The best Commuting tyres (Continental Travel Contact MTB Tyre)

Member Name: baker85

Product:	Continental Travel Contact MTB Tyre
Date:	16/09/08 (1124 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: design, reflective sidewalls, kevlar reinforced anti puncture belt, rolling resistance

Disadvantages: price is high but quality costs. They are worth it

If you have problems with punctures, feel like wheel is to heave or something to use on o off road - this tyres are definitely for you.

I bought them for my bike about 2 years ago. As remember paid about £18 per tyre. They lasted for over one year where cycling about 160 kilometres a week. I was extremely pleased with them. Honestly can not say anything wrong about these tyres. Rolling resistance is very low, so thanks that you should be more about to achieve higher speed. Continental supplied some models with reflective sidewall to increase your safety during nigh. I got this model and have to say that it really works well. As long as you keep your tyres quite clean they will reflect light brilliantly. The weight of a tyre is:
- 640g folding option
- 690g wired and reflective option
- 670g wired only option

Installation

I have done it myself as it is very easy. To do so you need to have tyre leavers (I bought my from Chain Reaction Cycles website for £3 with free delivery) and about 10 minutes time per tyre. Firstly remove old one using this tool (leave inner tube inside) check on new tyre how it should be fitted. Information (an arrow) is on sidewall, push inner tube inside tyre and make sure that all tyre is sitting in side rim. Repeat it on other wheel and job done. When doing that, do your best to not to damage inner tube. In some shops they sell these tyres together with inner tubes as a set with one year safety protection guarantee.
If you find it to difficult or simply are not bothered to do it - take everything to the nearest bicycle shop and they will do it for you for about £5-$10. Prices can vary.

About

I remember like today first ride with them - it was incredibly smooth and fast  once I lived in North West London and had to go through Notting hill festival. There were hundreds of broken bottles and other debris on the street. Believe me - went through whole Harrow Road starting from Paddington Station to Chamberlayne Road without any puncture. I could hear only my tyres crashing glasses bottles and so on. Whole way long like that - it was about one kilometre and half. Next day had to spend 30 minutes on removing all glass pieces from tyres. Inner tubes were untouched. Nothing went through anti puncture protection belt.

Main features

- Kevlar reinforced anti-puncture belt under the tread along with Duraskin sidewall protection creates the best safety system I have ever head on my bicycle.
- placed underneath the tread, made from a strong, tight nylon fabric, additionally reinforced with Kevlar.

- Patented lightweight sidewall protection
- A coarse polyamide fabric that is tear resistant thanks to a special treatment process, protecting the tyre casing from cuts & slashes
- Highly resistant to pinches and cuts from debris, thorns and glass
- The Safety System keeps the tyre lightweight and flexible. It adapts to the rolling motion and keeps the rolling resistance low

Some Continental tyres like Travel Contact have special tread design called "Endless Edge". Specially designed and shaped knobs with five edges and corners for better off camber grip or more precise steering.

Altogether

They are really good, heave duty slick tyres to be used on and of road (on road mostly). For harder terrain Continental offers other products. This One is more for commuters who have to or like to go off road from time to time.
Price for first look seems to be high but it is not really true. Calculate how many tyres you use a year, inner tubes and puncture sets. Comfort and quality costs and in this example is worth this price.
As mentioned before I can not say anything against them. They are simply great and can strongly recommend them to all interested or hesitated.

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Thank you

Summary: From my experience I can tell that they were the best tyres I have ever had.