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Home | Product Reviews | Tire | Continental Vertical Pro | ||||
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Submitted by
Luis
a Weekend Warrior
from Guimaraes - Portugal
Date Reviewed: 4/21/2008 5:06:27 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | hibike.de |
| Strengths: | Great Rolling, Great Grip, Great Durability, Great Weight! |
| Weaknesses: | None (a bit narrow, but it's ok) |
| Similar Products Tried: | Nobby Nic's ; Conti Diesel ; Tioga Blue Dragon ; Nokian NBX; Hutchinsons.... |
| Bike Setup: | C'nndale Prophet SL , Lefty , Dt XR 4.1d , Hope Brakes |
| Bottom Line: | This is the absolute all mountain tire! |
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Submitted by
Chris Lupton
a Weekend Warrior
from Suffolk, UK
Date Reviewed: 3/31/2008 11:15:52 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Coed Y Brenin |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | Online |
| Strengths: | Amazing grip. Decent rolling resistance & weight. |
| Weaknesses: | None |
| Similar Products Tried: | Nothing as good |
| Bike Setup: | 2008 Commencal Meta 5.5XT |
| Bottom Line: | In the slippery, muddy conditions I ride in over winter, these tyres have no equal. I have seen others slide all over the place where these tyres have helped me hold a line. I haven't tried them in summer conditions yet, but on the few dry hardpack rides I have done this winter, thet have rolled well & gripped just as well as in mud. They aren't overly heavy either. |
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Submitted by
David Bill
a Cross Country Rider
from Jacksonville, NC
Date Reviewed: 2/1/2008 5:58:20 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Brig Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $28 |
| Purchased At: | Jenson USA |
| Strengths: | Great Grip,low rolling resistance, durable |
| Weaknesses: | none so far |
| Similar Products Tried: | Hutchison Mosquito, Specialized Pro |
| Bike Setup: | 07 Stumpjumper FSR Expert |
| Bottom Line: | This tire has saved me on a lot of corners where the Mesquitoes would have dumped me on my head. Most popular tire on the local trails of Eastern North Carolina. This tire will warn you before it slips and then find traction anyway. Only complaint is I would like a larger size to use up front. |
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Submitted by
John Thompson
a Cross Country Rider
from Plymouth, UK
Date Reviewed: 1/20/2008 5:50:34 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | online |
| Strengths: | Useful all round fast trail tyre that combines good grip with low weight and rolling resistance. Excellent in the dry. Sheds mud well. Grips very well at low pressures. Ok on tarmac. Seems to last well. Good for Dartmoor. |
| Weaknesses: | Doesn't seem to grip on slick wet rock at all (slate at coed-y-brenin has casused me some pain because of this) - can range from scary to dangerous in these conditions. Also slippery over wet roots (but what tyre isnt?). Carcass not high enough volume to resist pinch flats at low pressures (I am using tubes so maybe this could be avoided by going tubeless). Too small to inspire confidence on rocky descents. Not really 2.3 - more like 2.1 imho. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Specialized resolution 2.0, wtb motoraptor 2.24, panaracer smoke / dart, wtb velociraptor, continental vapor, maxxis swampthing. |
| Bike Setup: | works stumpy. |
| Bottom Line: | Seems like a good all round XC / trail tyre for non-hardcore riders. I am always trying others but I keep coming back to these because they offer a realy good compromise between speed and grip. Other tyres offer better grip or volume, but these are really fast for what you get from them. |
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Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Nelson, BC Canada
Date Reviewed: 11/3/2007 1:20:13 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Strengths: | Good for loose dirt. |
| Weaknesses: | Bad for Rocks, trees especially wet ones. |
| Similar Products Tried: | WTB Mutano and Moto. Panaracer Cinder. Kenda Nevegal. Maxxis Igniter. |
| Bike Setup: | 07 Prophet 3Z. |
| Bottom Line: | I was using Panaracer Cinders(best tire I have used) prior to using the Conti's. First thing I noticed was the tall knobs on the sides wouldn't grab on rocks and trees (wet or dry) causing me to slide off of them due to the knobs bending. The salesman told me that they are a do all tire which I would say isn't correct. I just checked the conti site and they say the same thing. I would say they are more of a loose dirt tire. |
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Submitted by
