ContinentalContact Tire(Return to Product Page)

I use my road bike for dual purposes, both a city commuter (in NYC), and for competitive riding in organized rides. I used to use the contintental grand prix 4 season since it served both purposes, both light weight and puncture resistant, but I found it to be not puncture proof enough for my daily commute (consisting of occasional broken glass and rough roads due to constructionpot holes). These seem to fit my purpose better, though noticeably heavier that the grand prix 4s. I don't get paranoid on my commute anymore looking out for glass, however, the tire maxing out at 90 PSI is also a noticeable mushier feel than the higher PSI grand prix, and a bit heavier.

I run the 700x37's on my Surly LHT. I have over 4,200 miles on them. And, yes, I rotated the tires twice so far and check the air pressure before each ride. I have had two flats...both caused by nails going right thru the side wall and into the tubes. That is not the fault of the tire. While not the lightest tires around, they are reasonably fast for my style of riding, which is around 15 mph on city bike lanes. I am now ordering my 2nd set.

great tires, bomb proof!

very happy

We use this as a tandem cross tire and it works very well for dirt roads replacing the discontinued Vittoria El Tigre. One of the best features it has is that it's tread design minimizes the water and mud spun up at you as you ride

As a daily commuter with a 40 mile (minimum) round trip commute including 2 miles of gravel road I have valued the Contact tire (the 700x28 version) as a great all-around tire that doesn't break the bank.

The small amount of tread it has helps out on my gravel stretches especially when it's wet & muddy but doesn't noticeably hinder my ride on the pavement (I can easily cruise along at 25 mph in a paceline with my early morning riding buddies).

The tire handles nicely and is relatively long lasting - I currently have 3,700 miles on my rear tire and it's got some life left in it.

The tire is relatively puncture resistant - sure I've gotten a flat from time to time but, considering the city conditions and gravel roads I ride everyday, I'm very happy with the resilience of the tire.

The tire does run a little thin - the 700x28mm is more like 25mm - but that's a minor issue and actually is to my advantage as I'm not sure I could fit a true 28mm through my brake calipers without deflating it a little.

The availability of the reflective sidewall is quite nice too - anything to be more visible during my commute.

Tires arrived on time and seem to be a quality tire. To soon to tell how long the tread will last. So far they seem great.

I bought these tires, because the store guy said they were the best I could get. I have had them for about a month, and I have had between 9 and 12 flat tires on the back tire in the last 5 days. Ya, ok , maybe I keep running over something on my way to work, but I have been going the same route for years. My old armadillos never went flat ! The cheepie Bondraggers that were on the bike, went flat two times in 2 years, and I got 2000 miles out of them, and only the back tire went bad. The Contentals.... well, lets just say if I had my choice, between 50 dollar contentals from my local dealer, or two new 14.00 tires from *****....and a bottle of the green stop leak, I would go with *****. I am really sorry I bought these tires. Maybe these really are great tires ! Maybe they just forgot to put in the puncture protection on mine. I dunno, I would not buy them again.

6 flat tires in 3 months, 2 flat tires even after putting in a puncture resistant strip in the tire. Last two flats in the sidewalls. Waste of money to purchase these tires for commuting.

I ride 200 to 400 miles a week. I bike tour and need a tire that will give me good miledge. I'v been using Continal for over 20 years and have been mostly satified with them. I guess once in awhile you get a bad tire. I won't stop buying Continental tires because of this one.

I bought two of these tires for my 406 rims. They were nearly impossible to get on. I have done this at least a dozen times in the last two or three years as far as other times on my various sized rims. These tires look nice but on my rims I could only get them to seat concentrically on a wider alloy rim. On my other slightly narrower rim ( approx. 25 mm. ) the 37 mm. tire would not seat uniformly and had a pronounced hop and I tried three times. It was the tire not me. On the wider rim it was OK. I would not jump at the chance to buy this tire made in INDIA again. Japan or USA or China seem better. (are there any made in USA anymore ? sorry) Thanks Ed and yes I have tire levers and thought I may break the Parks blue plastic levers on these tight mommas.

I think the contacts feel very secure on the road. BUT, the sidewalls have started to crack all the way around the tires. I keep my bike protected from the elements, and have NEVER had this happen before. This does not make me happy!

after inflation for about one year and little use the sidewalls are cracking. Not much life left I would guess.

The 700x37's are a bit narrower than Continental says they are- I measure just under 34 mm on a Mavis A719 rim at maximum PSI 85. The ride and feel of these tires are nice and they don't seem too slow for a touring tire. Quality appears to be very good.

I commute 15-20 miles daily on my bike, year-round and all weather, along the main thoroughfares of Washington DC 2200 - 2700 miles per year. I've been riding the Contacts for five years and for this purpose they are the perfect tire. I literally cannot remember the last time I suffered a puncture flat, and the only reason I don't claim "zero" in 10,000 or so miles is because that just seems implausible. If it is not zero, it's no more than 2. I think I am on my fourth and fifth Contact now - maybe sixth - during that time, so I am getting at least 3,000 miles out of each. The tread is looking a little thin my current tires, still fine for warm weather, but I will probably install the set I've just ordered before winter arrives in two or three months.

These are the only tires I've ever ridden on this particular bike, so I can't offer up any direct comfort or grip comparisons to other brands, but I have no complaint concerning either. They are quite snug on my rims, and I've sometimes had trouble getting them seated to spin perfectly round, but so far I've been able to get past that problem with a bit of patience and a lot of dishwashing soap. And of course that could be a problem specific to these rims.

There may be better tires than this for my city commuting, but I don't know what they'd improve on and in any case until these let me down somehow, I'm not going to look elsewhere.