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Continental
Town and Country
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Submitted by
HaveBlue
a Cross Country Rider
from Centennial, CO
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Red Mesa Loop | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance
Longevity
Smooth
Shock absorbing | | Weaknesses: | Prone to flats | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Trek 8500 hardtail and Sepcialized FSR XC | | Bottom Line: | I've used Continental's Town & Country on both my bikes. They are a great tire for commuting on pavement only. However, because they are a very flexible tire, they are prone to flats. If you decide to get these tires, I would strongly recommend a thicker thorn resistant tire AND tire liners. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BeaterBoy
a Cross Country Rider
from San francisco, CA, usa
Date Reviewed: February 21, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | n/a | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$36.00 | | Purchased At: | REI, Performance(?) | | Strengths: | Fairly flat resistant, rolls along fairly easily, absorbs shocks pretty well, can handle bad pavement, some lack of pavement pretty well | | Weaknesses: | Fairly flat prone, heavy, noisy | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Hemisphere, some skinnier slicker ones like Gaux Street Runner...-not 1/2 as cozy... | | Bike Setup: | several year old Kona Hahanna which has seen better days w/a topeak rack/racktrunk which i swap back and forth from my roadie-bike, Shimano spd pedals w/cages for street shoes, upgrade front wheel, Cateye computer and Nite rider l.e.d.Faz(?) light which helps to be seen while the Cygolite halogen 16 watt on my 'hail-mary-well-met' also swaps to what bike i' riding...w/the drivers here in The City one needs a lot of firepower to try to warn some of these mindless/homicidal jerks off... | | Bottom Line: | i feel i gave these guys a thorough try...not very happy...feel at the price i paid...-well- i'd've felt better if i hadn't paid quite that much...i don't know why this happened or whether it was the tires fault or not but when it was only on the front i took a sharp turn and the bike went out from under me...since then a few flats on the rear one and i thought due to all of that rubber i thought i could indulge myself in a bit of skidding which like to do as i ride w/a bit of 'attitude' but 'no' -appaently not ok as after only a couple of months of use i've got 'cords' showing thru' the rubber(did i mention i'm 'disabled' and on a very low income??)
Thinking of trying Michelins city tire w/that cool reflective strip..:-)
Have had a MUCH better experience w/the 'hand made in Germany' Conti Gatorskins(?) i use on the road bike tho'they are a more expensive model...btw: i don't know what a cross country rider is...i only ride in the city or outlying regions but always on pavement.(weekend warrior doesn't really describe me either as i ride most days as it's my only(pretty much)transportation... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sieveboy
a Weekend Warrior
from Mass
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Stewart | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Smooth | | Weaknesses: | Indian Outsourcing has affected quality, tough to get on rim | | Similar Products Used: | Old German Contis | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F700 | | Bottom Line: | The gumwall is gone, and the tire is gard as hell to get on the rim. The old T/C could be changed almost by hand, now it takes at least two tire levers to mount. So roadside flat repair is a super beatch. Since the tires and semi-slick this is a real issue. Steer clear of these pieces of crap. I would have gladly put up with a price increase to keep the quality up. Too bad. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, TX
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$27.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Fast rolling, round-shock absorbing profile, practical inverted tread design great for street occasional trail | | Weaknesses: | Since Conti switched production of this tire to India quality has dropped DRAMTICALLY! | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Xenith, WTB Slickasaurus, Kenda slicks, Bontrager slicks | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Routh 66 frame custom build-up with flip-flop ENO Eccentric fixed/free rear hub | | Bottom Line: | This tire used to be my go-to tire for city bikes when it was "Hand Made in Germany". The quality was exceptional all the way through, and i'd still have a great set if i hadn't sold them to a buddy a while back. I bought some new ones expecting that quality, but noticed to my chagin "Made in India"!!! Sure enough quality has taken a hit. Lower quality, softer rubber compund. Inconsistency in product as well. One was a NIGHTMARE to get on the rim, while the other i got on with my bare hands no sweat, both on THE SAME RIM!! Conti *ucked up big time on one of their (formerly) best products. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Zeke
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Got them cheap. Rolls smooth and fast. Easy to mount, great thing when you get flats... | | Weaknesses: | Not very durable | | Similar Products Used: | Stock knobbies on a Rockhopper | | Bike Setup: | '99 Rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | I've had these for about a year now and I still love flying down the lake front bike path on the weekends with these tires. I usually ride them on 60psi but I got tired of feeling every little bump I come across. So I dropped them to 30psi for a bit more cushion at the cost of a little speed.
My main complaint is the tire's puncture resistance, or lack thereof. I've had 4 flats due to broken glass going right through the center of the tire, the smallest shard being about 3/16 of an inch. The good thing is now I'm faster at fixing flats... great... | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Morgan
a Cross Country Rider
from Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Gooseberry Mesa, Kokopelli | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance, highly puncture resistant, good shock absorption at lower pressures | | Weaknesses: | A bit heavy | | Similar Products Used: | Various MTB slicks whose names I cannot remember | | Bike Setup: | Commuter set up based on a Gary Fisher Tassajara with Currie Electric bike kit, with rigid front fork (previously, a Fat Chance Yo Eddy, but that's being restored for non-commute duty). | | Bottom Line: | Great commute or touring tire. I've had these tires for years, and I commute 5 days per week, 15 miles per day. I cross gravel, glass, potholes, manholes, railroad tracks, and so on. I've only had three flats in five years of use, and two of them were due to broken spokes (due to the torque of the electric bike kit). So really, one flat that can be blamed on the tire, for 1000's of miles of abusive riding, has me very impressed. Also, with the electric kit on there, the bike is HEAVY, 50+ lbs. Yet I still hop curbs with it, and I've never had a dinged rim or flat. The tires withstand abuse.
I've also used the tires quite a bit on some of the local gravel recreational trails, and they are the perfect tire for that kind of use. They are fat enough so that they don't sink in the soft spots, but smooth enough that I can keep more speed than with knobbies.
As bomber as they are, these tires are also fast. Even without the electric kit on the bike, I pass roadies reasonably often.
About the only bad thing I can say is that with the steel bead, they are a bit heavy. But if you're commuting or touring with an MTB, then weight is usually not the point....
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Redmond
Date Reviewed: January 3, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | lightweight and low rolling resistance. | | Weaknesses: | no puncture resistance. No traction on anything other than asphalt.
| | Similar Products Used: | Conti Grand Canyon. | | Bike Setup: | Kona Cinder Cone, no shocks, fenders and rack, light system. It has seen more road miles than dirt miles. It is my primary commuter bike. | | Bottom Line: | I used the Grand Canyon which is one of the best commuter tires ever made. I put about 14000 miles/10 years on a set and finally ditched them only because I was starting to get some dry rot cracks in the rubber. I replaced with the Town & Countrys and have been very disappointed. I only got 1 flat in 10 years with the Grand Canyons and that was from a roofing nail I failed to see on the road. I've had about 25 or so flats in 2 years with the T&C's.
By comparison I actually put more miles on my road bikes and typically only have about 2 flats/year on those.
I've alwasy been a fan of Conti tires and use them on my road bikes, but they really dropped the ball on this POS. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
revcounter
a Cross Country Rider
from foster city, ca
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | trousdale-ralston loop | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$28.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | Superb, stiff design. Unrivalled comfort matched with great high speed stability on pavement. Pretty good in sand/mud if you stay seated. Low rolling resistance. | | Weaknesses: | Out of their pavement element they cannot keep up with dedicated dirt tires. Decontented Indian-built model is not the same. Can't trust it. | | Similar Products Used: | Conti Grand Canyon | | Bike Setup: | '98 Voodoo Wanga hardtail. 48-tooth big chain ring with an XTR derailleur to reach it. Marzocchi Bomber coil-over hydraulic front shock. | | Bottom Line: | My neighborhood is basically a paved-over ski resort where it never snows. I weigh 220. The tan sidewalled German version of this tire pumped up to 53 pounds was everything I needed.