Greg Katz
a Cross Country Rider
from Dunstable, MA
Date Reviewed: 10/21/2007 2:04:03 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | Speedgoat |
| Strengths: | Low Rolling Resistence |
| Weaknesses: | Miserable wet performance |
| Similar Products Tried: | Conti Explorer/Traction Pro |
| Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Truth, Fox F100, XTR, etc |
| Bottom Line: | I'm a Conti fan and that's all I've ridden for years but these tires are treacherous on anything wet other than regular dirt. Wet rocks and roots will put you on the ground pretty quickly. My group usually rides in the early morning so it's usually wet when we start out. It's a combination of the small knows and the hard compound I suppose. Size wise they are more of a 2.2, but I knew that before I got them and they're actually the perfect width for me. Don't know what else to say other than I'm disappointed. |
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Submitted by
Don Duende
a Cross Country Rider
from Eastern Sierra
Date Reviewed: 10/19/2007 3:47:05 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Mammoth Rock Trail |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | From a friend |
| Strengths: | Light,wide, fast rolling front tire. Put these on for winter XC riding with Stans tubeless setup. The first week we had snow, then warm weather and cold nights. So, I have been through mud, sand, loose, frozen snow and ice. I love this tire. |
| Weaknesses: | Doesn't look very wide. Looks more like a 2.2 but about as wide as a WTB Mutanoraptor 2.4 and much narrower than the Panaracer Fire FR 2.4 it replaced. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Kenda Nevegal,Karma,Dart. WTB Weirwolf. Panaracer Fire FR. |
| Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5 |
| Bottom Line: | Took my bike to the LBS to remove my FR/AM tires and air up a lighter set of tires for winter XC riding. The bike mechanic mounted it up in the wrong direction and I went out and rode. It went up, down and through without complaint. After the ride, while hosing down the bike, I noticed the tire was mounted the wrong way. I took it back and had him remount the tire to rotate in the proper direction. The tire was even better. Handles well in the corners, sand, rocks, a little mud, ice and snow. |
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Submitted by
Adam Hunter
a Weekend Warrior
from Liverpool UK
Date Reviewed: 9/1/2007 12:36:07 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $14 |
| Purchased At: | Wiggle.co.uk |
| Strengths: | Grips on most surfaces, wears very well (hardly worn after 1 year) |
| Weaknesses: | Has let go once (loose material on hardpack) |
| Similar Products Tried: | Various Specialized tyres |
| Bottom Line: | Despite the one 'off' I've had due to this tyre, it's performed extremely well every other time. I've got this on the front with a Conti Vapour out back. Wear rate is fantastic, low rolling resistance and a good price (£14 GBP). Will be buying again |
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Submitted by
Albertinho
a Cross Country Rider
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: 8/27/2007 6:14:29 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Anything with a good climb and descent |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | 2nd hand |
| Strengths: | Confidence-inspiring, great grip, no snakebites, spiderwebs! |
| Weaknesses: | Riding on roads is a bit tiring. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Kenda Komodo, Schwalbe Albert |
| Bike Setup: | KTM Ultra Flite 2007 Marzocchi MX Pro fork Formula Oro K18 brakes SRAM X9/Attack shifters Deore/LX kit |
| Bottom Line: | Very good, but they were putting me off from riding my bike on roads. Buy them for your mountain rig if you have another bike for commuting. I replaced them with 2.25 Schwalbe Alberts, a bit thinner, not so aggressive sidewalls, but I didn't notice a decrease in control during descents. Had a snakebite though. But the Alberts roll noticeably easier on roads and seem more versatile. |
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Submitted by
Allen Zimmermann
a Weekend Warrior
from san mateo, ca usa
Date Reviewed: 1/3/2007 11:15:32 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | waterdog,skeggs, downieville nstar |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | universal bikes |
| Strengths: | Light. Strong. Bullet-proof for cc/trail riding. Have ridden Downieville and N.Star with no flats. Our local areas are much smoother than Sierras, so no problems at all. Will stick with these for now. |
| Weaknesses: | A little expensive (but worth it). I would go with the higher tpi Protection model rather than the $20 wire version. Not really 2.3 but who cares? It's close. |
