The Explorer Pro features the new Endless Edge tread block design, defining a new tyre generation for cross country and allround use. The tread pattern features reduced-profile five-cornered blocks in variable orientation, extending low onto the sidewall area for outstanding cornering control. The ExplorerPro boasts an extremely low weight and fine casing for smooth traction on roots and stones. Also available as ExplorerPro Dual and ExplorerProTection. size: 2.1
Submitted by
BDS
a Weekend Warrior
from Frederick, MD
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2009
Strengths: In the beginning it had great traction.
Weaknesses: The nobs wore down very fast. I don't ride nearly as much as I like so my tires last usually 2-3 years. These wore down within 9 months and started to have nobs break off. They then started to crack down the middle.
Bottom Line:
I really wanted to like these tires and got a great deal on them, but they didn't live up to my expectations.
Submitted by
Malamute
a Cross Country Rider
from belgium
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2009
Strengths: Only used it up front
Cornering is amazing, great braking power
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
I only used this tire up front and less then a month only, tho im going to install these again as they pleased me very well.
When cornering it didnt even think aboud comming loose, also when braking the tire doesnt hesitate for a second, the rolling ability is i cant really say alot aboud as i only used it in very muddy terain and only less then a month aswell.
the tire is an excelent choise for Xc riders who want a tire u can trust up front wich will not loose traction in any condition, tho for the ppl who are into agressive all mountain and freeride etc they are build to light imo
Similar Products Used: Mountain kings, nobbie nics, and some older types
Bike Setup: hardtail with average to descent XC setup
fox f90 fork
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Submitted by
schlim
a Cross Country Rider
from Hayden, ID
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Strengths: **Review for PROtection DuraSkin version**
Endless Edge side lugs are spectacular. 540g for a kevlar reinforced tire. Mounted dead straight in the rim with no wobbles. Ultra-fast through gravel and loose junk. Nice climbing traction from the rear. Great feeling of stability at higher speeds.
Weaknesses: Pretty hard carcass, so comfort is somewhat lacking. Rolling resistance and vibration on the road, but I'd rather have off-road bite. As usual with Conti tires, closer to a 2.0 than a 2.1.
Bottom Line:
I grabbed these on a whim from Competitive Cyclist when I saw that they were closing out the 07 version of the Explorer Protection tires with the DuraSkin kevlar weave sidewalls.
The casing seemed pretty hard once mounted on the bike, which made me concerned about wheel deflection off of the terrain. I didn't have to worry, though. These tires bite every bit as well as my Conti Vertical Pro 2.3s.
They aren't quite as soft and comfy, but they transmit the feel of the trail extraordinarily well.
Cornering grip is the most critical thing I look for in a tire, and these things have it in gobs. I cranked the bike over as hard as I could on some swoopy berms in gravel and assorted loose stuff. They didn't break loose. Occasionally I could feel the back tire skip a couple of inches before digging right back in. The same trail was ridiculously faster with the Explorers over the Panaracer Fire 2.1s. The bead is true and the tire mounted up straight on both tires the first time. The bead is tight enough that I think this could be run tubeless successfully if desired.
The Explorers are an older model tire that will probably be dropped eventually for the newer Mountain King-type Conti tires, but I'm pleased to have found them. Hopefully the newer tire designs will work as well for me.
Bike Setup: 06 Titus Racer X, DT Swiss 240s 4.2d, X.9, RS Reba Team
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Submitted by
Sebastien
a Cross Country Rider
from Metz, France
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2007
Strengths: Great cornering ability, can go tubeless, moderate weight, durable
Weaknesses: Less comfortable than other tires, rolling resistance
Bottom Line:
This review is for the Explorer Pro.
I've used this tire in many different conditions.
To make it short, this is simply the best front tire I've ever tried. It gives me confidence to ride aggressively in nearly any condition. Cornering is so secure with this tire !
As a bonus, this tires mounts easily tubeless (using "no-flats" conversion kit).