The new, black version developed a tear at the bead so that the tube gave out yesterday as I was cranking on the 48 in top gear on a long steep descent back to sea level.
The new version of this tire is inferior to its forebearer by every criteria. I have been using the model since the Grand Canyon went out of production. So I know what to look for.
Sadly Conti has ruined a great thing.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dean
a
from Milwaukee, WI USA
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | Wheel & Sprocket | | Strengths: | Pump them up to 70psi and roll like a road bike on pavement. Perfect if you ride 90% pavement like I do on my commuter bike. Long life. Easy to install. | | Weaknesses: | A couple pinch flats, but then they probably weren't meant to ride up stairs... Be careful off the pavement. | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX 830 converted to commuter bike with these tires, stiffy fork, mud guards, lights, etc.. | | Bottom Line: | I have a 10 mile commute to work that is mostly pavement, but I've found a few fun jaunts into the woods in the park along the way. I wanted a tire that would roll nice on the pavement, but not kill me on some tame off road or going up and down stairs. These really roll nice on the pavement and therefore deserve a high rating for their intended use. Off the pavement, they're generally fine on dry stuff and hard packed gravel, but you'll be slipping and sliding on anything wet and don't even think about getting up a hill if you still have them at max psi from your road riding. I've learned some new skills the hard way with these.
I just put some knobbies back on this bike to mess around on some trails this fall. I put over 1200 miles on these tires over the summer and they hardly look worn at all. They'll go back on in the spring when I'm back to 80 miles a week commuting to work. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ricky
a Weekend Warrior
from Easley, SC
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Pisgah Forest | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Great Escape | | Strengths: | Grip, very quiet, and they look cool. I don't have to wear out my good mud tires for weekday cycling. | | Weaknesses: | If I have to say something, weight? | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda and Bontrager | | Bike Setup: | Diamondback hardtail. RST front fork 120mm, Shimano XT brakes and no fear of speed | | Bottom Line: | Great STREET tire. I wouldn't use these tires other than what they were made for - the street. I bought these at a good price and perform very well. I take turns with the pedals almost scraping and it grips. Very responsive and much easier than the gummy mud tires I have. I thought they were very easy to mount. I didn't use any tools other than my hands.
Taking this tire off-road will make you want to go to church more often. It's very loose in gravel and soft sand. It feels like you're pedaling with bald tires. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Len Carter
a Weekend Warrior
from Omaha Nebraska, USA
Date Reviewed: September 8, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | none really | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | 30 local bike shop | | Strengths: | low rolling resistant, fast, easy to mount on rim | | Weaknesses: | thin sidewalls. Minimal puncture protection. I got a flat the first time I used them; There is thicker tread down the center of the tire, but in between that is thinner tread. I actually had a rose thorn go right into the thinner tread and it was flatsville. | | Similar Products Used: | Ritchey Tom Slick, Kenda Kwest, Specialized Nimbus | | Bike Setup: | Klein Attitude Comp | | Bottom Line: | These are very fast rolling tires and wide enough to handle city riding. If you are counting on fairly decent puncture protection, I would not get this tire-you will get flats.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
zeke
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago, IL, USA
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Rolls fast and smooth and silent, black sidewall | | Weaknesses: | Very scary in sand or loose gravel. But then again, that's probably not what it was intended for... | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Dirt Control/Master (came stock w/ bike) | | Bike Setup: | Mostly stock '99 Specialized Rockhopper A1 FS, Manitou FS TI | | Bottom Line: | Great tire so far. I've had them for a few weeks and I wish I had gotten them sooner. I can keep pace with most road bikes and even blow past a few of them. I haven't been this happy to ride my bike since it was brand new. Can't tell you about it's durability or its performance in hard dirt yet. I'll write a follow up later. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Tough sidewalls, fast rolling, very durable. | | Weaknesses: | Feels heavy, brown sidewalls. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized tires which came with bike. | | Bike Setup: | XC hardtail | | Bottom Line: | This tire is very durable and tough. 4yrs without a single flat tire, even over very rough terrain! Limited traction in loose stuff so care must be taken when braking hard or fast cornering. Surprisingly confident traction in wet conditions for a semi-slick. Overall, a very good pavement tire. Would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a durable semi-slick tire. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DAVID
a Weekend Warrior
from CUMMIMG , GA
Date Reviewed: June 4, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | THE GREENWAY. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Strengths: | Great tire. Very good traction and a smooth ride. Very durable, takes a long time to wear out. | | Weaknesses: | None that I've found so far and I ride them pretty hard. | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic cross riders and preformance slicks. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized mtn bike, most of the time use continental tires. Specialized Hard Rock 24 Speed 2006 | | Bottom Line: | All around the best tire I've used and I would not want to use anything else. My friend rode my bike and he went and got him a set. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a
from Frederick, MD
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Bulletproof! Great tread design/wear, smooth rolling, sticy on the corners. | | Weaknesses: | None, really-- maybe the brown sidewalls:( | | Bike Setup: | rigid GT mtb used as street tooler and commuter. | | Bottom Line: | Great tires for a reasonable price. I've rec'd these to several other people. They've been on my bike for over 2 years, not one flat, and the tread is wearing very nicely. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a
from Roswell
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | concave tread, easy to put on rim, plush ride | | Weaknesses: | seems to have a flat spot/balance problem. | | Similar Products Used: | Michelin Wildgripper Rock, Continental Sport Contact, Continental Traffic, Michelin Wildgripper City. | | Bike Setup: | Ted Wojcik, King hubs | | Bottom Line: | It would be a good, plush tire if it did not have a balance issue. At low speeds it was smooth but at high speeds it would cause some vibration. This was annoying. Yes, my wheels are true. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Humpje
a Racer
from Holland
Date Reviewed: January 2, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | hard road & deep mud | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$18.00 | | Strengths: | FAST! Quiet, durability, price, versatile, reasonably puncture resistant. | | Weaknesses: | Goofy name, sidewalls. | | Bike Setup: | XTR,XT upgraded Giant Terrago. | | Bottom Line: | Great tire if you are spending more time on the road than off. Holland is quite flat and urbanized, it takes me at least 15 miles on-road before i get to any significant off-road and with such conditions this tire works great. This tire makes i'm not shy when it comes to duelling with road bikers, sometimes even smoking them. I've ridden 4000 miles on these tires and still no significant wear! Had a flat 2 times, front&rear, due to an embedded small piece of metal which was hard to detect and kept cutting up my inner tube until i found and removed it. Front tire went flat for reasons unknown (probably a thorn). So these tires are not puncture proof, but hey, what is? Off-road they're not super, but work better than one might expect. I do lots of mudcrawling, keeping it at max. pressure (too lazy to in-/deflate) and they've gotten me through any stretch of goo i've come across so far, although often slippin'&slidin' but in a predictable manner. Loose sand however, is another matter, but that's a problem for any tire i think. Tree roots (wet): no problem if taken with care. Steep climbs (love'em): no problem except with very loose dirt. Wet leaves, pine needles etc.: no problem, but you have to use your BRAIN as well as your LEGS. Rocks: here is where its only weak point, the thin sidewalls, are showing. Road, straight&cornered, wet&dry: no problem, period.
So, this thing is not an off-road supergripper but it will do. On-road there has not been a single MTB with "normal" tires that kept me behind him (all are welcome to try!)
