Submitted by
Gazzr
a Weekend Warrior
from Bathurst, NSW, AUS
Date Reviewed: September 10, 2002
Strengths: Excellent rolling ability. The tires are very skinny at 1.6 and are brilliant on the road.
Seem long wearing. I've used these for commuting mostly but have also taken them on the local track and it hasn't worn at all. It takes the ruff rocky hard stuff well.
Grip well. It slides on the slick area but once it hits the knobs if leaning the tire pulls up well. I've only used the tire on the rear.
Weaknesses: The tire slides a lot on up-hill dirt stretches.
Bottom Line:
Brilliant, if you need quick rolling tires that can handle lite dirt. Great for communting and a good way to save your knobly from being unecessarily eaten up by the bitumen.
Strengths: very sturdy thick tread cornering nobs are excellent
Weaknesses: no weaknesses for what the tires meant for
Bottom Line:
these are great tires for comuting or trainning on a mountainbike. i've put about 700 kms on them and they look brand new. They don't have the greatest stopping ability, but what can you expect from a slick. i also road these in a cyclocross where there was an of camber turn and a roots section, but was able to handle that.
Strengths: Very good construction. Excellent quality.
Weaknesses: This tire performs horribly on wet surfaces. I had my front tire sliding out on almost every corner when the streets are wet. REALLY REALLY NEEDS IMPROVEMENT FOR WET SURFACE RIDING.
Bottom Line:
Good for dry surfaces. Good construction. Don't EVEN think about this tire if you're on the slightest of wet pavements. YOU WILL BE LET DOWN.
Similar Products Used: Trek Invert 2.. used for 10+ years for commuting. Excellent wet/dry road & packed trail riding. (I dumped the Goliaths and went back to these)
Bike Setup: Cannondale M700 - retired as a commuter bike, tho I'm sure I can kick some ass with it again up in Humboldt, like in the old days.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
james
a Cross Country Rider
from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2001
Strengths: Fast, light, longwearing. I got these on my bike in 1993, that's right, eight years ago, and they're still going strong. They look a bit worn, but don't flat out and still easily provide all my commuting needs.
Weaknesses: The side knobs aren't really up to much. If you're relying on them to save you on a corner, you're probably too far gone.
Bottom Line:
These tires aren't off road tires, obviously, but as commuter tires for a mountain biker, they're perfect. They are indestructible!
I've had this bike for 7 years now and have been using it for longish (40 miles+) weekend rides and to commute to work on occasion. In the last couple of years I've increased my commute average to about 80-90% of the time and found that the knobs were eating up all of the energy I put into the crank. I looked at the reviews, talked to the guys at BikeWorld and determined that the Conti Golaiths were the way to go. It took some getting used to because they were skinny and weak looking compared to the knobs but I was completely sold after the first full ride to work. Prior to my purchase I was looking at buying a road bike to deal with the commute and my lack of dirt time. With these tires I don't need the road bike and I can still hang on to old faithful. In a nutshell, these tires rock! I've bought three additional pairs to give as gifts to dad, my father in law and an old bud. If mine ever wear out (they have approx. 4,000 miles on them) I'll definitely buy again.
Bike Setup: '95 Cannondale M600, STX Serfas saddle and dual panniers...In the process of gearing down closer to a road bike (happy medium)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gordon Farkas
a Racer
from Melbourne VIC Australia
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2001
Strengths: fast at max pressure loooooooooooong wearing dark sidewall stays looking good when exposed to grease and liquid debris good straight line grip
Weaknesses: crap cornering - transition from slik to knobs is way too sudden/unpredictable could be lighter
Bottom Line:
tough tyre, durable, fairly fast - BIG lack of confidence in cornering
Bike Setup: Fisher Supercaliber, full XTR, big gears, lots of light stuff - no expense spared
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chad Therrien
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis, CA USA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2000
Strengths: Awesome on dry roads. Adequate on medium and hard pack. Long wearing.
