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Home | Product Reviews | Tire | Continental Survival Pro | ||||
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Submitted by
Gorilla Nips
a Cross Country Rider
from Lehi, UT
Date Reviewed: 8/9/2007 8:51:19 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | A.F. Ridgeline 157 |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $44 |
| Purchased At: | Binghams Cyclery |
| Strengths: | Grip, sticks to everything! Love it! |
| Weaknesses: | Seemed to slip a little in the hardpack uphill, but nothing to really to make me hate it. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized Roll-X |
| Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpy FSR |
| Bottom Line: | These tires rock! I've got the 2.1's on the front and back, and it did a world of difference for me. I just swapped them out with the Roll-X because those felt really scary on the downhill. Felt like they were always going to slip out from under me and when going really fast the back tire felt like it was fishtailing. Not with these babies, I felt like I could give 'em hell and they'd stick with me the whole way. Love this tire, one of the better rides i've had because of them! And I've only done one ride, I bought them yesterday:) |
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Submitted by
Tim Dudley
a Weekend Warrior
from Oldham, Lancs, U.K
Date Reviewed: 4/1/2006 3:38:05 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Glentress, Scotland |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $60 |
| Purchased At: | Cyclehub |
| Strengths: | This is for the Kevlar bead 2.1" .. Light and very good grip. Very acceptable tread resistance for a tyre with big lugs. Last very well. Great on the back and quite good on the front. |
| Weaknesses: | I can't really complain other than the carcass is a bit thin. And also the width is slightly more akin to a 1.95" rather than a 2.1". |
| Similar Products Tried: | Endless. |
| Bike Setup: | Marin Mount Vision. |
| Bottom Line: | I have used this kevlar bead 2.1" for several years. It is better on the front than you would think but its main strength is on the back. Superb on mud, gravel and loose/soft conditions. But I think it is also very good on dry and hardpack. I note that some reviewers have shortcomings about the tyre's performance on hardpack but I have found no problems there. For me this is a good alround tyre, durable and reliable. |
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Submitted by
Dr. Wood
a Racer
from Tucson
Date Reviewed: 1/7/2006 8:16:35 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | AZ Trail-Rincon Mountains |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Traction, durability, and continued performance as the tread wears. Good for front or rear. |
| Weaknesses: | None |
| Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight, V-Brakes, Psylo. |
| Bottom Line: | Probably the best tire I have used. Great cornering in front and super rear traction. The tread starts really deep, which is great for traction, and as it wears, it keeps its grip, but improves its rolling resistance. When the tread lugs get pretty low in back, you can put it up front and it will still corner great. |
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Submitted by
shawn malloy
a Downhiller
from Lynn, MA USA
Date Reviewed: 8/23/2005 9:33:57 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | BOW RIDGE (gone now:( |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | local shop |
| Strengths: | Excellent grip in all conditions from rock faces to mud bogs, loose gravel to hard pack. Almost no knob deflection. Good sidewalls with the pro tection version. |
| Weaknesses: | none. maybe not the best tire for a front but still better than most. Best as a rear. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis- hans venture, minion, high roller, mobster. Nokian- gazzaloddi, nbx. Panaracer- fire series. Hutchinson- spider UST. Michelin- wild gripper, Hot s. Continental- vertical, vertical UST, gravity, gravity UST. |
| Bike Setup: | Intense Uzzi SLX, Fox 36, mavic 823's to hadley's and 721's to king. Standard shimano / race face mix. Thomson post and stem and easton monkeylite's. |