If you want on-road performance and off-road sufficience, get these tires! And finally: why the stupid name??(sounds like a commercial for womens hygiene products or something) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Cross Country Rider
from Eureka, CA
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$29.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance. Very resistant to flats. Great traction in wet and dry conditions. Good for occasional offroad adventures. | | Weaknesses: | Good at many things, not GREAT at any. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Fully rigid Cannondale mtb used primarily for commuting. | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden these tires for two years, five days a week fifty weeks a year, to and from work. I have not flatted once yet. I have not experienced trouble mounting the tires as others have stated (lose the rhyno-lites, they're terrible for mounting any tires). I have not experienced poor traction on wet or dry pavement as others have stated. Humboldt county is wet in the winter and I have the utmost confidence in these tires on wet pavement. On dry pavement, I can rail corners as fast or faster than my riding buddies on their road bikes. They perform very well in the dirt too. I pre-rode the sea otter XC course last year on this bike with these tires and was able to keep up with riding buddies on suspended bikes who ride in sport class. These tires are fat enough they float through sand and soft stuff as well as most, and better than some knobby tires I've used.
I realize my review is contrary to most of the others here but I have nothing but praise for these tires. I'm fixin' to buy another one as I gashed the sidewall on the rear tire on some gnarly volcanic rock in Bidwell Park, Chico, CA. I've been riding it with a duct tape patch for a couple months now.
I recommend these tires for commuters who like to adventure with their rig offroad from time to time and don't want to have to change tires every time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ron Shufflebarger
a Cross Country Rider
from Winfield, Ks.
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Kaw-eagle trail, Mc Murtry | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Rising House | | Strengths: | Rolls well, looks good, not as heavy as everyone puts on | | Weaknesses: | Expensive retail, lots of flats, have had two sets and had wobble in both | | Similar Products Used: | Avocet cross 11, WTB all-terrainasaurus, Conti 26x1.0, and many 1.5's from different vendors | | Bike Setup: | Town bike is obed frame, with ti fork, older Softride racing suspension stem, avocet O2 Ti saddle, Bontrager rims, xt hubs | | Bottom Line: | I wanted these tires to work and tried many times, but each time I ended up taking them off because of several flats or a wobble in front tire, that I could feel at higher speed. I would put them back on after awhile and would flat again. I don't know the reason, but they seemed to flat very easily. I gone months with other city tires and not had this problem, and this tire looks as if it shouldn't have that type of problem, but it does. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt1976
a Weekend Warrior
from USA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | anything | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Durst Cycle | | Strengths: | Low Rolling Resistance and Grip | | Weaknesses: | A tad heavy | | Bike Setup: | Specialized M2 Hardtail with XT/LX mix... This tire on the front... Michelin Country Gravel on the back (has more dirt grip than these Conty's) | | Bottom Line: | I commute to my university and as much as i do try to dodge the broken beer bottles and such I know i have run over some fairly crappy stuff...These tires take the hits no problem! I havent had a flat yet! These tires rock for roads and some marginal lines...Get them!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ron Baker
a
from Regina
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | MEC | | Strengths: | Great feel - low resistance for a larger tire. Nice ride. | | Weaknesses: | Flats! Not the easiest to install. | | Similar Products Used: | Kenda; Nokians. | | Bike Setup: | Giant Rincon | | Bottom Line: | I like the tire and heard about the great durability. But too many flats for me. Its not the tires fault that I have to run through glass, but I'be had a lot of flats with it.
Other then that, great traction (for city use), watch it in wet pavement (like any tire) and it does give a nice, smooth ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dex Tao
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$15.00 | | Purchased At: | Mountain Co-op | | Strengths: | Smooth comfortable ride, extremely durable rubber/tread, semi-puncture resistant, high availability | | Weaknesses: | Hefty considering the mediocre puncture resistance. | | Similar Products Used: | Conti Super Contact(the BEST 26x1.75city tire currently), Vredestein Skarab, Michelin Supercomp HD, Tioga Cityslicker | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Tassajara+Kona P2 fork+X517s+Conti SuperContact (rear) + Tioga Cityslicker | | Bottom Line: | Nice n cushy but, too heavy considering the mediocre flat protection and being flat-free is more important than xtreme comfort! Best for bearing constant hvy loads.
>>>Continental Super Contact<<< has maximum flat stoppage cuz of new "Safety System" + faster rolling + durable blackwall. My opinion: Super Contact is the best mid-width city tire ever (making it lighter would b the only thing) = 40CAD. It's beautiful. Vred Skareb equally effective but has useless side knobs and very rare. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Laugen
a Weekend Warrior
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: May 25, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | I don't know, the bead ripped out after 16 miles. | | Weaknesses: | Sidewalls totally inadequate. | | Similar Products Used: | Michelins | | Bike Setup: | Klein Palomino Team | | Bottom Line: | I blew a tube at 16 miles. After taking off the tire to change tubes, I discovered the bead ripping away from the sidewall in about a 3 inch long section. This after only 16 miles of easy going city riding. I was kind of worried about sidewall durability when I bought these. Guess my concerns were well founded. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chuck
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis, MN
Date Reviewed: May 21, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | rei | | Strengths: | low rolling resistance, low wear | | Weaknesses: | spendy, a little tough to get on wheel, a little scarey on wet grass. | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | cannondale f700 | | Bottom Line: | I just bought these last weekend for this season because I primarily ride paved trails with friends and commute with my bike. In the past the knobbies were okay but I've had many people tell me to switch tires for the type of riding I do so I finally did. I just did about 40miles yesterday with a friend (my first longer ride this year) and what a difference these tires made on my ride. I'd guess theres over 100miles on them at this point and they still look new. All the nubs and molding ridges are on there still! Take the plunge if you're primarily on the road. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel Reitz
a Cross Country Rider
from Centennia, Colorado
Date Reviewed: January 15, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Low resistance, smooth ride, better cornering than my old nobbies | | Weaknesses: | VERY hard to get on my mavic rims
A little pricey | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | Cycle-cross used moslty for commuting | | Bottom Line: | So far I've very happy with the extra 20% boost these tires give to my commute. They were freakishly hard to get on my rims, so I'm hoping they never go flat. The ride is super-smooth. It's a real rush to feel my hard work finally getting turned into some speed! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blondie
a
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance
Great tread life | | Weaknesses: | Flat prone
Really difficult to put on rims | | Similar Products Used: | Many semi-slicks | | Bottom Line: | Let me say this up front: I love the way these things ride on pavement. However, I just had steel cable that lines the bead break through while the bike was hanging in my house. This is the second tire that this has happened to and the tire was only three months old w/less than 150 miles on it. I've only ever pumped the tires up to the recommended max and never exceeded that. If Performance will replace the tire (I doubt it) then I'll definitely get another one. However, if they won't, then I'm not sure what I'll do.
