Continental Grand Prix Attack and Force tyres

If it ain't broke don't fix it... If you are restricted to narrower tyre sizes then the Continental Grand Prix Force and Attack III tyre set is still one of the best you can fit to your bike, as long as you aren't fussed about running tubeless technology.

The Attack and Force tyre combination has been around for a while now; in fact we last reviewed them back in 2015. Since then the Attack has grown in size from 22mm wide to 23mm and the price has risen, but not much else has changed really. 

> Buy these online here

If you haven't come across these tyres before, I'll give you a little recap.

The Attack is the front tyre, narrower than the rear for aerodynamics, and the 25mm Force is fitted to the rear. Continental says its larger contact area reduces wear and gives better traction. Let's be honest, though, it's going to be minimal.

A lot of tyres we get sent to test are around the 25mm and 28mm mark as most brands have dropped anything smaller from their ranges, and the majority of test bikes turn up with at least 28mm tyres fitted because of the adoption of disc brakes, which allows larger tyre clearances.

If you are riding a bike with rim brakes you're limited to 28mm by the dual-pivot callipers, but it often comes down to tight race bike frame clearances, or if you use mudguards.

My Kinesis T2 is used through the winter and wet days so has mudguards permanently fitted, which allows me a 25mm tyre maximum, and even that doesn't leave masses of room underneath the fork crown area. The 23mm Attack fits a treat, reducing the risk of things getting stuck between guard and tyre.

When I mentioned to anyone that I was testing these tyres, the first thing they'd do was wince about their narrowness compared with today's standards, but I really don't see the issue. Even with 100psi front and rear I find the construction and compound of the Attack/Force puts them well within the suppleness limits of a race tyre. Not once did I find the ride uncomfortable or wish for a bigger air chamber.

The BlackChili compound is found on many of Continental's tyres. It's grippy in both the wet and dry while giving a great level of feedback. Rolling resistance is great too.

For puncture resistance you get a Vectran breaker layer, which is a liquid-crystalline polymer which, when spun and processed into a multi-strand thread, has great tear resistance for its weight according to Conti.

I've had no punctures so far and the tyres are standing up well to the grit-strewn backlanes I've been spending most of my rides on. It's still early days on these specific tyres but I have ridden various sets of these before and got decent mileage out of them before they started to show any wear.

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If you are wanting to run your setup tubeless then you'll need to look elsewhere, as the Force/Attack combo is clincher only.

I found fitting them to rims easy without the need to resort to tyre levers.

> How to mend a puncture

Priced at £104.95 for the set, they aren't cheap for standard clincher tyres. In fact, it's cheaper to buy them individually if Continental's UK website is to go anything by, at £49.95 per tyre.

That does put them at £10 a tyre less than Continental's own GP5000 Transparent clincher, though.

I was impressed with the 25mm Panaracer Race D Evo 4 clincher tyres, finding they offered great grip and were fast rolling. They are cheaper at £39.99 a tyre.

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Pirelli's P-Zero Road clincher is available in a 24mm width as well as 26mm and 28mm. Matt wasn't overly impressed with its wet weather grip, but it is cheaper again at £37.99.

The Michelin Power Road Tyre is available in a 23mm width (plus 25mm and 28mm) and David was certainly impressed when he tested them; they will now set you back £46.99 each.

Conclusion

As a pair of tyres the Force and Attack IIIs aren't the cheapest out there, but I'm going to say that they are some of the best performers across the board. The BlackChili compound is grippy and rolls well in all sorts of conditions, and the overall suppleness belies their width.

Verdict

A supple, grippy and fast-rolling set of tyres ideal if your bike has limited clearance