| Bottom Line: | I have tried just about every tire that is worth trying and NO company offers better tires than continental. The only catch is that I am light (135lbs) and have never needed a super beefy tire under me. If you are a big'un try the gazzaloddi's. Nokian's rank second in my book. Most european tire companies use REAL rubber not synthetic (maxxis). This provides the best grip to durability ratio available. I get better grip with any of my continentals than any of the maxxis Super tacky's. I run two sets of rims and thus two sets of tires. For freeriding I run my 721's with a survival on the rear and a vertical on the front. For DH I run 823's with gravity UST for rear and vertical UST for front. The continental's are predictable, stable and grip any surface you are going to ride. Continental has been making tires for nearly 100 years and it shows. If you are a serious rider you owe it to yourself to at least try these. |
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Submitted by
Carlos
a Cross Country Rider
from Lakewood, CO USA
Date Reviewed: 12/9/2004 8:37:20 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Transfer Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $15 |
| Purchased At: | Wheatridge Cycles (sale bin) |
| Strengths: | This tire has unbelievable traction on a variety of surfaces, but is at its best in loose, mud and snow. Even my stoker is amazed by the traction this tire has and it takes a lot to get comments like that from her. I have had problems with the sidewalls on Continental in the past. This tire has very strong, durable sidewall thanks to Pro Tection. It’s good to see a big company address a problem this well. |
| Weaknesses: | None found so far. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Continental Traction Pro Tire and Nokian Boazobeana R |
| Bike Setup: | IBIS Cousin It (tandem), XT shifters, XTR derailleurs, LX cranks, 11-34 cassette, White Brothers TM 1.0, Hope Mono6ti (205mm rotors) front and rear and Phil Wood Disk/Mavic EX 729 wheels with a Continental Vertical Pro Tection2.3 on the front and a Continental Survival Pro Tection 2.3 on the rear |
| Bottom Line: | The best rubber we’ve had on the tandem so far is hands down the Vertical Pro Tection 2.3 on the front and the Survival Pro Tection 2.3 on the rear. They hook up solidly and track very well on every surface I have used them on. I would recommend them to any team for use on their two-seater mountain bike. |
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Submitted by
Conor
a Weekend Warrior
from salt lake city,ut,usa
Date Reviewed: 11/1/2004 6:14:00 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | pipeline or slickrock |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Spin cycle |
| Strengths: | Great grip in loose of wet dirt |
| Weaknesses: | havn't found any yet other than the loud noises from the nobby tread on pavement |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized rockster |
| Bottom Line: | Great for climbing in dirt or other offroad terrain i love the way it grips into almost anything. Ive used this in so many different types of terrain, even snow, and the grip has never failed me |
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Submitted by
hora Horacek
from Surrey, UK
Date Reviewed: 10/17/2004 12:47:33 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Strengths: | Low rolling resistance, light, it does grip and do what it should |
| Weaknesses: | Excess vibration when running high volume on roads............but its not designed for road riding, its designed for mountain bikes |
| Similar Products Tried: | The Imelda Marcos of the tyre world |
| Bike Setup: | Ti sprung Heckler, Chris King ISO, King headset, 03 Z1 FR bolt through's etc etc |
| Bottom Line: | Its designed for mud and unlike some mud tyres its not unstable over hardpack/wet rock and back to mud. So many times I've walked into a bikeshop and spotted some new tyres, thrown off the Survival Pro's only to ease them back on again. Now if only Conti could make their summer tyres puncher-proof from thorns...... |
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Submitted by
Alex
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: 5/1/2004 7:20:48 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Strengths: | Great on dirt, in the mud. Looks. |
| Weaknesses: | Can slide out on wet hard surfaces |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized Roll-X, Ritchey |
| Bike Setup: | '95 Cannondale CAD1, mainly deore stuff |