| Similar Products Tried: | That's personal. |
| Bike Setup: | 2003 Trek Fuel |
| Bottom Line: | With what's going on in the world today, does it really matter how good a mtb. tire really is? |
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Submitted by
Adam B
a Racer
from Toronto, ON
Date Reviewed: 10/31/2006 9:45:31 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Glen Major/Durham |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $60 |
| Purchased At: | Northern Cycle |
| Strengths: | Very grippy in most conditions. Excellent front tire. Rolls fast despite how grippy it is. |
| Weaknesses: | Not the best on concrete but not meant for that. The UST tires are really heavy, something like 800 or 900 grams. Not 2.3 inches wide or tall, where are they getting these numbers from? |
| Similar Products Tried: | bontrager, michellin, hutchinson |
| Bike Setup: | Winter/Snow setup: Conti Vertical tubeless front and rear at 20 psi. Regular setup Conti Vertical Protection front and Conti Explorer rear at 35 to 40 psi. |
| Bottom Line: | I've used the tubeless and the Protection version of this tire and they are both awesome tires. During summer non competitive use I would recommend this as an all condition front tire and maybe back tire if you don't mind the weight. As a front tire it grabs the trail and doesn't let go. As the winter progresses here in Canada I might put the Vertical on the front and rear of my commuter bike to reduce any chance of sliding on city roads while commuting to work and back. When going off road into the snow I use the Conti Vert Tubeless tires front and rear at 20 psi and you can ride up snowy trails you wouldn't think possible, these tires are awesome. You can't go wrong with buying this tire. |
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Submitted by
solarity
a Cross Country Rider
from New Jersey
Date Reviewed: 10/9/2006 7:29:16 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Ringwood, Sourland |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | They grip when you need it the most. Durable compound. |
| Weaknesses: | Front placement tends to wander, but that may be due to my bike setup. Tires wear fast, but that is a trade off for good grip. |
| Similar Products Tried: | WTB, Panaracer, Michelin and Kenda. |
| Bottom Line: | Reliable tires in the area of grip and tracking. I have used both, UST and standard versions including PROtection model. Climbing and traction is what counts the most for my style of riding, but I won't ignore the stability when heading downward. I have been using these tires for years and despite trying other models and brands from time to time, I always end up buying another pair of verticals. I love these tires for my riding conditions which include rocky, wet conditions and snow in the winter. Climbing steep, rocky sections of trail - the kind that seems to want to throw you off your bike as if mocking you - is where these tires shine. No tire will offer complete grip in all conditions, especially in the wet and no tire can substitute for skill, experience and proper bike setup, but these tires handle well considering. I prefer these tires over the panaracer fire XC pros wich worked well in dry conditions but fish tailed and slipped liked crazy at any hint of moisture and they did not perform as well when the trail got hairy. All in all these tires can BITE like hell when the trail gets tough and they may be the only thing responsible for holding that last bit of crucial traction in the dog fight for cresting the final point of a brutally tough climb. |
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Submitted by
Robbie Sorrell
a Weekend Warrior
from Austin, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: 9/24/2006 2:01:18 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Barton Creek |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $20 |
| Purchased At: | Bicycle Sport Shop |
| Strengths: | Excellent Traction when dry |
| Weaknesses: | Rolling Resistance |
| Similar Products Tried: | Explorer Pro |
| Bike Setup: | Raleigh M80 with modifications |
| Bottom Line: | While moving along the learning curve, I have now switched to the Continental Explorer. The resistance is significantly less while maintaining almost all of the traction enjoyed with the vertical pros - just tweak your riding for the first 3-5 rides to get used to it. I found that paying extra for the kevlar is not worth it as the tires are only good for roughly a year then you should replace. The wire rim is not that much heavier and while they are more susceptible to sidewall rips, you are paying half the price of a Kevlar tire anyway - plus, you are getting the kick butt traction of a new tire again - BFD. Enjoy! |
