These tires work well on wet and dry roads, I've also used them on dry hardpack trails with great success. They feel a bit narrower than advertised, but I'm not bothered by that. I also really appreciate the reflective bands on the tire for night rides.
I purchased this tire as an exact replacement for the rear tire on my Surly Long Haul Trucker. The tire I'm replacing has just over 2,000 miles on it right now. My plan is to just replace the rear, thats the only one that shows significant wear at this point. It appears that the front may go another 2,000 miles before needing replacement. It's a heavy bike, and I'm a heavy rider. I ride about 90% pavement, paths, steets and rural highway, and about 10% gravel roads. Zero flats in over 2,000 miles. The reflective strip on the sidewall is a nice feature as well.
This tire has excellent construction, easily wheel mounted, excellent rolling, superior puncture resistance, and is long wearing. I use this tire for riding everywhere - on city streets, bike paths, dirt roads and trails - recently the full-length of the Greenbrier (WV) River Trail and the Ohio Erie Canal Towpath. This tire has never failed to perform year after year after year. Thank you BTD for carrying this tire product at a fair and reasonable price.
These donuts tasted horrible, but I found them to be excellent replacement tires for my bike. They're pretty ideal for commuting and the occasional weekend trek. They handled all that DC has thrown at them potholed streets, slick pavement, leafy bike lanes, shuttered government roads with aplomb. Great price, fast shipping.
This was my second set after the first similar model set lasted 2 years. Would give 3.5 stars. Read on.
Commute Year Round City driving 20 milesweek to and from Amtrak Train over asphalt, broken asphalt, along side railroad on railroad rocks, past homeless encampments, over broken glass, gravel, potholes - typical Oakland CA. By the start of rainy season the tires get dirty and the reflective tape wears and becomes more dull. A small part detached (13 inch) but that's it. Cleaning moderately helps but it's less reflective especially compared to specialized tires I see on the Amtrak bike storage car and the reflect tape is applied cattywhompus (made in India). Reflective tires are an important function due to dark morning commutes. Well over a year in use and cracks appear in the tread. I use a tire liner to protect the inner tube but even so, with both sets, I've never had a puncture - pulled glass shards out, but no puncture. Very similar wear and tear compared to specialized Armadillos but cheaper. Unfortunately I anticipate this set may fall short of a full two years of tread wear. I'm going to try another brand.
this is a excellent roadgravel tire with low resistance and -quiet ride.
Also is very puncture resistant.
I ride this at 38 psi so is more comfortable ride as well.
I like the feel of these tires vs. the slicks I used prior to these. The tread may be a little slower ride but hardly noticeable if you're not racing.
I put these tires on my 2019 Trek Domane SL5 as a replacement for slicks that came with the bike. I was unhappy with the slicks as they did not feel safe on wet roads, or if there was some sand/dirt spilled, nor could I take them on the gravel tow path. These tires are perfect for what I want - low rolling resistance, confident grip to the pavement under most conditions (cornering on spilled sand, steel bridges, fall leaves, ice, etc.) and ability to take it on the gravel path for light gravel riding.
Great on road and packed earth. This is where I do most of my riding, so I am very happy. Not so hot in the soft stuff. I have only ridden about 125 miles, so I can't address durability
I commute on my bike to and from work every day, year round. It works out to between 3,500 and 4,000 annual miles on that bike. I installed a Contact II 26 x 1.75 on my front wheel in June 2012 - and finally replaced it last week (September 2016). Four years at 3,500 () miles per year works out to - well, if I didn't keep meticulous maintenance records, I wouldn't believe it myself.
Most of my daily ride is on a reclaimed rail bed (so no glass, gravel or potholes) and the tire was worn nearly to the threads when I did replace it. To be honest I probably should have swapped it out a year earlier, but I wanted to see how far it would go and finally did only when the rubber began to separate from the threads in places. A couple of times in the latter stages of its life I suffered a couple of flats from debris that a newer tire probably would have repulsed, but I was still going several weeks or months without a problem.
I have to change out the rear tire every couple of years, but 6,000-8,000 miles is nothing to sneeze at either.
Anyhow I really like this tire - it's perfect for my uses and I'll keep buying them as long as Continental keeps making them.
I got these in 28mm to replace my 25mm continental gatorskins, I immediately noticed some increased rolling resistance likely due to the tread on these tires. So far they have held up great, I'm a big fan of the reflective sidewall and the traction has been excellent. I ride a mix of dirtgravel and pavement on my commute and these have gripped well on all surfaces while wet and dry. Solid tire for the price
Purchased the 700x37 size. As others have said, they seem not as wide as the specified. Other than that they run smooth as silk and absorb the bumps really well!! Well worth the upgrade from stock Trek FX tires which were already great.
this tire rides very quiet, firm and stable.
Very resistant to puncture from road debris.
being 38 mm it rides softer than the 28 mm I was riding on.
I ride the canyons climb to 7,000 feet and then come down aggressively
I purchased these tires as part of a revival of my daughters vintage Trek 800 Sport. These tires really added some pep to her rides over the old knobby tires as she mainly rides it now for fitness, in the neighborhood. The reflective strip is a nice touch as we typically get out and ride near, during, and after dusk. These tires are well made and were installed along with new rim strips and tubes without a hitch. Now, my wife wants a set for her bike, but she will have to wait until spring!
I was searching for a all-around tire to replace the somewhat knobby tires that came on my Cannondale CAADX Rival cyclocross bike. I'd say that I ride about 80% on road (often poorly surfaced roads) and 20% on light singletrack, dirt trails, and gravel paths. Since my old tires were designed more for the off-road side of things, I wanted a tire that would increase road performance while still allowing for some off-road usage. I couldn't be happier with my choice in the Continental Contact II's. My average road speeds have increased by approximately 2-5 mph, and they have handled damn near everything I have thrown at them off-road as well (and thats with riding them near the top end of their PSI capacity at 80psi). If you are looking for a versitile all-arounder that also offers outstanding puncture protection and good durability, look no further. The reflective sidewall option is a great feature as well, every little bit of visibility helps out there!
Received a pair of quality tires, but was regretful that I did not order the larger 32mm. The 28mm's I got actually measured in at 24mm inflated...
Otherwise, the tires performed very surprisingly well through street, sidewalk, gravel, rocky terrain, and dirt trails. Very cushiony for its size and even bouncy at times.
Put these on my wife's commuter bike. They are working very well, good wet grip and cornering. Not enough tread depth for mud and such, but perfect for pavement. Fit was perfect on her 26 rims. Not many tire choices in this older size but this turned out to be great.
I was looking for a mixed usage tire for paved roads, graveldirt roads and some hard-packed trails. These seemed to fit the bill. Definitely ride quieter on roads. Seem to be a reasonable compromise over knobby MTB tires.
I noted that several review complained about trouble with them being out of round. I think this might be a mounting problem. I initially had trouble getting these mounted. The sidewall would catch on the bead making the tire appear quite out of round. I was able to fix this by deflating the tire, applying some soapy water along the sidewall bead and re-inflating. It took a couple of tries but I was eventually successful.