| Bottom Line: | Used 2.3 front and rear. Great traction offroad on dirt tracks or mud. Can slide out if braking on grass. High rolling resistance (and accompanying 'tractor tyre sound')on tarmac - great for building up the leg muscles! Wet pavements are a definite problem when the tires are new, slid out on me a couple times when using the front brake too vigorously - be careful! Also watch frame clearance, the large knobs can literally eat into your aluminium chainstays if there is any buckle or flex in the rear wheel. Tires held up well when hard-cornering, where other tires often distort ('squish' as I call it, if you know what I mean). Look great, lasted me a couple of years on and offroad. Lots of choice though at this size/price range. |
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Submitted by
Kenn
a Cross Country Rider
from Henderson
Date Reviewed: 2/15/2004 7:18:23 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Anything with dirt on it |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $35 |
| Purchased At: | Bike Shop in Henderson |
| Strengths: | Great grip and soft pliable sidewall. Outstanding when used with Stans No Tubes. 2.3 rolls very well front and rear. Conti makes a very good quality product. |
| Weaknesses: | None yet. I can't even say price because you do get what you pay for. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis,Tioga |
| Bike Setup: | Trek Liquid 30,XT throughout, Chris King headset, Fox Vanilla 125, Thompson stem and post, Easton bar, Deore Disc etc. |
| Bottom Line: | For the trails in southern NV I have found these to be a great buy. I have been pushing Maxxis Minions 2.35 front and rear for a while now and they were nice. The Survival Pros are very easy to push even though I am running 2.3 front and back. On very steep climbs the Maxxis would break a tad bit and these bite very well with no release. They sound pretty sweet on pavement as well. I would definately recommend to use Stan's No-Tubes as well. No more pinch flats and no more thorn flats! Southern NV has these stupid weeds that shed thorns all over the place. |
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Submitted by
Marcus75
a Weekend Warrior
from LA, CALI
Date Reviewed: 11/10/2003 11:48:23 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Local Mountains |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Helen's |
| Strengths: | Wide and Long Knobs/Trends, good controls in wet and dry dirt trails. |
| Weaknesses: | Wide Trend make pavement rides very slippery, weight and not good for XC overall tires. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Enduro S Works |
| Bike Setup: | Specialized Enduro Pro w/ Answer Carbon Protaper and Time Z Pedals. |
| Bottom Line: | Just had these installed on the rear after my enduro S Works started going balled. Looking for a tire that really digs into the dry dirt trails, these are excellent climbers because the long knows digs well. Also the wide trend design makes good traction. No Slips like with my enduro S Works Tires. Excellent fit with my specialized enduro pro because I do alot of rough terrain rides. Had these on for only few rides, so don't know about the long term durability but much better climber than S Work. I would recommend these for climbing and if you are seeking tractions over wet and dry dirt trails. This is a very specific tire made for tractions over rough terrains, not a good XC or all round tires. |
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Submitted by
mtbdirteater
a Cross Country Rider
from The Colorado Front Range
Date Reviewed: 10/30/2003 10:33:33 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | the last one I ended on... |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $45 |
| Purchased At: | Westside |
| Strengths: | Consistant Continental quality, very grippy on rocks and decent rear braking when still new, good climbing tire on rear with 30-35psi. Kicks butt on damp dirt hardpack singletrack like after a rain where other more tightly spaced tread patterns pick up stuff and slide, good excelleration unless in four inches of dust, makes me think it would excell in mud if we ever had any... Fairly easy to mount on most rims like other Conti tires. |