Weaknesses: Sketchy in the wet. Sinks in the soft stuff. Susceptible to road hazards.
Bottom Line:
I got these tires in the heat of the summer and at that time I was able to ride to work and around Davis very effectively. These tires allowed me to take corners at speed and in a full-lean, with some very predictable sliding action.
I was even quite confident tearing across some maintained dirt roads around campus. Only when the dreaded 'punture vines' became productive did I run into a problem. This tire is made to be fairly light and run at high-pressure.
The punture vines gave me flats daily until I was introduced to Green Slime. Without this material, I would not have been able to ride these tires through the fall in the places I go.
I do take some off-road excursions and the road hazards there can include broken glass and 1" puncture vine spikes. But once I had slimed up my tubes, all I needed to do was pluck out the offending spike and continue riding. The Slime would seal the tire as I rode.
I've also taken this tire up a very long and winding canyon. It is a paved road that is often single-lane. It climbs 2300' during a 5 mile ride. On the return trip down, I kept the bike in the big ring and pumped until I was at top speed. These tires instilled great confidence at speed and allowed me to lay the bike right down for cornering.
I was very impressed with the consistency of the grip through a turn. In the rain however, this can leave one scrambling for control. I took a flat 90º turn in the wet that normally wouldn't have been too hairy, but there was an invisible metal panel on the road and for 3', the front and rear slid like on ice. Once back on the pavement all was well, but for a moment it reminded me of ice-riding back in the Canadian winters.
I would say the 'aggressive' part of the tire: the knobs on the sidewall, are too far up to provide any increased traction in the soft, except in extreme situations. I rode my bike over a ledge, rolling pretty fast, but missing the path. As I turned sharply back up the incline to maintain my course, I was glad for the sidewall knobs. But other than that one instance, they are largely untouched.
This causes them to sink up to the sidewalls on any soft material. I often cut through a redwood grove with very soft underbrush. While I am there, control is minimal and climbing is impossible.
Bike Setup: '00 Fisher Mamba stock, excluding these tires.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Andrew Wright
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz, CA, US
Date Reviewed: October 31, 2000
Strengths: Much faster than my knobbies, on and off road
Weaknesses: Slide out on loose stuff off road Can't grip adequately going sideways to slopes off road Sketchy cornering at speed (round 25 mph) on road
Bottom Line:
I bought semislicks instead of full slicks because I was a little nervous to go to a full slick, having never ridden one before, but I wasn't getting in any offroading and wanted the lower rolling resistance. I had some free time at school one day so I ditched my bags, let a lot of air of the tires (I was riding them at 75 psi for streets) and did some fire roads, and they performed pretty well. I later tried running a Goliath on my rear and a knobby on the front and doing some more difficult singletrack and my rear wheel didn't stay under me very well. I'm selling them to my housemate later today because I just bought a set of 1" slicks, but they're a really excellent tire. He wants them so he can do his commute (same as mine) and some light off-roading without changing tires the way I do. If you want them for commuting and off-roading both, they're an excellent tire unless you want to do some singletrack or sand or mud, but those want a real knobby anyway.
Excellent tire. Very fast rolling and versatile. Of course it's a compromise, but that's what semi-slick means, right?
Strengths: Smooth, silent, comfortable road riding; good construction.
Weaknesses: Probably not what you want for serious riding in the rough. But hey, it's a semislick so it does what it's supposed to.
Bottom Line:
I recently purchased sets of Specialized Topo Semislicks and Continental Goliaths; this is both a general review my experience with the Goliaths as well as a direct comparison between the two.
Most of my riding is commuting on roads and developed bike paths, with some recreational trail riding on the hard packed and/or sandy paths on the bluffs between my house and the beach. I was interested in replacing my knobbies with semi-slicks to improve my commuting performance without giving up traction on my short, enjoyable trail rides.
