First, I want to say that I really like the Continental GP5000 TL. It’s a fantastic tubeless tire. Fast, puncture resistant, durable; sure some of them were a little snug, but nothing crazy. But I recently picked up a couple GP5000 S TR, because it should be just as awesome, and Conti, we need to talk.
It shouldn’t be hard to get the first side on, the challenge should only come from the second. But with these tires, I had to break out all the tricks to even get started. Seriously, what is going on? When I put the Corsa Speeds on these rims, which are also TLR, they went right on. No cursing, no thoughts of violence, no desire to put the !@#$%^&* tire through a wall, or wishing for the creation of a special place in hell for whoever designed it. They just went on. Like a good tire should.
Is it the hookless compatibly? Is it poor quality control? A desire to stick it to the rim OEMS? WHY CONTI!?! WHY? Why do you make us suffer like this? Breathe…
Seriously though. There is a level of difficulty with the Continental GP5000 S TR that I don’t understand. It’s going to be a real challenge to sort out a puncture road side. I spent over and hour installing these, and it makes me question whether it’s worth it to buy another pair. I’m not going to have a tub of soapy water and a damp rag 50 miles from home.
Hopefully they stretch out. I have them sitting at 100PSI right now and will keep that going for a while to see what happens. On the plus side, they are holding 100PSI without sealant; which given how tight they are on the rim totally makes sense.
The whole reason I started down this path was because I wanted to see how wide the 25c version of the GP5000 S TR would be on my Light Bicycle rims. 25.2 on the front (Falcon R88), 25.4 on the rear (UFO-C21).
My concern was that it was going to be a little oversized with the front wheel, but both appear to be fine (105% rule) given the profiles of the rim.
Time to go ice the matching blisters on my index fingers…
Hmm that doesn’t sound good. I’m holding a pair of Conti GP5000 32mm (the tubed version) to swap on a gravel bike (don’t ask) but I’m not anticipating any issues.
After I wear those out, however, I was hoping to get the tubeless version but I’ll have to see if they managed to fix this problem.
I suspect it boils down to the lack of standards around wheel and tire sizing that the manufacturers haven’t yet settled on. The way it’s been dragging on for years, there’s a good chance they won’t figure it out very soon.
I’ve heard that the larger volume GP5000 S TR tires aren’t as tight as the 25mm. If that is true, it would make sense. They aren’t going to be run at as high a pressure, and there’s more material to flex with when yanking it on the rim.
There definitely is a problem with lack of consistent sizing with rims and tires. Someone should do something :).