| Weaknesses: | No Tubeless UST version, what's up with this void??? Wears fast on rocky trails, can pinch flat at optimum tire pressure for best traction 30-35psi, Not so great on dusty hardpack, but this tire is not designed for that. Bounces and tears up trails on a hardtail with higher air pressure, probably due to the same widely spaced tire tread that makes it such a great traction tire at lower pressure. My white "ProTection" logo on one side of the tire is peeling off, and it's a top layer of rubber, not a decal. After three months of trail riding on it nearly every afternoon and weekend, I have more like round bumps than any sharp knobs left. A little expensive for how soft the rubber is, but you get great traction with it before it wears and dulls down. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Many Conti, WTB, IRC, Panaracer, Hutchinson, Intense, etc. |
| Bike Setup: | Used as rear (2.3) tire with a 2.5-3.0 tube on DeeMax rims, disc, hardtail, 175lb rider wearing overloaded CamelBak... |
| Bottom Line: | Good specific purpose tire in loose rock and on rocky technical trails, a fast hard pack tire this ain't. I like this tire as a rear for climbing loose stuff better than a rear Velociraptor, which is great too. Some noticeable rolling resistance on hard pack, but you'll have that the more aggressive and widely spaced the tread pattern. If you ride asphalt to your trails, pavement eats this tire for lunch. ProTection sidewall is worth it, only pinch flatted this tire once, but at about 40mph blasting down rocky Rollins Pass. I'm sure a downhill tube would have held up better in it that day with what I was riding down after looking at the snakebite, but if getting that heavy, might as well look at a 2 ply light downhill/freeride tire like an Intense EX 909 2.35 if it will fit between your chainstays. A Survival Pro may make a good downhill tread if they actually made it as a thicker (heavier) downhill tire in a harder rubber compound, but it is cool that you can use this aggressive tread where you need it in an XC weight tire, gives you a little edge in some places. Mud performance? I can't tell you about mud, because I live in Colorado and rarely have mud, will have to try this tire in the snow, and I'm trying a 2.1 ProTection on the rear next. I've never tried this tire on front, a Vertical ProTection or Vertical UST (2.3, because that's all they make) makes a great front for this tire on Colorado trails. Tread about half worn down with nearly every day riding for three months, but sharp edges wore off after about a month, turning this tire into something different, looks like the edges of all my knobs are chipped off and rounded now. It worked so good though when it did, that I will keep using a Survival Pro on the rear on trails that it eats, so I call this a good specific purpose tire, that like many good things, doesn't last forever. If you have a specific need for a traction solution on loose and rocky technical stuff, this may be your rear tire, and hooks up great climbing just about anything with a surface if you don't ride hanging out over your stem, there is not enough surface contact on the knob tips back there to keep you in line if you like riding on your front wheel. |
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Submitted by
Fred
a Cross Country Rider
from MA
Date Reviewed: 10/7/2003 10:26:42 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $22 |
| Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist |
| Strengths: | Great traction in loose conditions, great mud evacuation |
| Weaknesses: | Rolling resistance, but I don't think these are "general purpose" tires. They work in mud or loose conditions, and in other applications may suffer. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Tioga Factory XC 2.1, Panaracer FireXC, Geax Hook & Warp, IRC Trail Bear, Michelin HotS 2.1 |
| Bottom Line: | I bought these tires on closeout from Colorado Cyclist for $22 each. I have the 2.1 Survivals, which are fairly narrow tires. However, in loose conditions, they are superb. There really isn't much hardpack where I live, so I'd imagine that they might be a bit squirmy because of their high knob profile. However, the large widely spaced knobs tear up loose terrain. The sidewalls are fairly stiff and thick, so they aren't the lightest tires out there, but they are pretty durable. I say in the conditions that they are meant for, they get 5 stars. |
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Submitted by
Eric W
a Cross Country Rider
from Henderson NV.
