I use these mostly as an around town tire, but have used them for mixed gravel and pavement touring, and trail riding as well. I've been super pleased with these. They've got good grip on hardpack, roll fast, and are reasonably priced. I'm not sure what people are doing to get so many flats with these though. I've got more than 1500 miles on my first set, weigh 235 pounds, pull a trailer, and ride with bags on and off-road. I had one flat from a shard of glass.
Bought these to replace original tires on my Giant Roam. This is my all around bike and is a beast. Dropped about 2lbs just by using these and they are great. I have ridden with my gravel buddies, done around town trips and commuted to work. No flats, fast, no complaints with about 500 miles of riding. If you need a do it all tire that is inexpensive, this is it.
I have over 800 miles on this tire (29x42). About four hundred of which included a variety of gravel roads, low maintenance state forest roads, atv double track, and mild single track. Good traction in most situations except deep mud and they are stable, predictable, and handle well. I have used this tire in three seasons now, including some snow and rain. I commute daily on this tire around town. Overall the tire has performed flawlessly. Not one flat. Tread and side wall is still in great shape. I anticipate at least another 800 miles on them if not more. They are mounted on wtb kom i25 rims and Mount easily and look great.
I purchased these Continentals for my Specialiazed CrossTrail and they are awesome!
They roll smoothly on flat pavement with very little resistance and they perform very well on sand, gravel and even larger stone, like cobblestone!
They stop on a dime, epsecially when I was flying on a rail trail and thought I could beat a Ford 250 at a crossroad!
My wife screamed because she thought I couldn't beat the truck and I slammed on my disc brakes at around 15 mph. My Continentals stopped me and my bike on a dime! My wife was relieved, indeed.
If your looking for an all road conditions travel tire, than I recommend the Continental Speed Rides! They wont disappoint you.
I've taken these off my commutererrand bike, which I sometimes take for short rides on paths too, because I've had three punctures in about 200 miles. They roll real nice on pavement and give good traction on gravel, light dirt paths, but too puncture resistant for what I want out of them. I'm put back on a worn pair of Conti Top Contact 32mm tires, and will likely get new Top Contacts in a wider size next time. Too bad Conti doesn't make the City Ride with another layer of protection, even if it cost $30 per tire.
The perfect tire if you need practice changing flats. Also started to get threads coming loose around where the bead sits against the wheel. I got four flats on a four day tour which I chalked up to the tires simply not being suitable for loaded touring on mixed surfaces. Then I got two more flats after I got home under completely normal circumstances (no load on bike, no gravel, etc). I threw the tires straight into the trash and went back to Schwalbe Marathons. The Continental Speed Rides were light, seemed to roll fast and had great traction, but were simply too fragile to go anywhere at all without flatting. I have no idea who would want a 42mm treaded tire this thin and fragile.
For the price point, this is a decent tire, but the first time I rode it I got a flat from a sharp piece of flint. This was in December in Wisconsin, so there was sand and debris and a bit of icesnow on the road, but still I didn't expect a flat the first time out. Patched the tube and have take about 4 short rides without flats, and overall, I like the way these roll. I previously had Conti Top Contacts on this commuter bike (an older hybridpath bike), but wanted to try something a bit wider but still light folding tire. Next time, I'll stick with the Top Contacts and pay more, because in many years of riding Top Contacts folding, I've only gotten one flat.
I tried these tires on my Surly Karate Monkey 29er. I have been using this bike as a general purpose road and
gravel trail bike. Until trying the Speed Rides I was never satisfied with the other urban , commuter or cyclocross tires
which I was using (including some fairly high priced). I tried the beaded cheaper version of the tires. I was very happy about how quickly these accelerated and climbed hills. I have about 500 miles on them so far and have not seen any unusual wear on the tread.
Put these on a Trek 920 for a 200 mile Midwest tour. Worked great for gravel roads, shoulders, etc. but still felt fast on the paced paths. Not too heavy. Seems pretty durable, did well in the rain. I'm happy with them.
I mean, look at the price. This tire handles gravel, trails, single track, and tarmac like a champ. It's not the lightest, far from it, but that's its only draw back. Only one pinch flat in the 150 miles since I've mounted them on a set of wide rims on a giant TCX. Compared to the stock 35mm tires I had on, these are a dream compared to those.
They measure at 38-39mm so they fit on my 2012 Stevens Prestige Alloy frame and fork. There's a good solid 18-316 clearance to the chainstays so some mud won't be a problem. Super sticky Kanza mud might present a problem but I'm not going to do 'that' to my body anyway. Good high-volume fast-spinning gravel tire. Less precious than my Grifo XS tubulars which I would use if the course was hard-pack clay with no sand or loose point gravel. Pretty happy.
About what you'd expect for a $20 tire.. like anything you get what you pay for. I got four flats on one (four day) trip, and one more soon after I got home. Three of them I could excuse for being loaded on gravel, the other two were under normal circumstances. I coughed up the $$ for gatorskins on my other bike and have no flats in two years. Lesson learned!!
I used the Speed Tire for commuting to and from work. I work 5 miles from home, but take a gravel path from door to door making it a 18 mile trip each way. The Speed tire is perfect for the gravel to pavement environment between home and work.
I have a 23 mile, each way, bike commute that is 50% clear pavement, 25% bad pavement, and 25% on single trackcinder bike path. The commute is quite busy, so I don't get to choose my line half the time, the line is chosen for me.
I am faster on my cyclocross bike fitted with this tire than I am on my light road bike. When the line of cars is deep and slow, I drop into the gravel, dirt on the side and keep going. They roll over everything. I run them at max pressure (85psi) so I give up some of the bump absorption, but I don't care if the line is through a pothole, over broken pavement, clear road... it just doesn't matter. Over 500 miles so far and no flats and no sign of wear.
I'm impressed enough with the tire, that they are going onto a Salsa Mountain tandem as our race tire for the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee in August.
Being an avid roadie, I resist tires larger than 700x28, but as the time changes I have to outfit my cyclocross with a tire that will take the pot holes and uneven pavement I cant see in the dark while commuting to and from work. The first ride was 35 miles and left me pleasantly surprised at the minimal rolling resistance, so I have to rate these at five stars. Dont have an idea about puncture resistance so I put slime liners in tires. Final word is, Continental manufactures quality tires, and is why it is the only tire I buy for road biking, and now cyclocross.