TLDR Grand Prix 5000 TL 28s fit on my Canyon Aeroad with a few millimeters of clearance.
Last week I converted my Canyon Aeroad I bought in June 2019 to tubeless. I have the CF SL Disc 8.0 Di2 model with DT Swiss ARC 1400 Dicut 62mm wheels. I went with Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL 28 tires. I couldn’t find any information as to whether the tires would fit on the bike so I’m writing this in case you come across it while thinking about converting an Aeroad to tubeless using these tires.
The wheels came with the rim tape pre-installed so I didn’t have to fuss with that.
The first hurdle was getting the correct valves. My wheels came with 32mm valves and it was quickly apparent those weren’t going to get the job done on the 62mm wheels. I sent an email to [email protected] and they put the correct valves in the mail the following day, no questions asked.
Once I had the correct valves, they didn’t quite fit. I took a drill bit (not sure which size) and bored out the hole in the wheel by hand–no power tools needed. That let the valve get fully seated and fit nice and snug.
Next, the hard part: getting the tires on the wheels. As anyone who has attempted this will tell you, mounting the tires is no easy feat. It was my first time so I’m no expert. I found that getting them on as far as possible and then waiting overnight seemed to help. Maybe the time on the wheel stretched the tires or maybe it just gave my finger pads a chance to recover. Either way, they’re on there now after a lot of yelling, force, and frustration, and a little blood. I’m already dreading getting a flat and having to remove and reinstall the tires on the side of a road. Hopefully it happens close to home.
Once the tires were on, I added some air using a regular floor pump. I don’t have a compressor or one of the fancy pumps that lets air out in a burst. Fortunately, the tire beads caught the wheels right away and held the air. I removed the valve cores, added a little more than an ounce of Orange Seal Endurance, returned the cores, and pumped up the tires. Based on what I read on some sites, I filled both wheels to 85psi.
My first ride on the new wheels felt great. The ride is noticeably smoother and I’m hoping for fewer flats.
Special thanks to Diego and James for the encouragement to go tubeless.