So, two for value becasue they keep breaking three overall because they really are great tires ... when they aren't breaking! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle, Wa, USA
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Burke-Gilman | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$29.00 | | Purchased At: | Gregg's Greenlake | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance for a fat tire, reasonably useful off pavement. | | Weaknesses: | Vulnerable to punctures. Rubber deteriorates quickly. Scarey in hard cornering, even on dry pavement. | | Similar Products Used: | Serfas Drifter Dual Sport
http://www.serfas.com/tires/tires_7.html | | Bike Setup: | Stock 1988 Trek 800 | | Bottom Line: | I enjoyed this tire for commuting and recreational purposes until the rubber deteriorated and I started getting flats every week. However, I never did care for the way it handled when cornering hard, it would initially run wide and then cut in very hard when steering compensations were made. If I rode more aggressively I would have changed long ago. The Serfas Drifter tire I replaced the Conties with handles predictably in corners, and I'm no longer getting any flats. Rolling resistance is a bit higher but it is much more useful off pavement. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Edward
a Weekend Warrior
from Milwaukee, WI
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Top of the World | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Performancebike.com | | Strengths: | Speed
Low noise
Great Wear | | Weaknesses: | People say they are heavy | | Similar Products Used: | None... only knobies | | Bike Setup: | Somewhat stock Trek 4900 | | Bottom Line: | Rode this tires all summer for commuting to work. Do thier job freakishly well. By putting these tires on, I got an instant 3-4 mph average speed incerase over my knobies. Some people complain about the weight of the tire, but I can't say I noticed. I won't care till get 20 lbs of my frame before I start gram counting on my bike. Only complaint is that they are a little pricy to purchase initaly, but at the end of one summers use I can see very little wear on my tires, I expect to be using these for years to come. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$24.00 | | Strengths: | Good street ride and solid on "normal" trails. | | Weaknesses: | Definitly country tire, no hard core dirt trails | | Similar Products Used: | Bont AC | | Bottom Line: | During the weeek, I'm on the road and these run great. Weekend trail riding is good as long as you don't get on the edge too much. Handles gravel well, but I do have to be very very careful in deep sand. This tire does exactly what it is supposed to do. I'm not a gung ho trail crazy, so as long as I watch it in the loose stuff and keep my balance, I've not had a problem.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Cedar Rapids, IA
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | RAGBRAI | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | performance | | Strengths: | This is a great commuting tire. Almost indestructable. | | Weaknesses: | Kind of heavy, not too good on mud | | Similar Products Used: | avocet cross-k, slicks | | Bike Setup: | KHS mtn bike, set up for the daily commute. | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden this tire almost every day for 5 years now, and I love it. I can only remember one or two flats the whole time. Its still got plenty of tread on it, but the sidewalls are starting to unravel. This is a tough tire with good traction on road and for light off road use. Its not too good in mud or deep snow. Awsome for gravel roads. Its a little slippery on sand covered pavement. Low rolling resistance and a good quiet ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Weekend Warrior
from East Susex, UK
Date Reviewed: June 30, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | South Downs Way | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Cupertino CA | | Strengths: | Excellent grip in wet, and very low rolling resistance. Not bad offroad in light conditions. Very few punctures, and they've lasted over 5 years, over a lot of that time, they have been used every day (!).. | | Weaknesses: | Not too hot in mud, but probably better than any other road tyre. | | Bike Setup: | Orange Evo2 wi Manitou SX forks | | Bottom Line: | If you do a lot of road riding, these will last for ever - approx 50% tread wear after 5 years. Getting a bit of cracking on the rubber, as I've had them pumped up pretty hard recently, but planning to replace them with another pair. Good for light off road in summer, and OK in winter as well, if it's not too wet, and I can't be bothered to change over to my WTB Velociraptors.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Halifax, NS
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | wherever my bike takes me... | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$26.00 | | Purchased At: | MEC | | Strengths: | Tougher than nails, great grip. | | Weaknesses: | Not a whole lot of "Country" in them. | | Similar Products Used: | none really | | Bike Setup: | 2002 Norco Bushpilot, stock except for some fenders for commuting and the Town & Country's | | Bottom Line: | These are a great tire for commuting. I had used some IRC Advantage Pros on my old bike, got three flats, three days in a row. The T&C's have run over glass, metal, and God knows what else without even blinking. I've had these for about three months now, about 500-600kms of on and off road riding. I got them for $26cad each at MEC and it looks like they are going to be worth every penny. They work fine on hard packed trails, but anything loose they don't really have enough grip in the corners. They provide good straight line traction, even in a bit of mud, but knobbies they aint.
Great tires for commuting and some light trail riding on hardpacked trails. They are not meant to do any serious riding in the dirt. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Blondie
a
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance | | Strengths: | Smooth ... quiet ... handles really well ... ridiculously low rolling resistance. | | Weaknesses: | Too early to tell. | | Similar Products Used: | A bunch of semi slicks | | Bottom Line: | One ride and they are awesome. Got out and rode the Arlington Loop today and these things were incredible. I've tried a bunch of different semi-slicks and, for spring and summer riding at least, I'm done looking. The semis will go back on this winter but I'm sold on these. I'm planning a century on my mtn bike (yes, I am that stupid) later this year and I know these things just saved me a ton of time and difficulty! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aram Gerstein
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco, Ca USA
Date Reviewed: May 16, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Still Looking | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Valencia St Cycles | | Strengths: | Smooth, Quiet,Tuff. Nice roll on turns. Grips like glue on dry smooth surfaces. Look great. | | Weaknesses: | Spooky on damp metal. otherwise none. | | Similar Products Used: | Stock Kenda mtb tires | | Bike Setup: | IBEX 250, Ritchie vcomp 3 clipless. Rack w/ saddle bags. Mostly used on city streets and roads. Fire roads and horse trails whenever possible. | | Bottom Line: | I read a lot of the reviews before deciding on these and they were right on. They perform exactly as expected and I am very satisfied.
I ride mostly long distances on city roads or paved trails and the smooth tread has greatly improved my times as well as cutting the tire hum to Nil. I wanted somthing beefy but smooth, that would still have some grip on non-pavement.
These are NOT tires for hardcore non-road use!
I am confident taking them off the road and over any dirt or trail I ride, but will let out a few p.s.i. first.
Otherwise I keep them pretty high and find that my traction going up loose dirt trails is not great.
On a drizzley day, when the metal plates used to cover road work are slick & damp, I am eXtremely cautious!
I have since noticed that these are the same tires used by the SF Bike police. So that should be worth something I guess.
If you spend most if not all your MTB time on roads , then you should get these tires. You will really enjoy them.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Master Blaster
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney NSW Australia
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Nepean | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Campbelltown | | Strengths: | Not a bad tire if used in and on the conditions it was designed for..Continental tires are of a very high quality, I personally prefer the Explorer Pro version as it has a lot more bite with excellent rolling ability..Below is a short story of how choosing the wrong tire and being stubborn and pathic can result in self harm.. | | Weaknesses: | No grip on wet semi smooth surfaces..I know a guy who thinks he knows it all, he runs a set of these tires on his bike and has gone down really hard numerous times, too many to mention and still praises them because he has them, I think too many people praise an item just because they have it..Anyway, back to this guy, we'll call him SV..He was riding along at a slow pace when all of a sudden he missed a shift, panic struck he grabbed a fist full of front brake and went straight over the bars, crashed and burned big time fracturing his arm and head, not to mention all of the scabs which covered a majority of his body..He worn a neck brace for 16 weeks..Most of these accidents could have been prevented, if he listened and accepted the advice and experience of others trying to help him out..The other falls were located in foot deep gravel and loose rock!..Some people just never learn.. | | Similar Products Used: | Explorer Pro, Specialized Rockster..Both being of a much higher level of performance.. | | Bike Setup: | GT I-drive..XT, Hope, Mavic, Raceface etc.. | | Bottom Line: | Not much more to say, once again a good tire if used properly..