Initially I tried the Topo Semislicks for a couple of weeks. They were not bad, but their large side knobs did not inspire confidence when cornering on pavement; I found the transition between the slick area and the knobs to be abrupt and disconcerting. In the dirt they were great. Overall, I found these to be good tires, but not quite what I was looking form.
I then switched to the Goliaths. Much better! Smoother ride on the asphalt, perhaps not as great a grip in the dirt as the Topos, but overall much better for my purposes. They are an absolute pleasure to ride on the road, and provide plenty of control for my dirt usage. Keep them inflated to 60 Lbs. for the smoothest, most silent of rides.
As far as I am concerned, the Goliaths are the answer. I will buy them again if these ever wear out, which looks to be a long time from now based on their construction. No flats so far either. This is the best $55 enhancement I've made to my bike.
Submitted by
Kevin
a Weekend Warrior
from Winnipeg
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2000
Strengths: looks good tough (171 threads per inch) genuine rubber compound
Weaknesses: weight side knobbies could be a little bigger (might help with the off-road traction)
Bottom Line:
I've had these tires for about 2 years now and they still look brand new. THESE TIRES ARE TOUGH. I've ridden thru glass and lots of other road-crap and there isn't even a mark on these tires. The thread count makes 'em tough, but it also makes 'em heavy ... Oh well ... If I'm biking to work or if I'm out in the bush, then I'd rather have a tire that's reliable than one that's light. And yah, they are damn scary on wet grass, but a knobby is damn scary on wet pavement, and grass is softer than pavement. If anybody buys these thinking that they'll have good off-road grip, then they need to give their head a shake. Can we say "SEMI-SLICK" boys and girls? Because of the amount of rubber contacting the road, the grip is fantastic and the braking power is incredible (when it's dry) Grip/braking when wet is not too bad.
Submitted by
Kyle
a Weekend Warrior
from San Antonio, Texas
Date Reviewed: December 7, 1999
Strengths: Low rolling resistance on pavement
Weaknesses: NO traction on off road climbs
Bottom Line:
These tires are great for commuting or road riding, which is why I bought them. Off road they are ok, until you need to climb or brake. The only problem I have with them is that I seem to get more flats than I should. I give them a good rating. They do what they are designed to do and seem to last.
Bike Setup: Diamond Back Mean Streak (Yes it is an old tank, but still works)
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike Poplawski
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, BC
Date Reviewed: November 24, 1999
Weaknesses: You pay for reliability and durability with weight.
Bottom Line:
These tires were exactly what I needed at the time-a solid foundation for commuting. I rarely flatted or skidded in the wet. If you are limited to a mountain bike for commuting, consider these tires--your ride will be smooth and comfortable, and you will still have enough grip for dry trails.
I own a cannondale sv500; i've been using it on the road as my main transport vehicle, and i wanted more traction than the miethos were giving me , so i went to the bike store and explained my delema. The salesman recommended me the conti goliath, well the next day i bought them .... wooohoooo this is the nicest tire if you're gonna ride on the road with a mtb . i wouldn't recommend them for trail but for road use, definatly.
Submitted by
Kinny
a Cross-Country Rider
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 4, 1999
Strengths: Very low rolling resistance Whisper quiet Fair traction off-road
Weaknesses: Stiff side-walls - need low pressures off road Low grip on road - rear end breaks too easy on lock-up - caused a major crash!
Bottom Line:
The Goliath is way more value-for-money than the Speedmax I used before - though it is less capable off-road. However it is better on-road - until you reach the limit of adhesion - or when you lock a wheel & the rear end breaks far too quickly - which was what caused my huge crash! There is also less grip off-road, traction is a problem with any mud - but still surprisingly good considering it's basically a slick. I think I'd buy it again for it's excellent on-road ability - that it is whisper quiet! It also looks like being very long-lasting, after 1500km my Speedmax was destroyed but the Goliath looks like it can go 3000km without any problems.
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