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Continental’s Contact tires are designed with speed, safety and comfort in mind. By speed, of course, they mean low rolling resistance for commuting and touring—not racing—as the Contact tires aren’t availabe in widths less than 28c. The Contact tires feature Continental’s puncture resistant SafetySystem—a blend of nylon and Kevlar fused between the casing and the tread. Of course, being a wire bead tire, these are far from light. But you’re not buying these tires because you’re a weight weenie.
I’m happy to report that the Contact tires do exactly what they promise. On the open road, they’re reasonably zippy, especially for such a high-volume tire. True to form, the 32′s are comfortable as the day is long, soaking up road vibration and easily handling the occasional bumpy off-road venture. And I’ve had remarkable luck with their puncture protection, as I’ve yet to experience a single flat tire, despite my tendency to head down the alleys with the most broken glass. I’ve hit some pretty square edged obstacles with these and not suffered any pinch flats, either.
The original tread pattern on the OEM model (tested) has since been modified and replaced by the Contact II pattern which is depicted on their website. I would expect the performance to be almost indistinguishable.
Available in a variety of sizes to fit everything from folding bikes to mountain bikes to road bikes, the Contact tires retail for approximately $35 each. Visit www.conti-bicycletires.com for more info.
Great review of a great tire. Will you be doing a 2011 Steel Road Bikes post sometime this year?
I’ve 42c City Contacts on my Surly Long Haul Trucker.
They did over 2,000 puncture free miles before a nail went through the rear one.
Great tires.
I have the 26″ on my LHT running strong with about 2000 miles on mine. 1 or 2 punctures from hair thin peaces of metal but the were easily taken out. I ride over tons of glass in the road every day, the roads are not kept clean. Still riding them and don’t think I will go with anything else for a long time. I plan to get some for my girlfriends bike after her tires go bad. I would recommend these tires to everyone.
Great tire
To be honest, I’m not a big fan of these. They came in 38 mm width on my Kona Dew and weighed in at 600 grams each! OK for a cheap tyre, but for a little bit more you can have GP4000s and save almost a kilo of rolling resistance and still have one of the most durable tyres on the road.