Date Reviewed: 9/8/2003 2:48:45 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Bootleg Canyon |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $44 |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Great in dry loose, sandy, gravely and rocky conditions. Average to better than average on hardpack with loose coating. Does good on mudd ( what little we get here. ) Very good shock absorbing characteristics, on rough trails. Mountable by hand, onto Sun Rhyno Lite rims! |
| Weaknesses: | Price is a little high, but I wouldn't want Continental to reduce the price, if it means reducing the performance and reliability. There is no 2.5 size. I would like to try a 2.5 on the front with a 2.3 on the rear someday. (lifes not perfect, LOLs.) |
| Similar Products Tried: | Michelin Hot S. (After many hours experamenting with pressures, I think the Hot S, is one of the worst tires ever made.) Specialized Roll X Pro, Team control and Team Master. |
| Bike Setup: | FSR XC with Sun Rhyno Lites. |
| Bottom Line: | Excellent tire for the east side of the Las Vegas Valley. It will propell you through sand and gravel with no problems what-so-ever. The Survival Pro is slightly weaker on Hard pack, but more than makes up for that by letting a person "fly" over the extreme terrain (there is lots of that around here.) In the sand and gravel, the tall knobs "paddle" you through and let the casing float on the top, so the tall knob height doesn't cause an increase in rolling resistance when the tire is used in its intended applications. I'm using a 2.3 on the front, and a 2.1 on the rear. I weigh 215 lb and run 37 psi in the front, and 45 psi in the rear. This gives me, very good to excellent, floatation and traction everywhere. The bottom line is this. I brought several tire sets with me when I moved here from California, and none of them, comes even close to these, in very extreme dry, gravely, sandy and rocky conditions. I'm giving 5 chilis overall, for extreme desert riding. |
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Submitted by
Jimm
a Weekend Warrior
from SoCal
Date Reviewed: 9/1/2003 12:24:34 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Porcupine Rim |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $26 |
| Purchased At: | InCycle |
| Strengths: | Traction; durability; work well in all conditions except VERRRRY hard pack and/or pavement; good resistance to punctures. |
| Weaknesses: | Weight; cost (I purchased mine at a "2Fer" sale...2 for the price of one); wear fast when used on pavement. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Tioga, Panaracer, WTB, Jones, etc. etc. |
| Bike Setup: | '03 Ellsworth ID; full XTR with Avid mechanicals and Velocity rims |
| Bottom Line: | Excellent traction! I find them very predictable and functional. The whirrrring sound on the pavement should not be considered a "weakness"; hey, they were designed for dirt, rocks, ruts and roots -- not asphalt/concrete. That would be like saying "no traction at all in the mud" as a weakness for a road tire. Overall, they are one of my all time fav tires....moved past Tioga. |
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Submitted by
Pete
a Weekend Warrior
from Lisbon, Portugal
Date Reviewed: 7/27/2003 8:50:06 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Purchased At: | Econauta (Lisbon) |
| Strengths: | Good traction and good grip on loose and sandy terrains. VERY GOOD grip on mud. |
| Weaknesses: | Medium/high rolling resistenc on hardpacked terrain, tarmac, etc |
| Bike Setup: | Marin with Bomber Z1 Wedge 130mm MAgura Julie FR; HS-33 Tr; Rims Mavic D321 ; D521; Onoff Morph Riser bar and other Onoff comp; XT Hubs, Grip shifts ,.. |
| Bottom Line: | I own the Conti Survival Pro 2.3 (on front wheel). Not much heavy for a 2.3 tire.Good thread design. Residual mud removed quite easy.Stable cornering oin loose and soft terrains, like sand, gravel, rocks, mud. A good tire for Freeride |
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Submitted by
UpdateFrom GlowBoy
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland OR USA
Date Reviewed: 5/6/2003 8:44:41 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | anywhere in Oregon |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $45 |
| Purchased At: | River City Bikes |
| Strengths: | Great grip in soft mud. Fantastic cornering in deep loose dry conditions. Reasonably light. |
| Weaknesses: | Terrible in hard clay mud. Wash-out/spin-out is unpredictable. Terrible grip on hard surfaces. VERY high rolling resistance. Buzzing of knobs sounds like it's hitting the chainstays. Painfully expensive. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Hutchinson Alligator Gold 1.85 and 2.0, Alligator black 2.0, Tioga 2.3 DH, various older Specialized, Ritchey and Conti products |