Continental, great tires, pity idiots never learn.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lenny Taylor
a Weekend Warrior
from Sacramento, CA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | American River Parkway | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Great road tire for mountain bike, quiet, low rolling resistance | | Weaknesses: | None. | | Similar Products Used: | None | | Bike Setup: | 27-speed hard-tail set up for pavement/light trail use | | Bottom Line: | I ride for exercise. My bicycle came with a great set of Maxxis off-road tires, but they really weren't appropriate for the kind of riding I do. I ride 7-8 miles daily at lunch on a paved trail near the office and needed tires designed for the task. The Town and Country tires have a great footprint that allow the bike to carry my considerable "load" and are everything I hoped for. I was drawn to them by the ratings provided by all the daily commuters who use them. The local shop where I purchased them also sells these to the local police for use on their "patrol bikes". | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kendi Zsolt
a Cross Country Rider
from Budapest, Hungary
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | hiking | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | bicycletires.com | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance and long life in case of heavy load acceptable for rainy condition. Able to transfer driving power to road. | | Weaknesses: | Unstable in some off-road condition (eg. stand or muddy) | | Similar Products Used: | Michelin sprints, chin-sheng | | Bike Setup: | Matrix storm alu frame, shimano accera... | | Bottom Line: | I tryed booth tube and tubeless version with same result. This is the best compromis for the bike driver who will to ride long in the road and go up (and down) to cat 2 mount and ocassionally go to off-road.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wayne
a
from Spokane, WA
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Great commute tire for an ATB. | | Weaknesses: | A "compromise" tire. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Fat Boys | | Bike Setup: | Litespeed Unicoi | | Bottom Line: | I only have one bike but keep two sets of wheels, one for street/commute/family tours/etc. and one for trail riding/racing. I used to use 1" Fat Boys at 100 psi which were fast on pavement but punishing on pot holes and scary in any kind of dirt road or path. The T&Cs are perfect for streets so long as you are not interested solely in ultimate speed (get a good road bike). They handle dirt roads/alleys/paths well, roll almost as good as a high psi slick, and soak up pavement imperfections nicely. My commute to work is ~40% gravel/hard pack dirt with a couple of short dirt granny gear climbs. The T&Cs hook up well enough to get up these and through a couple of short sand washes too. If you use a mountain bike mostly for commuting or easier trail riding, these tires can't be beat! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Flying Pickle
a Weekend Warrior
from Newcastle,NSW,Australia
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Glenrock | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | The Bicycle Centre | | Strengths: | Got them fitted to my bike when I bought hte bike. Great road tyres, quiet, low rolling resistance. I have seen almost no wear on the tyres! | | Weaknesses: | I had the front tyre blowout on me midway through a high speed right hand corner (45k's +). No one could explain why it happened but i had it replaced for free by the Conti reps in Sydney | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Worm Semi slicks | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Avanti Hammer
Marzocchi Z5 air forks | | Bottom Line: | Good road tyres, not too good off road, but they do the job if you spend most of the time pounding the pavement. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rommel
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland Heights, OH
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Fridrich Bicycles | | Strengths: | Lasts forever. Smooth, fast, sturdy, not bad looking | | Weaknesses: | Not for gravel, leaves, sand, or mud ( But that's ok) | | Similar Products Used: | Continental Atlanta, Montana, WTB tire things | | Bike Setup: | Raleigh M-80 with modifications | | Bottom Line: | I reviewed these tires a couple of years ago. It just keeps getting better. I'm not sure if they will ever wear out. I wanted to switch to something a little more exotic but everytime I check out a review of the tires, the continental sounds just as good or better for my purposes. The trendy more marketed tires all seem to wear out fast, have problems with pinch flats, or don't corner well. I switched to these when I bought the bike and they have been on it ever since. I will probably by some more when these go down | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Iverson | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Ti Cycles | | Strengths: | Long lasting, tough, super quiet, cushy, look good. | | Weaknesses: | hmmm. | | Bike Setup: | 96 Stumpjumper, Mavic Ceramic 512's and a z2. Switch out wheels to Mavic Crossrides with Panaracers for trails. | | Bottom Line: | I have had these tires for 6 years and have put 18,000 miles on them commuting to work downtown. The rubber doesn't wear out, they must use some car compound. The tread has great control on the pavement.
Rear just blew out because V-brakes got out of alignment, my fault. They are heavy, or should I say were heavy, mine were 800 and some grams, the new version is around 650, with less rubber. I will see how that works. Also I started getting lots of flats... but in the fifth year at around 14,000 miles! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Boise
Date Reviewed: February 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Anyware | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$22.00 | | Purchased At: | Northeast Cycles ABQ. NM | | Strengths: | Grippy on pavment and works well on corners. | | Weaknesses: | for their intended use - NONE | | Bike Setup: | 96 Cannondale f400 | | Bottom Line: | I was comuting on this bike and the tires that came on the bike about got me killed a couple times. These tires are exactly as they say, town and country. perfect for city riding. extremly grippy on dry pavment and very usable on wet. I have had them on my bike for over 4 years. And they still have the siping on them. I comuted on them for 2 years about 10,000 miles have been put on them. The bottom line here is that they are GREAT tires! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Spider
a Cross Country Rider
from New Orleans
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$24.00 | | Purchased At: | GNOs Cyclery | | Strengths: | Durablity, resilience, value, traction, should I go on? | | Weaknesses: | If I had to pick something...weight. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized Nimbus | | Bike Setup: | Klein Pulse Race; spec'd for above-average commuting. | | Bottom Line: | I've read these reviews for years and have used their wisdom to spec a bike that requires little coddling and demands my deepest respect.
My contribution: touting the strengths of Continental's Town and Country. These tires have lasted over 3000 miles each. The cracking I experience in the Nimbus isn't even an issue with my TCs. The "heavy-weight" factor makes a great contribution to maintaining steadiness in turns and minimizing jarring over obstacles at speed however, only marginally burdensome for "off-the-line" starts. Traction is exceptional in Wet and Dry conditions. Low rolling resistence is excellent for commuting and is due to an Inverted thread design which shows its strength on rocks and dirt equally.
The Continental Town and Country is the ideal choice for any semi-slick shopper. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Lee
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, NSW Australia
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Strengths: | low tire wear & good durability, great grip on various street surfaces, fairly good low rolling resistance, ok for everyday commuting & limited off-road use | | Weaknesses: | usage on loose surfaces very unpredictable, especially on front tire, unstable on rough, bumpy terrain
| | Similar Products Used: | N/A | | Bike Setup: | cross country hardtail | | Bottom Line: | these tires are good overall if you are mainly using it for street commuting, stick to knobbies if most of your riding is off-road. grips exceptionally well on smooth surfaces but is very weak on loose surfaces. avoid steep decents and fast corners in the loose stuff, forget about using in wet muddy conditions. not as fast as full slicks, but feels more stable around corners, overall these tires perform well for their intended use | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rommel
a Weekend Warrior
from Cleveland Heights
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Fridrich Bicycles | | Strengths: | Fast,rolls well,good all purpose tire that has held up well for two years now. I don't think the thjings are ever going to wear out | | Weaknesses: | Watch out for the gravel and loose stuff | | Bike Setup: | modified Raleigh M-80 | | Bottom Line: | Hey,what did you expect? Something to throw on your bike and take to Baja. Great tire for the street, hard pack and woods that aren't real wet and chocked full of rocks and tree roots.If you are over 175 lbs you won't notice whether they are heavy or not | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Bridgetown Bicycles | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance | | Weaknesses: | Terrifying on turns; tire tends to bounce due to the recessed tread. Not designed for wet pavement, asphalt. Not puncture resistant. Heavy & sluggish. | | Bike Setup: | Peugeot Summit mtn. converted to hybrid. Used for commuting. | | Bottom Line: | An unpredictable tire. Would not recommend. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vernon
a Cross Country Rider
from NH
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$24.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Bullet proof. The sidewalls wear out before the tread. Ridden more than a year on one pair, riding every day in all weather in New England. Excellent road cornering, especially in the rain. | | Weaknesses: | Not for raging in the wilderness; country roads, dry single-track, hard pack. | | Similar Products Used: | various forgettable invert treads | | Bike Setup: | 1997 Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo | | Bottom Line: | No tire covers all terrains. The name starts with "Town" where they should be ridden primarily. If you obsess about weight, ignore this tire. If you think throwing a little weight only makes you stronger, ride these and enjoy good traction without wiggling knobs. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tommyboy
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Low rolling resistance | | Weaknesses: | Downright scary on loose dirt. | | Similar Products Used: | All sorts of tires | | Bike Setup: | Currently, a 91 Bridegestone MB-4, though they have been on others bikes | | Bottom Line: | These are great for the "Town" part of Town and Country. On pavement, wet or dry, I really like them. For dirt, I have the scars to prove that they are really designed for road use. They are a little heavy, but who cares? These tires have proven to be very durable and amazingly long lasting. I am a heavier rider (210#) and use them for what they are designed to do, commuting around town. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stu
a Weekend Warrior
from New Orleans
Date Reviewed: December 30, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Smooth ride, great traction, tough rubber, cool design | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Stock knobbys | | Bike Setup: | 01' Schwinn Moab 3 | | Bottom Line: | The T&C tires are exactly as it's names states 'Town & Country.' Your obviously not going to get an inverted knobby to perform in a rough trail. I find these tires to perform awesome on concrete (even in the rain) and hard packed dirt. When I ride on loose sand & dirt I throw on my knobbys. Most of my riding is done on concrete jumping curbs, drop offs, small children (whatever gets in my way). I landed on a bottle yesterday, the T&C tires are tough. These were highly recommended by my LBS and they have not disappointed me yet. They were $25 a piece but I got them on a even swap for my Michelins that came with my bike. If you rate this tire on what it's designed for it would be a 5 out of 5 stars and no less. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bill
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland, Oregon USA
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Angels Rest (hiking) | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Smooth ride on streets with great handing in loose sand and gravel. | | Bike Setup: | Basic hard nosed/hard tailed full chromoly mountain bike. | | Bottom Line: | I ride 3-4 nights a week throughout the Winter, and a couple days a week during the Summer (I'm usually hiking or climbing). I ride primarily on the road for conditioning, up the hills in Portland, but I do like the occasional 75 mile tour. I like the solid frame of a mountain bike.
