Continental Terra Speed Gravel 700c Tire (OE)

Late July, 2024, I ordered two Continental Terra Speed 700x45 tires from Bike Tires Direct. After mounting them on rims from which I had recently removed Continental Terra Speed 700x 40 tires, I was very surprised. The 700x45 tires had massive leaks in the sidewalls & where it seemed there was a seam where the tread cap meets the sidewall. It took me the better part of two weeks & about 90% of a liter of Continental Revo Tire sealant to finally get the tires to stop leaking. (This was in startling contrast to the 700x40 Terra Speeds that I had mounted on the same rims about 6 weeks previously. I mounted those tires, installed sealant, aired them up & was immediately, good to go.). I have done two races with the 700x45 tires & was surprised & very happy with the way they performed. The first race was on a very rocky uphill race, in the rain, where I expected the tires could experience cuts, but they suffered, no damage of any kind. The 2nd race that I did was a 57 mile race in Gering NE, where I saw people fixing flats, from goathead stickers, last year, in the same race. I had no flats or damage or any problems with the 700x45 tires at all. I gave them a 3 star Overall Rating rating because they are a great tire after I got them sealed but only a 1 star rating for value because of the added cost ($36) of the 1 liter of Revo Sealant. I contacted Continental tires, with photos, about this problem & they asked me to provide them, Date of Manufacture & Batch number, which I sent to them within hours of their request. After I provided the information to Continental, they more or less washed their hands of me, saying they couldn't refund my money since I hadn't bought the tires from them. I didn't expect a refund from them but I had hoped they would offer to replace the tires & send me a bottle of Revo Sealant, since I had used almost a whole bottle. I didn't contact Bike Tires Direct because it wasn't their problem & they had been so great & easy to deal with when I bought the tires.

I used these in 45mm version for Unbound 200 in 2024 and they rolled noticeably faster than the 40mm version I have used previously. I switched to the 45s to improve the ride and they did, although the North course at Unbound is rough and kicks my butt every time. (I've done it 3X and no DNFs) I did get a puncture on my front tire, but the sealant kept the tire from loosing pressure. Of course getting a puncture at Unbound is pretty much part of the game. I'll use them again in 2025 for the 200. I've finished DK/Unbound 200 6 times now and Terra Speeds are my favorite tire for that course and general gravel riding.