| Bike Setup: | Rigid V-brake singlespeed. |
| Bottom Line: | This is an update to my earlier review. Sorry, but I'm voting the Survivor (er, Survival) off the island and putting it up for sale. After more rides, here's what I've found. First the good: this tire is (1) great in soft thick mud, and (2) fantastic in loose dry sand or gravel. In the former it ties with the Alligator for overall grip, and in the latter it is by far the best tire I have ever used. Also, (3) it rarely packs up with mud. The bad: (1) it absolutely blows on firm clay-based mud. The side knobs just won't dig in, and you will go down. (2) it doesn't break loose predictably, front (slides out without warning) or rear (spins out without warning). (3) its grip on wet or dry hardpack or pavement is horrible. With those tall knobs, the contact patch is too small. (4) Rolling reistance is a nightmare - I'm not usually sensitive to this, but this tire is a lot of work to push along any kind of firm surface. My Tioga DH rolls MUCH faster! (5) On the trail, the tread makes a loud, almost metallic buzz that absolutely sounds like it's rubbing the chainstays - except it isn't! It really is just the sound this tire makes on dirt. I know others who have experienced the same problem. (6) I paid $45 for the ProTection version! Bottom bottom line: Some people swear by this tire, but it just didn't work out for me. When it was good, it was very good ... but the range of conditions where that was true was VERY narrow. I strongly recommend the Hutchinson Alligator (any version) instead. I'm downgrading my rating to 1 chili for value, 2 overall. The Gator performs as well or better than the Survival in all conditions except loose/dry, and is FAR, FAR more versatile and predictable. Rare to find a mudder that's also a good all-rounder, but the Hutchinson is it. |
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Submitted by
kjr39
a Cross Country Rider
from Near Ann Arbor
Date Reviewed: 4/25/2003 10:03:57 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | The one I'm on. |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $35 |
| Purchased At: | speedgoat |
| Strengths: | Awesome in mud/snow. Okay weight for what you are getting. |
| Weaknesses: | Hard pack... |
| Bike Setup: | Stock '02 Trek 8500 |
| Bottom Line: | This is my winter tire set and it is a great tire for mud or winter riding. I'm running a 2.3 in the front and a 2.1 in the back. Hardly any slippage and good float over snow. Hard pack on the otherhand is try at your own risk. Now that it is getting dryer out, I'm swapping these for a faster rolling, more predictable tire for summer. This is own though... Read the box that they come in and it pretty much tells you not to use them on hardpack... Would I buy them again? Yep. |
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Submitted by
John Bemel
a Cross Country Rider
from Minneapolis, MN
Date Reviewed: 4/15/2003 1:41:30 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $39 |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Big air vollume, high quality casing, outstanding traction on most types of soil, decent price |
| Weaknesses: | Rolling resistance, wear quickly on pavement |
| Similar Products Tried: | Michelin Wild Gripper XL and Front S, Panaracer (I forget type but they were big and had widely space knobs) |
| Bike Setup: | A hardtail built with a focus on durability rather than light weight. |
| Bottom Line: | These tires are unbeatable in loamy soil. The traction is wonderful, especially cornering traction, but going and stopping traction are great as well. They work really well in mud with great traction again, and they clear the mud better than any other tire I've used. The high air vollume is nice on my hardtail as I can run them relatively soft (30-35 lbs/sq. in.) and just float over roots and rocks. I would not recomend them if any of your rides include pavement as the rolling resistence is pretty high and they will wear quickly. I've ridden them on pavement for maybe 10 miles, and I could tell I was wearing the knobs down. I examined them after the ride and there was more wear than would have happened in dirt. I haven't tried them on any hardpack, but I imagine the rolling resitance and wear factors would come into play there as well. Overall, great tires, outstanding for what they're designed for. I'm taking one point off the overall rating for the wear factor on hard surfaces. You might want to consider how many of your rides include any hard surfaces and keep that in mind when considering this tire. |
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Submitted by
darth vader
a Weekend Warrior
from Dvo. Phil.
