous GOATs of road race tyres. It’s not the BlackChilli compound, but this advanced rubber tread, the Black "Max Grip Silica", is far better than the more basic compound found on the Gatorskin range.

Even though these are not advertised as being as rugged as the Gatorskin tyres, they interestingly feature double the puncture belt protection, using a double Vectran Breaker to ensure the chances of any glass or thorns penetrating the casing is minimal. Indeed testing across hedge trimmings, foul weather roads smothered in filth, and roadside broken bottles, not only did I not get a single puncture, but the tyres are still in very good condition. Tread wear has also been limited over the 600-700km of testing on rough roads and even the odd gravel trail, with the wear indicators looking still relatively fresh and pristine.

What most impressed me about these tyres though is how supple there are relative to the Gators, and even compared to some tubeless competitors that can be run at lower pressures. They are slightly more jarring over rough surfaces than some, namely the Pirelli Cinturato Velo, but I was running those at 5-10 PSI lower, so that’s to be expected. Those tyres also came up even wider in the same advertised size.

The only area where these tyres are not quite so effective is wet weather grip when out of the saddle climbing up steep inclines. Frankly this is an area where most tyres struggle save for race tyres in warmer conditions. When you balance up the performance metrics with where these tyres are advertised in the competitive market, overall they punch above their weight. They’re not the lightest, but that’s to be expected with this level of protection, and the size range is not the broadest, but they are admittedly well in need of an update to being tubeless and cover 35-40mm sizes.

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Value

The curse of this pretty impressive performance for a four seasons tyre that rolls pretty well, while being close to bomb proof, is the price. Clincher tyres are generally cheaper than tubeless options, looking at the likes of the Goodyear Eagle Sport and Gator Hardshell. The GP 4 Seasons however are up there with some higher end race tyre offerings. They exceed the price of the new Specialized S-Works Turbo tyres, and beat the Pirelli Cinturato Velo by £5.

There are more expensive rugged offerings, such as the Continental GP5000 AS TR, but they are exceptionally fast rolling to the point where they beat several race day tyre offerings. What impresses me about the GP 4 Seasons is that the performance in and of itself is solid. I could happily use these tyres for faster paced group rides without worrying. I would not say that about the Gatorskin Hardshell tyres. But when you consider the durability and puncture protection, that performance becomes all the more impressive given the relative performance of similarly durable tyres.

These would by no means be my choice for most racing situations, but I admittedly did use them in the Cicle Classic UCI race back in 2018. For those that don’t know, this is a road race, but spends a good amount of time on field tracks around Melton Mowbray, so resilience is key there. I suffered no punctures, instead I crashed into a hedge out of the lead group, but the tyres performed admirably.

This does also highlight though that these tyres are somewhat in need of an update. Tubeless would make them more resilient to punctures overall, and likely improve the suppleness and rolling resistance further. Wider tyre sizes would also be ideal to fit into that all-road category of market with 40mm road tyre clearances. But for what they are, how rugged they are, and how they perform, these are actually a reasonably good value pair of tyres.

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Verdict

The Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons is a true four seasons tyre. The puncture resistance and durability is up there as one of the best, but whereas many tyres with this capability forfeit performance, the GP4S maintains it. They are not up to the levels of race tyres, but not so handicapped that they are out of the question for faster paced riding.

As the old adage goes, to finish first, first you must finish. With these tyres, there’s little chance of not being able to finish due to any tyre faults. However, this performance and durability combination comes at a price, and this tyre is sorely in need of an update. Tubeless compatibility and wider size offerings would make this an even more attractive prospect.