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 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.
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.
I have these on my Salsa Fargo Ti, a drop bar fully rigid mountain bike. I use the bike for commuting in the Pacific NW, it rains up here from time to time, so I run full fenders on the bike. I was using the Conti Cyclocross Speed, 35mm. I flatted often on the road but for a light supple sidewall and casing, that's what you get. I now have 11 months on these Conti Speed Ride tires, 42mm, 60 grams heavier, AND HALF THE PRICE. The Speed Ride feels just as fast and supple on the road. I've had only one flat in 11 months, same commute five days a week on wet, gravelly and dry roads and sometimes unpaved shortcuts. I am 6' and 172 (maybe 180 in the winter) and run these at 30-35 psi up front and 35-45 in the rear on Stan's rims. I do the team rides on wet days and hang just fine with others on their 700x25 fendered rain bikes. These tires are fat and super comfortable and still roll fast enough to hang with those who ruin their road bikes in the rain. I have done some trail riding, to include Grand Ridge and Duthie Hill. They climb well, corner pretty good (with enough lean and low pressure the side knobs kick in) and can do what you'd expect a rigid hard tail to do. Not good for snow and ice on the asphalt, so one tire cannot do it all, but these are pretty darn close. Ride quality A, Speed A-, Durability A, Traction A, and did I mention, THEY ARE CHEAP! I am very pleased.
I bough these two folding tires and new tubes for my Ksyrium rims. In two days I have had 6 flat tires. Took them to the bike shop and they told me that it was pinching the tires and we swap diameters from 32mm to 35-43mm tubes. Left tthe bike shop and had two other flats, front and rear tires. I have to throw them away. A a piece of crap.
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.
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.
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 love the way this tire handles pavement and dirt. Excellent volume, grip, and fast rolling...and cheap! It's not so great at preventing flats so I would never use it as a city tire. This one is best left for the fun rides. I've had four of these tires and all of them started breaking down at the beadsidewall. They're unthreading themselves like a stitch coming loose on your clothes. There are threads all over where the tire meets the rim.
I replaced my big, wide heavy Schwalbe Big Bens with Continental Speed Ride Tires on my Salsa Fargo 2.
I do a mix of street riding with rail-to-trail riding-asphalt in a few places but mostly fine gravel rolled and compacted. Wherever I go the Continentals give me plenty of control and minimal rolling resistance. The Schwalbes certainly are more puncture resistant, though I have ridden about 800 miles on the Speed Rides without a flat. The fact that they are foldable is a big plus as it makes it much easier to pack an extra one in a pannier bag and have it handy-just in case. I highly recommend the Speed Ride.
I replaced my big, wide heavy Schwalbe Big Bens with Continental Speed Ride Tires on my Salsa Fargo 2.
I do a mix of street riding with rail-to-trail riding-asphalt in a few places but mostly fine gravel rolled and compacted. Wherever I go the Continentals give me plenty of control and minimal rolling resistance. The Schwalbes certainly are more puncture resistant, though I have ridden about 800 miles on the Speed Rides without a flat. The fact that they are foldable is a big plus as it makes it much easier to pack an extra one in a pannier bag and have it handy-just in case. I highly recommend the Speed Ride.
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.
i like the file tread with the small side nobs, also that its folding bead a plus to keep the weight down.
Light, fast, grippy. What more can you want in a tire? Oh yeah, its stupidly cheap. Not sure how they can get a tire this good but they did. Rolls great on the street and does very well on hard packed dirt gravel. Plush ride too. If they fit your frame, get them.
I did manage to flat one on a blackberry thorn, but so what? Thats what you carry a spare tube for
I put these tires on my Trek 520 to ride from Pittsburgh to DC along the GAP and C&O Canal Towpath. The tires did great on the ride, with a smooth ride and easy rolling, even over the rough and sometimes muddy C&O Towpath. I did get 2 puncture flats in 400 miles of riding a fully loaded bike (self contained tour). So, while these tires may be puncture resistant, they are not puncture proof. If you want that, you have to get a heavier tire like the Schwalbe Marathon, which weighs twice as much as this tire. You make your choices and live with the consequences. If you want a lightweight touring tire, this is an excellent choice.