Date Reviewed: 3/16/2003 10:33:22 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $10 |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | excellent traction in wet condition, mud. it sheds mud in no time. great front tire. surprisingly, it has a longer tread life than i expected. |
| Weaknesses: | as a rear tire, it vibrates on pave road. (yeah its not intended for road, but I need to ride the road to get to the trail) |
| Bottom Line: | bottom line if you ride in wet offroad terrain/mud/wet loose surface/wet gravel/roots/wet soil/wet grass, you have two choices MAXXIS SWAMPTHING 5.0 or CONTI SURVIVAL 3.0. their both excellent for the purpose. I've tried the following setup, IMHO: 1. conti survival front & rear tire - excellent setup but something is missing on rear side. 2. maxxis swampthing front & rear tire - excellent setup but something is missing up front. 3. maxxis swampthing rear & conti survival front - excellent setup that suits my riding style. minimal wash out up front and excellent rear traction. it brings me to new limits in cornering on wet condition. |
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Submitted by
G Man
a Downhiller
from West Linn
Date Reviewed: 2/23/2003 11:24:05 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Hospital Hill near Hood River |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $36 |
| Purchased At: | Phat Tire |
| Strengths: | Widely spaced angled knobs make for good traction in loose and wet/muddy conditions. Sheds mud well. |
| Weaknesses: | SLOOOOOOOOOW! This is the slowest tire I've ever ridden and I thought the Conti Pro series was bad! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Way too many tires to list. |
| Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Tazmon set up for freeriding (now switched to a Blur). |
| Bottom Line: | I have the 2.3 version with sidewall protection. Good tire for a larger (above 180 lbs) rider in the Pacific NW where wet conditions are the norm (which probably explains the high rating since nearly all the reviews I read are from Portland riders!). Smaller riders like me would do better with a narrower tire. I understand Conti came out with a 2.0 or 2.1 version? If anyone would like to trade for the narrower ones, I'd be happy to! Or a 2.4 Motoraptor (my favorite tire to date). |
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Submitted by
chriss grant
a Racer
from moolooabah sunshine coast queensland australia
Date Reviewed: 2/11/2003 2:15:47 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | australian bush |
| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $168 |
| Purchased At: | brisbane australia |
| Strengths: | Grip,traction,tracks like its on rails,it is very stable in deep ruts,and when it is messy it comes into its own |
| Weaknesses: | none, however they were correct when conti gave it a one star, for rolling resistance,takes just a little bit of extra effort to get it rolling( maybe i"m to critical) |
| Similar Products Tried: | continental,alanta,traction pro. only use conti tyres |
| Bike Setup: | a Super E(super endurance) specific build,garry fisher frame (old one)azonic ptw,specialised,shimano,stuff.blah,blah,blah |
| Bottom Line: | This tyre blew me away with the way it tracks, in the rough stuff at speed,I race super E MTB,it is the same format as the world ralley championship for cars,staged races at naximum speed,the stability and traction of this tyre is amazing specially in rough dence wooded areas and loose surface stages,when you turn it goes exactly where you want it to go,i did not any slipping or loss of traction at all and when i got to the muddy stuff well it was unbeatable my stage times hane improved and it is due to this tyre its great gear |
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Submitted by
nathan
from asheville nc
Date Reviewed: 2/7/2003 2:56:58 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | laurel mtn |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | colorado cyclist |
| Strengths: | great traction on roots. when the going gets slippy these tires hook up. they also perform well in the dry with as the sticky rubber keeps you locked to the trail. i took them out in snow for the first time last week and once again they did not let me down. contenetial's endless edge keeps the bike locked down in the turns. these tires are also bomb proof on rocky descents.i have been on them for six months and no flats. they also work well with stans no tube system. if you make these tires tubeless they only get better |
| Weaknesses: | the wide blocks do not bite through the leaves but thats the only weakness |
| Similar Products Tried: | maxxis mobsters |
| Bike Setup: | santa cruz superlight, xtr drive train, avid disc, ust wheels, black 100/120 fork |
| Bottom Line: | if you live where their are roots and rocks and need maximum traction these tires are for you. contenential makes a great tire. |
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