They must be using up all the old labels	A tyre, folded

‘Tis the season of 25c tyres, for those who like the sensation of bomb-proof, pothole swallowing ride comfort they provide. Unfortunately, supplies of some of the more popular lightweight 25c rubber are short, with high scoring rubber from our 25c grouptest here hard to come by.

One of them, however, is not only readily available but has received something of an upgrade. It seems that all Continental’s GP4000 tyres with black tread now have the Black Chili tread compound, including the 25c version. Black Chili is made with carbon filler that has been milled down to around one tenth the particle size of previous filler, resulting in a compound that is gripper, faster rolling and longer lasting. It debuted in the GP4000S, which was only made in size 700x23c, and has since migrated to other performance models including the Supersonic, Attack and Force.

Note that the black colour of the carbon filler precludes its use in coloured tyres. Conti tyres with a tread colour other that black continue to use the ASC compound. Also, most black Conti tyres still continue to use a traditional carbon/natural rubber tread on cost grouns.

In a welcome but confusing move, Conti has given all GP4000 sizes the Black Chili compound while leaving the tyre name and identifying label unchanged(except, of course, the 4000S). The ASC logo denoting the old Activated Silica Compound is still present.
The only way to identify the Black Chili tyres (in case there are any old stock left)is by looking at the box packaging, which has the Black Chili red triangle. At some point Conti will presumably update the tyre logo and even the name to 4000S across the size range.