The knobbies that came with the bike are fine for off-road work, but not for what I wanted. I tried some 1.25 slicks first, and they were fine until I wrecked twice in a month. I wanted more rubber on the ground, and a friend told me about the Continental Town and Country's.
These are perfect for the wet weather we get in Oregon. A solid center line gives a smooth roll on pavement, and the side treads really grip well when you go into any loose dirt, gravel, or sand. And they work great in the rain. A perfect all-around city tire. When these wear out, I'll get another set. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RanDog
a
from Truckee, CA
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Size Matters, big road tires kick butt! ultra comfy, large contact area, sticks when you lean it over. Great for the urban hipster who is not dumb enough to ride a fixed gear! | | Weaknesses: | it is not a high psi tire like the specialized or tioga slick = cush for your tush, - more rolling resistance than other slicks. BEWARE, althouh one would think that they would be good touring tires, I have found the opposite I mounted one on the rear and went on an unsupported 250 mile ride (75% dirt) in the middle of Nevada and I went through Two Tip Top Touring Patch kits, and my four tubes in the first day and half!!! I switched front (Advocet Cross) and rear tires and voila, I only had two more flats before my rear hub blew up outside of nowwhere (#$%*&!) 5 days later. Why did this happen I believe the Conti's low psi. could not support my 185 lbs plus another 35lbs on the bikes. | | Similar Products Used: | Advocet Cross (my favorite), Tioga slick, Specialized slick, old school Specialized Cross Roads (X-cellent in the dirt, medium on road) | | Bike Setup: | '88 Bridgestone MB-2 w/ 40,000 miles on it, nothing is original.
I also have a '96 Trek 970 w/ MAvic Cross Links, that I mount w/ Slicks. | | Bottom Line: | Good Tire but you have to compromise performance for comfort w/ a low psi vs. other slicks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
terry
a Weekend Warrior
from Winnipeg, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Very durable, low rolling resistance, easy to mount, great road performance. | | Weaknesses: | Not very grippy on anything slick, as should be expected. | | Similar Products Used: | Replaced WTB Enduroraptors | | Bike Setup: | '99 GT Tequesta | | Bottom Line: | If you do more on-road riding (city streets, bike trails, hard pack) than true dirt, these Conti's will pleasantly surprise you. They will give you at least 2 "free" gears of higher speed due to low rolling resistance. I paid $25 Cdn each from Mountain Equipment mail order. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Marika
a Weekend Warrior
from Brisbane, Australia
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Very durable, doesn't puncture easily | | Weaknesses: | Not designed for wet loose gravel | | Similar Products Used: | Metro (crap) | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX870 | | Bottom Line: | I first bought Metros for on road riding and after countless punctures and 4 accidents I decided to invest in something a little less slick. I swear by the T&C for on road riding, because they can handle glass, sharp objects... pretty much anything. I've almost had them for a year and haven't had a single flat tyre!!! (Heavenly) For off-road I swap over onto my knobblies - T&C tend to loose traction on steep up hills where there's loose gravel/dirt, especially when its wet. In Australia I paid $AU55, kind of expensive (considering they are only DM30 in Germany) but worth every cent -- I love my continentals!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Wadsworth, TX
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Jack Brooks | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Tough | | Weaknesses: | Cost | | Bike Setup: | GT Saddleback set up as a road warrior | | Bottom Line: | After reading others' reviews, I can't help but wonder...
if weight is a problem, why put a damn 2.125 tire on if you're a weight weenie? Get some roadie tires if a few extra grams troubles you so much. And why use a tire that's obviously a street/hike-n-bike trail tire when you know it's gonna slide on loose sh*t? I got these strictly for a 32-mile fun run coming up, and have had no problems with rolling resistance, "noise", traction, etc. Took 'em on pavement, gravel, dirt roads, grass, and they performed just fine (did better on that washboard gravel Chinquipin Road than the knobbies I had). There's no such thing as "all-terrain" when it comes to tires. Stop whining and ride! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
big brother
a Cross-Country Rider
from St. Louis, MO
Date Reviewed: October 29, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
none | | Weaknesses: |
everything | | Similar Products Used: |
wtb velociraptor | | Bottom Line: | This tire is truly awful. It's REALLY REALLY heavy. The first thing I noticed about these tires was the weight and that says a lot. If I could give this tire zero stars, I would. The rubber is super thick as if the tire had to last forever. But the performance just downright sucks. I can't say anything good about it. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Racer
from Calgary, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 21, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
6 months | | Strengths: |
Rail on the corners
Very low rolling resistance
Invincable | | Weaknesses: |
Super-squirrley on loose trails | | Bike Setup: |
Brodie Unabomber single speed - rigid | | Bottom Line: | As an all around road tire, this thing is the bomb. It's not super narrow, but still rolls forever. Just don't consider these a dual-purpose tire. They're definitely built more for the road. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
david
a Weekend Warrior
from so. cal.