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Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Cahmbridge, OH, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/17/2006 9:17:41 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | Ernie's Bike Shop |
| Strengths: | Grips like Velcro, tracks straight, corners consistently, fairly light, good flat protection, yada yada. |
| Weaknesses: | NOT 2.3 inches, maybe 2.0, thin sidewalls are not for freeriders, but great for everyone else. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Hutchison Spyder Air Light |
| Bike Setup: | '06 Stumpy 120 FSR Pro with Avid Juicy 7's, THESE TIRES MAKE GREAT TUBELESS WITH SEALANT. |
| Bottom Line: | This is the perfect tire for xc/trailriders, great in mud and anything else real mountain bikers ride. If you wonder what tires to get, buy these. The PROtection version is the light version. |
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Submitted by
Mervz
a Weekend Warrior
from Laguna, Philippines
Date Reviewed: 8/13/2006 12:40:45 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Los Banos and Bataan trails |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $6 |
| Purchased At: | 915- local LB bike shop |
| Strengths: | A true all around/all mountain tire. Lightweight. Grippy. Full traction. Fast rolling on and off trails. Unique whimsical design (spiderwebs?! WTF?!) Dirt cheap |
| Weaknesses: | Not a true 2.3 tire as already voiced out by the majority. I'd say size is somewhere between a 2.1 and a 2.24. Wishful thinking: hope they could be more like the Larsen TT 2.3. now that's robust and light. However a wider rim would make this tire look much bigger (duh) |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis and WTB tires mainly |
| Bike Setup: | Kona Caldera aggro-XC set-up |
| Bottom Line: | I'm reviewing the econo version Vertical (not the Pro), the cheapest in the line. It's basically the same anyway save for the slightly lower tpi casing and wire bead. Man I absofreakinlutely love this tire! It would've been the perfect aggressive trail tire for me had it been a true 2.3 size but still I love 'em as it is. But what I really love about this is that it's a very fast, high rolling tire (even on the road) yet maintains a very strong traction and can take on any kind of trail in these parts. I truly am impressed with the handling and performanc of this tire. On the descents it's expected to shine but what really blew me away was its amazing grip and handling in climbing steep technical trails. bottomline is they're lovely and truly one of the best yet underrated tires around. plus they're sold quite cheap here so it's a real damn bargain if you ever saw one |
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Submitted by
JK
a Weekend Warrior
from U.K
Date Reviewed: 7/30/2006 4:26:13 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Marin |
| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Purchased At: | LBS |
| Strengths: | Reasonably light and good tread at first. Low rolling resistance. |
| Weaknesses: | Not cheap. They wear in a way that compromises their performance well in advance of the tyres being worn out. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Endless number of top brand makes over the last 20 years. |
| Bike Setup: | Marin Mount Vision |
| Bottom Line: | When new these tyres are very capable in almost all conditions front or rear. I have 4 of these tyres and I have become concerned that as soon as the nobbles start to wear and round-off, the tyre becomes a very poor performer and possitively evil in wet conditions. I like them when new but I feel that the fast deterioration of performance undermines their long term quality and since they are not cheap, I regard that as a major concern. |
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Submitted by
Dave
from Tempe
Date Reviewed: 7/29/2006 9:39:08 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $50 |
| Purchased At: | Idaho Mountain Touring |
| Strengths: | Excellent rolling resistance and durability. Works well on the road without wearing down, which is important to me because I often ride to the trailhead. |
| Weaknesses: | Traction is just OK. Smaller size than advertised 2.3. (Actual width is more like 2.1). |
| Similar Products Tried: | IRC Trail Bear, Panaracer Cinder, Specialized Resolution |
| Bike Setup: | Trek Liquid 2003 with Race Face Diabolis stem and Performance Loco wheels for all mountain riding |