Sadly, as a rear tire, it is not that exceptionnal : although traction is great, I find there's too much rolling resistance when it's dry, and does not shed enough mud when it's very muddy.
Other point that can be a bit annoying, confort is so-so on this version, esp. compared to the Maxxis Crossmark.
However, if I had to use a single rear tire all over the year, this would be this one without a doubt.
Similar Products Used: Many from Maxxis, Michelin and Hutchinson
Bike Setup: Viper Fugitif (Softail)
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Submitted by
turtel
a Weekend Warrior
from penguin tasmania orstralia
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2007
Strengths: lite but allrite
Weaknesses: wear quickly ish
Bottom Line:
grippy in all conditions except rocky and bullwinkle conditions here in taz country. work very well in dry conditions eg SA. handle mud pretty good but struggle a little in rock/gravel. all up the dogs bollocks as long as there isn't too many baby heads. LITE BUT ORLRITE.
Similar Products Used: michelin ritchey specialised kenda et al--ive got a migrain just thinking about it
Bike Setup: stumpy pro etc
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Submitted by
Ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from Indianapolis, IN
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2007
Strengths: durability, fair performance in tech sections, relatively fast.
Weaknesses: terrible cornering and breaking performance.
Bottom Line:
I ran these tires for about a full year hoping I'd find some medium ground with them. I experimented quite a bit with different PSI's, but I could never find a setting where these tires would give a consistent performance.
Overall, they perform OK in rocky and rooty sections and they aren't too bad while climbing. In all fairness, I never had a moment where they lost traction on a climb. However, all confidence is lost once you hit the twists and turns of the trail as these tires really want to squirm away from you once you start to lean the bike over.
I'd look elsewhere for an all-around XC tire. Try the Crossmark. I've been very happy with them since switching over.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Flyweight, Hutchinson
Bike Setup: Carbon Sliverback Michigan. Full XT, Manitou Black fork
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Submitted by
Mike Blitz
a Cross Country Rider
from WB, MI USA
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2006
Strengths: Great traction in all conditions. Extremely durable.
Weaknesses: None worth time to mention
Bottom Line:
Had same tires on previous bike. Replaced stock tires with new Cont's when tread on OAM tires needed replacements. As you can see from above set up, I always upgrade when OAM needs to be replaced.
Bike Setup: Stumpy Comp, upgrades - Chris King with DT Swiss fr, XT with 717 rear, King head, Thompson stem and post. Avid ultim rim brakes, XT crank, Bontrager racer X carbon bars. Stock - XTR rear, LX front, FX 80.
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Submitted by
Mike Blitz
a Cross Country Rider
from WB, MI USA
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2006
Strengths: Great traction in all conditions. Extremely durable.
Weaknesses: None worth time to mention
Bottom Line:
Had same tires on previous bike. Replaced stock tires with new Cont's when tread on OAM tires needed replacements. As you can see from above set up, I always upgrade when OAM needs to be replaced.
Bike Setup: Stumpy Comp, upgrades - Chris King with DT Swiss fr, XT with 717 rear, King head, Thompson stem and post. Avid ultim rim brakes, XT crank, Bontrager racer X carbon bars. Stock - XTR rear, LX front, FX 80.
This really feels like tire nirvanna to me. Light, aggressive, quick. Everyone is sooooo enamored with the VerticalPro model, you can pick them up for a steal almost anywhere.
Is not as lethargic as the Spider felt, as quick as the maxxis but much more ability to handle corners.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Hi-Roller, Hutch. Spider, IRC Mythos, Bonti Jones
Bike Setup: 98 DBR v-link
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Submitted by
Daniel O' Brien
a Cross Country Rider
from England
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2006
Strengths: Low weight. Rolling resistance.
Weaknesses: Shredded centre nobs after four rides. No grip on loose descents.
Bottom Line:
The centre nobs on these tyres are shredded after just four rides. They lock up on ANY loose/rocky desecents and this shreds the lugs. Don't buy these if you want to do any form of mildly aggressive downhill riding. I have contacted Continental to complain.