Date Reviewed: August 15, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
crafton hills | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Great dual-use tire | | Weaknesses: |
Very squirrely on soft terrain, heavy, fell apart after three months | | Similar Products Used: |
Specialized Nimbus III 1.5, Cheap-ass Cheng Shin 1.5 slicks | | Bike Setup: |
ATB Tandem (rigid), Mavic 217 | | Bottom Line: | On our tandem, we ride about 75%road/ 25% trail. These tires were a lot of fun riding on and off road. On pavement and at 80lbs they stick the corners and have a reasonably low rolling resistance (although I could hear a little bit of whine coming from the cutouts). After dropping some of the air out, they run fast on hard-pack trails but scared the hell out of me whenever we would hit some soft stuff. The 2.125 would be better there, although a knobbie would be best. The tread is developing cracks all over after being mounted for about three months/300 miles. Don't know if it's a quality control issue or I just picked up the ones that were in the back of the warehouse for the last four years. They would get a high four chili pepper count if they weren't falling apart. At least my LBS is comping them . They can't get any right now from the distributer, so I'm going to try out some Goliaths. Will report back with the results. I'm sure that's more than you ever wanted to know. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stephe
a Cross-Country Rider
from atlanta
Date Reviewed: May 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
This is one GREAT road tire and seems OK on dry trails that are pretty packed in. | | Weaknesses: |
A little on the heavy side but doesn't feel heavy when riding. | | Similar Products Used: |
specialized cross roads tire (old style, not the current version) | | Bottom Line: | I was looking for a replacement for the specialized crossroads tire which is a little more agressive but still pretty smooth on the road. These are close and are a better road tire but I doubt these will fit the bill as the dual purpose tire I was looking for, although way better than slicks would be | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Big T
a Downhiller
from Alamogordo, NM
Date Reviewed: April 28, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Wear like Iron, smooth rolling, very durable, stick like glue on asphalt | | Weaknesses: |
HEAVY, poor traction in mud and soft pack. | | Similar Products Used: |
Nimbus III = too much rolling resistance but seem durable | | Bike Setup: |
DBR Team 1995, RST-ESO | | Bottom Line: | For urban assualt or cross country touring these are hard to beat. No flats in 3,000+ miles (Slime helps), no sign of wear....the vulcan strip is still visible. Highly recommended for someone looking for a tire in this catagory! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Turk
a cross-country rider
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: January 19, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I commute with the T&C's 5 days/week and also have run them extensively on muddy, BMX-type and rooted/rocky singletrack trails (mostly b/c i've been too anxious to ride and too lazy to switch-out to knobbies). Road riding: absolute top-notch, top-performing, enjoyably *fast*, extremely durable tire. I've run them through broken glass, steep concrete embankments, etc. I wish I could compare them to something similar, but there doesn't seem to be anything else out there. Trail-riding: first a disclaimer--altho a long-time roadie, and altho in the past 6 months i've done about 300 miles of trailriding in Colorado and Georgia, I am a REAL novice rider, still shaking in my northwaves when faced with a 40 degree quick drop (yeah, a wuss). That said, I can say i prefer the honesty and demands, performance and quickness of the T&Cs over the WTB velociraptors and Bonty Jones tires I've had, on all but the most technically demanding trails, e.g., the steeper, rockier CO trails. They shed mud better than the WTBs and Bonty, and altho they slip in big mud, and gravel, so do the others. I just sit my ass down and pedal harder. Perhaps I should run the WTBs, Bonty flatter for a better comparison, but I like the Country performance of this tire as well as the Town. Then again, maybe I'm just too lazy to switch them out. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chip Hewette
a weekend warrior
from Kings Mountain, NC
Date Reviewed: November 26, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Awesome commuting tire! Traction in wet grass, slippery rocks, and so smooth! A great engineering solution to a universal tire concept. I was worried about the weight, but their weight is not apparent while riding. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Ribelin
a cross-country rider
from Littleton, CO
Date Reviewed: November 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have used town & countries on two bikes, the first one the last two years went 5,000 miles with no problems. They still looked like new. I put them on my new bike and look forward to miles and miles of smooth riding. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rickster
a weekend warrior
from australia
Date Reviewed: November 12, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I ride a bike for a living and about 90% of my riding is on road. I have been using the same set of town & countries for about 2 years and find that they are an excellent tyre on the road. Great in corners, smooth and quiet when rolling. Hardly any resistance on the road.
They fall in a big heap if you have to traverse across a hill or ride on anything that's not packed hard. They are pretty unpredictable on loose dirt and steep downhills, where they offer very little braking ability. Overall, if you do most of your riding on road and half reasonable tracks, get these tyres. They go on and on forever and wont puncture easily.
I give 'em 5 steamin' red willies because they do what they are designed to do perfectly. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Patrick
a
from Mar Vista, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 10, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Very good road tire. Smooth and quiet with a good cornering feel. I have not done very much dirt riding with them, but they seem to work good on fire roads. The only thing that they lack is good cornering grip(off road). Even at medium(?) speed coming down hills the front tire washes out too easily. After about 1000 miles they still look new and have had no flats. Definitely more town than country, but a good dual purpose tire. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sinon
a cross-country rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: August 14, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Excellent for the road. When you lean they roll over smoothly like racing tires, unlike some other semi-slicks. Noticably heavy, but they feel more stable for it. I wouldn't take the 'country' part of 'town and country' too seriously though. On hardpack they are OK, but in sand and gravel they will try to murder you. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mark
a weekend warrior
from michigan
Date Reviewed: June 6, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
These things are great for the road and seem to wear forever, I have about 2000 miles on them and there is little sign of wear. I dont think you can find a better road tyre that can also easily be taken off road than this one. With the thick tread on this it seems to be impervious to flats as well, (I have never gotten a flat with these) (knock on wood) 4 chillies just becuase they are awfully heavy. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
T-Hump
a cross-country rider
from New Mexico
Date Reviewed: June 3, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
These are some awesome tires. They wear like iron and and have great rolling resistance. They perform off road better than I expected. The are very good in hardpack and semi-rocky conditions....and good to fair in most others. We get very little rain here so I cannot comment on mud performance. Some things to be careful of....for larger riders (over 170) I recommend running close to the maximum pressure as they tend to pinch flat easy. Also, the sidewall is very thin and not durable off road. If you do most of your riding on the streets or are a messenger with an MTB I highly recommend these. They allow the speed of many roadies with the versitility to go off road. Four chiles as their off road performanace could be better. Otherwise they are hard to fault. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mabonzo
a cross-country rider
from Zimbabwe, Africa.
Date Reviewed: April 18, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Like most people, much of the riding I do is on road but I also enjoy the getting off road. With 500km of commuting per month, they offer low rolling resistance and their grip is excellent so you don't have to scrub off the speed on corners. Piloting a heavily laden mountain bike over 1300 km of dirt road presented no problems for these tires recently, most importantly no flats and grip sufficent to keep me on the steep dirt downhills and not in the bushes.
As a commuter and a mountain bike tourer, these tires are as good as it gets. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nicholas Miller
a weekend warrior
from Canberra, Australia
Date Reviewed: February 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
If you want to convert your mountain bike to an on-road racing machine... you can't really do it. But these tires will come close. These are to knobblies as silk is steel wool. Even when you lean hard in a fast corner they don't feel the slightest bit bumpy, nor like they are about to give way, and they are noticibly faster on sealed road than all other MTB tires i've tried. The only sound they make is a hollow humming at high speed (when you have them at 65psi). Of course that's what you'd expect from a semi-slick tire. But these are actually pretty good on hardpack too if you deflate them a little. In rocky pebbly stuff at low speed they will try to murder you however, and sand they will try to murder you at any speed. Sometimes in emergencies I have to take shortcuts across nature reserves (usually because I'm late) and these tires sometimes make me wish I went to church a little more often. If they were just tolerable off the road I'd give them five stars -- they are supposed to be Town _and_ Country after all. Stick some of these on your commuting bike and you have the speed and some of the feel of a racer _and_ the position of a mountain bike (for better visibility in traffic) _and_ the ability to hop curbs or just bang it around a bit. Do yourself a favour and go buy some. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
neon eon
a weekend warrior
from las vegas, nv
Date Reviewed: October 3, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
we put these tires on our fire dept. paramedic bike team. we have great riders and dwebies, and the tire works well for both. pretty good on wet asphalt, good on sand, gravel, grass, but with heavy rocks no so good. i probley would not run them on my own bike. but a good tire. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kwejibo
a cross-country rider
from San Francisco
Date Reviewed: September 29, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Trust me. When your riding your MTB on the road these tires are a GREAT way to go. With these things on you can hammer on the streets and out corner a Ferrari. However dont let anyone convince you that they are an all purpose tire. These things can NOT go off road. They are not a hybid tire. But if your forced to ride on the road they're SWEET.5 Chillies on the road
0 Chillies off road | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Meinert
a cross-country rider
from Fayetteville, AR
Date Reviewed: September 2, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I got a pair of these a couple of months ago for road and
commute riding. I've put a little over 300 miles on them
so far and I love them. The weight is a little bit of a
problem but the low rolling resistance, road tire like
grip and low noise are great on the road. They appear to resist wear quite well, the molding
marks on mine are still completely visible.I've used them some on hardpack and they work well
there too. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Phil Allen
a cross-country rider
from Waterloo,Ontario
Date Reviewed: July 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I originally got these tires for my spare set of road wheels on my Diamondback V.link. However,while roadriding I ususally spot a trail that must be explored and surprise !! these things work well in the dirt.The only complaints I have are that they don't climb up parallel ruts too well and they dont like mud. If you have to road ride/commute and ride cross country they are an excellent compromise | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Fowler
a cross-country rider
from KC, MO
Date Reviewed: July 12, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I purchased these tires based to a large extent on the reviews of this web site. I have been quite satisfied with them overall: very low rolling resistance / great street tire(I almost feel like I'm riding a road bike, almost), and ride surprisingly well off road and of course on trails. My only caution is that they can be very tough to get seated properly on the rim. I've blown out my front tire once because I did not get the bead set right - those skinwalls aren't tough, but that steel bead is! Other than that caveat, they are a great tire for those of us who have only one set of wheels and do a fair amount of riding on pavement. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Austin Stevens
a weekend warrior
from Wichita, KS
Date Reviewed: June 10, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Just replaced my tires with the Cont. Town and County. Great tire Nice rolling resistance. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
T. Robertson
a weekend warrior
from Norfolk, VA
Date Reviewed: April 5, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
A good all around tire. Love the low rolling resistence, and they are very quiet. I love my conti's. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a cross-country rider
from Vancouver Island , BC
Date Reviewed: February 18, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
The funny thing about these tires, is that since they don't look hard-core, they're cheap around here. I paid 18.00 ea. for mine, and now they're up to 22.00 I usually run one of these up front, and a Conti Grand Canyon( same tire, slightly gnarlier tread) at the rear. They are like motorcycle tires: nearly as fast as a slick on pavement, and durability? Mine are two years old now, and that molding-line in the middle is finally gone!The thing nobody seems willing to beleive, is that they are incredible technical tires for steep, rocky, muddy.... hard-core riding. The only terrain they don't work well on: deep sand ( what does), very soft soil, mud more than 6 inches deep. We have an island here with sandstone beaches, and it looks like a 1/2 scale Moab, and these tires are better than anything on rock! Better traction for descending STEEP rock than any other MTB tire. If anybody has one, or a Grand Canyon that they don't want, and it's in good shape, I'll trade a nearly new rear Velociraptor for it!