| Bottom Line: | A good tire for all around use, and very fast. Seems light weight but still holds up well even on tough trails and sharp rocks. Best rear tire I've ever used, and I just bought another -- the old tire has nothing wrong with it other than knobs evenly worn down to 1 millimeter. |
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Submitted by
Greg Boone
a Cross Country Rider
from Chester Springs, PA USA
Date Reviewed: 6/18/2006 10:13:36 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Marsh Creek, Exton PA |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $29 |
| Purchased At: | Performance Bicycle, Paoli |
| Strengths: | Large treads all over tire, especially on the sides. |
| Weaknesses: | None so far |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer XC, Dart and Smoke. |
| Bike Setup: | Giant Reign 2, with upgraded brake rotors (6 to 8 inch). Lizard skin lockon grips and Continental Vertical Pro 2.3 tires. |
| Bottom Line: | I love these tires, I have used them on all types of terrain. Mud, hard and loose. They make me feel very confident when blasting down tight trails and hitting corners hard. A few times, I thought for sure that I was going to wash out, but the side bit dug in and I was fine. I would recommend these tires to anyone! |
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Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Roanoke, VA, USA
Date Reviewed: 6/8/2006 1:25:51 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Strengths: | Steady and durable. Great tire for soft terrain, gravel or sand base. Becuase of the width, it rolls very easily on roots, rocks and holes. It makes for a very comfortable downhill/uphill with rock solid sure footing.* |
| Weaknesses: | *Absolutely terrible on loose, dry soft/fine dirt or surfaces at high speeds. Gives you the feeling of speed wobble and don't even think about cornering. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Continental Explorer 2.1 |
| Bike Setup: | 19" '98 Gary Fisher steel Hoo Koo E Koo, Manitou Magnum R Shock, All Deore components, Bontrager wheels, Continental Gravity 2.3 (front/back) |
| Bottom Line: | I've used this tire on the sand based trails it was fantastic. In the mountains where the base will change from limestone to clay is where you start to see the difference. In clay, I couldn't ask any more from the tire but once it hits the limestone it becomes very unsteady at speed. I have switched to the Gravity 2.3 with much better handling in this terrain. |
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Submitted by
Ernie
a Cross Country Rider
from Valrico, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: 5/31/2006 11:19:52 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Moonscape, Alafia FL |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $19 |
| Purchased At: | ebay |
| Strengths: | Great traction, light, |
| Weaknesses: | Non yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | IRC Mythos, Ritchey Excavator, |
| Bike Setup: | Dean titainium hardtail, SRAM X9, Marzocchi MX Comp, Hope hubs, skewers, stem |
| Bottom Line: | I love these tires. I have yet to slip on them yet. They have also been very good at gripping in wet conditions. They have no problem shedding mud. Very good all around tire. |
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Submitted by
Etienne
a Cross Country Rider
from Barberton, Mapumalanga, ZA
Date Reviewed: 5/27/2006 10:47:37 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Climbing with a downhill home |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Bottom Line: | I went to LBS today and got told continetal would honour waranty, got brand new one! I still had to buy a tyre when I took it in, see my previous post. They seem to beleive in their product wich one can not fault. This must allow them 5 for value tyre was more than 1000 km's old. Overall 4 for no policy to put cyclist back on road same day, good tyre though! |
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Submitted by
Etienne
a Cross Country Rider
from Barberton, Mapumalanga, ZA
Date Reviewed: 5/22/2006 10:26:06 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Climbing with a downhill home |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | Anton's cycle worx |
| Strengths: | Grip, flex, durability ok I got 1165km from tyre before sidewall failure |
| Weaknesses: | sidewall, grip if run at to high pressure |
| Similar Products Tried: | Scott oxyd, Maxxis CrossMax, Larsen TT |
| Bike Setup: | Scott reflex 25 XT&LX DT rims |
| Bottom Line: | Disapointed when side wall tore from wire, had to purchase tyre while waiting for claim! Tyre feels shaky if run above 3bar, Grips well at 2.5 - 3.0 bar. Wear ok not great but acceptable at price! Value good but poor waranty I would Say? |
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