Submitted by
Nizar Kailani
a Cross Country Rider
from Arcadia, CA
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2006
Strengths: Amazing traction, low resistance, It feels like it has no knobs yet it's glued to the trail on turns, amazing I do not think I will ever buy anything else
Weaknesses: short life, high price
Bottom Line:
If you can get a deal on a pair then they are the bes tire you can buy
Similar Products Used: Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Maxxis Hansventure, WTB
Bike Setup: Marin Eastpeak w/ XTR
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Submitted by
Al Osorio
a Cross Country Rider
from Zurich, Switzerland
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2006
Strengths: Great value if you grab them with a discount. Perfect tourer for all conditions unless its a "Mud Fest". Low rolling resistance and very good weight. (Kevlar)Great all-a-rounder.
Weaknesses: A little expensive if you don't get a % off the standard price. Start to flat out easier towards end of treadlife but so do most. The knobs are a little shallow for the real muddy stuff and you should not ride with high pressure because you lose a lot of traction the back tire especially. (but who is riding hard pressure these days)
Bottom Line:
Just wanted to say something good about these tires that are a must buy when on sale for tourers looking for quick tires that can hold up to a beating, and not have knobs that stick out like tumors.
Similar Products Used: Little Albert Schwalbe-Better for mud, but then you add noticeable rolling resistance with the Alberts. It's a "climate" choice between the Explorer and Albert.
Bike Setup: XT/Marzochi/hardtail/XTR V-brakes
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Submitted by
Mads Meldgaard
a Cross Country Rider
from Aarhus
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2006
Strengths: Superb cornering in all conditions, 460 grams (Supersonic), predictable handling
Weaknesses: Rolling resistance not equal to the best racing tires out there, which however comes for great traction in technical and/or wet conditions
Bottom Line:
My tire philosophy is that to ride fast you most know your front tire in all conditions. Better to use the same tire in all conditions and thereby getting a very good feling for the "washout-limit". The Explorer is an excellent front tire for all conditions. I only change to another front tire (Racing Ralph) for Marathon in dry weather.
Similar Products Used: Scwalbe Racing Ralph, Conti twister, Ritchey Speedmax, Ritchey Mud Max and several others
Bike Setup: XC-Fully
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Submitted by
Jo Dirt
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2006
Strengths: nice light weight decent all round grip on harder surfaces fast rolling 2.1 allows a little extra cushion
Weaknesses: washes out big time going downhill fast not so good in loamy or soft soils prone to pinch flats
Bottom Line:
These tires are a reasonable trade-off between absolute traction and ligh weight. Compared to my perennial fave, the panaracer fire xc pro, these simply do not offer the same grip as the panaracers. The conti's lose their cornering grip in any loose conditions and wash out badly. On the other hand, if you ride 90% of the time on hardpack or slickrock, these grip extremely well on such harder surfaces. Also, the explorers do shed mud reasonably well, with their simple, shallow and tapered tread block pattern -far better than the fire xc's do.
Overall, a good tire for those looking for a little extra floatation or riders who typically find themselves on harder surfaces. A fair tread for racers looking for more grip than the average semi-slick offers as well. These tires occupy an odd niche: not in the superlight category like the maxxis flyweight or twister supersonic, and not in the all-mountian thrasher category, like the panaracers, making them a bit of an orphan.
Sadly, they do disappoint in their ability to resist (or rather not resist) pinch flats as well. The casing is quite thin (keeping the weight down)and thus does very little to keep the rim from coming into hard contact with the tube. The required higher pressures one must run to keep pinch flats at bay compromises the tire's ability to conform to the soil as well, futher reducing their overall grip and cushioning. The fire xc is great in this respect, resisting pinch flats to an almost absurd degree, mushing themselves into any terrain to find traction -but the fire xc's weigh almost 70g more per tire.
For their cobination of surprisingly light weight (515g), fast rolling, good mud clearing and fair grip, I'll give them a 4/5 all round.