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
geoff Williams
a cross-country rider
from East lansing, MI
Date Reviewed: January 19, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
There really is no other tire that I have found that is better for allaround commuting than this one. It works great up here in MI for winter commuting in the snow and Ice, it also works well enough that I can forray on some local trails on the way home making my commute more fun. This tire wears forever nad has great traction. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Riaan
a cross-country rider
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: January 6, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Great tire overall, very good durability and grip(except in mud). Only major problem I encountered was poor sidewalls witch led to puncturing when hitting stones. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a cross-country rider
from Jacksonville NC
Date Reviewed: December 14, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I use my MTB for daily commuting, those quick trips to the grocery store, and runs to the auto parts stores for my much less reliable automobile. I've had the same set of T&Cs for almost 2 years. These babies will last forever. Pump these babies up to their full pressure (about 60lbs) and you can give the roady commuters a run for their money (I love blowin them off). On the weekends I play around in the woods behind my house, there is also MTB racing track back there used by a local club. Drop the pressure to 35-40lbs range and you'll be very surprised at how good the traction is with these tires, even when climbing. If you can keep your butt on the seat and grind it out you can get up almost anything. You'll only have problems if you have to stand up or in mud. For a dual purpose tire that will serve you excellently for commuting and some light XCing as well (under dry conditions)these tires can't be beat. And as long as I've been using them I haven't flatted once. I even smacked a root hard enough to dent my rim, but no pinch flat. Great tire for the purpose, save your fast wearing knobbies for when you really wanna shred, but use these the rest of the time.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan Richey
a cross-country rider
from CollegeStation, TX
Date Reviewed: December 10, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I needed some tires for the ride to campus on my TREK 7000. I love the traction, even in wet weather. I've even taken the tires XC a few times and they get great traction as long as it's not to muddy(big chunks of flying debris,nasty)!Great tire that will last forever.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave Nicolai
a weekend warrior
from Bellingham, Washington
Date Reviewed: October 26, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
My local riding area has a lot of steep and slick singletrack, especially after a good Washington rain. When my roommate said he was going to leave his Town & Country tires on, I had to laugh. He's a faster rider than I, but I couldn't see how he could keep up with those city tires. I was wrong! They did very well, even up some tricky climbs (f/r balance was more critical though). The tires have some trouble with thick mud, but that's to be expected. I just bought myself a pair and have been quite impressed. On flat trail, these tires are very fast and smooth. I felt about as confident as I would with well worn off-road tires, but the ride was much better. For a multi-purpose tire, this is unbeatable so far. I'm very impressed with Continental in general now, expect for the higher prices. Worth the difference for me.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Graydon
a weekend warrior
from Ottawa, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Upgraded the stock tires for a Norco Nitro to these (26 x 1.9) when I bought the bike.
They provide an excellent ride on smooth surfaces, much less vibration and noise for commuting. An average speed increase of 3-5 kmh was noted over knobby tires.
On hills, they perform not as well as knobbies, with slippage happening when good torque is applied. Sitting while cycling up a dirt or gravel hill provides a good ride, standing will slip the wheels on every stroke.
For what they were designed to do - provide smooth road rides and some off-road capability, they are the only way to go. For good off-road fun, keep your knobbies or buy a set for weekends.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ken Freudenberg
a weekend warrior
from DURANGO, CO
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
While these tires are largley a compromise on/off road design they do have
an application where they are nearly perfect, although it is very specific.
If you make a pilgrammage to MOAB, try them on the Slickrock trail.
The combination of sticky but firm natural rubber and generally smooth profile
allow them to grip like Velcro on the sandstone, especially on the sections of
relatively steep side slope where almost any knobby tire can become
very squirrely due to the flexing of the knobs.
At the same time there is enough tread texture to provide some traction in
the sandy areas - a big advantage over slicks which are also generally
considered to be excellent (though very specific) Slickrock tires.
While they are nearly perfect for Slickrock riding you probably don't want
to use them for other Moab rides which may have a much wider range of conditions.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Michael Nelson
a weekend warrior
from San Francisco, CA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
For those of us who use our mountain bikes for transportation in addition to
riding off road, a second set of tires makes a lot of sense. I bought a set of
these Continental Town+Country tires and have been delighted with them for street
and mild off-road use.
They are of a negative tread design... ie: if you were to look at the tire
in cross section, it is shaped like a slick... with a fairly aggresive tread
pattern molded into the round cross-section. For heavy mud or sticky clay,
this would be a bad design, as the tire would pack up and turn back into a
slick PDQ.
But for road use or use on hardpack or slick rock, the design works very well.
Because there is a continous tread on the road when the tire is upright, (as
opposed to knobbies, where the knobs contact the road intermittently), the
rolling resistance is very low, vibration is very low, and they are very quiet.
Braking and cornering traction is excellent (on the surfaces noted above), and
rolling/leaning into a corner is ultra smooth... as smooth as on slicks.
The rubber is a natural rubber, black in color, the sidewalls are a dark brown.
They come in 26x2.125 size, rated for 35-65PSI.
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad Chu
a weekend warrior
from Hawaii
Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I do a lot of commuting on my mountain bike as well as use it for its
intended purpose of offroading and I was finding that my scratch and
sniff offroad tires were getting worn a little too quikly for my liking.
So I went down to my local bike store and asked them what I could use
for road riding and that I didn't want to use slicks. I ended up buying
the continental town and countries. The treads on this tire is a shaved
down nobby for less rolling resistance (you can really feel the difference)
but there's enough a tread that you can take it on fire trails or ride it
through those abandoned sites on your way home from work. Of course these
tires aren't meant for serious off roading but for the daily commute and
a little playing around, these tires can't be beat!
| | Overall Rating: |
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