ContinentalSpeed Ride Tire (Folding)(Return to Product Page)

Bought the 700x35c for my Litespeed Blue Ridge to use on dirt road rides. The best tire I ever used for D2R2, incredible grip on the dirt roads and able to out roll other cross bikes on descents, some with heavy road tires. No flats to date and with all the rocks I have hit, there are no cuts.

Following low traffic routes takes me on less well maintained pavement and dirt roads. These tires are good at any price and excellent when you consider their price. I would like to try a 42mm version of the folding Ultra Sport II though. That would be even faster and more supple.

Bought the 42mm for local gravelfire roads and they work great. Was pleasantly surprised when they also excelled in the recent Portland snow. Ran them at lower pressure and the width and thousands(?) of edges on the tread gripped all the snow and ice. No noticeable wear and tear or flats after a few hundred miles. Would definitely buy again.

Have the 42s. Super tire using on my cross bike mainly riding roads. Ride real nice and fast for style tire. When riding with groups I don't feel as if I'm giving up anything to my buddies riding road bikes. As another reviewer stated, this tire rolls. On downhills as fast most road tires. Well buy again.

Bought this tire for my winter riding on cross bike. So far it has not disappointed. Mostly on roads, but its been solid on gravel, hardpack, even some light snow. Just the amount of rubber under foot, adds to the confidence when on questionable surface. Durable to date as well. No complaints, would recommend.

Easy to mount, rolls great on pavement and transitions to gravel roads easily. Run 50lbs on mostly paved roads , little less when gravel predominates.

8 Miles in on inaugural ride and down goes the front. Suprised me as all my other continental puncture resistant tires never went down until I wore them down. Love the tread pattern and the ride so comfy and faster than expected.

Bought to try a wider tire on my cross bike. Was pleasantly surprised how fast, smooth and resiliant they are. Worked great on a tour over dirt, gravel, and long road miles. Fast on the road and gave good confidence on wet dirt road descents.

I tried it out on my ebike and it fit on the front but was too wide for the rear.

I'm replacing a set of Teravail Washburn Tubeless tires with these. The Washburns are more than double the price of these Conti SpeedRides.

I put these on a set of Carbon Astral Wanderlust hooked rims with 23mm internal rim width. The tires are a bit narrower than advertised at about 40mm instead of 42mm. That doesn't matter much to me, but I know it does for some.

The main reason why I changed out the tires is because the Teravail Washburns were so difficult to take on and off the tubeless ready rims. It required 3 tire levers to take off and a KoolStop Tire Bead Jack to install.

I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone who carries a tire bead jack out on a ride in case of a puncture.

I replaced the Teravails with these and I can mount the tires on and off with 1 tire lever, and in a pinch, I could do it without any tools.

The caveat is that you need to run these with tubes since they're not tubeless ready, but since I'm allergic to latex, this isn't a problem.

The Ride:

They're a bit buzzier than a slick center tread tire like the washburns. But these are pretty light considering the price and since they're not tubeless ready(Tubeless tires need a bit more material in general to make sure they can hold air).

I'm running it at 45psi front, 50psi in the rear. I weigh 160lbs, my bike weighs around 23lbs.

That gives me a plush ride without feeling like I'm riding through molasses. I know not to put too low of a pressure since I can still pinch my tubes.

Overall, these are a great choice for people who don't want/need tubeless tires and want a cheap set of tires.

I've done about 200 miles on these and have been very impressed at the price. I'm more used to tires around the $60-80 range.

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.

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.

After about 100 miles of gravel and single track this is what I think: They are a nice tire with a supple feel that provide enough traction for most of what I have encountered. Most riding has been on gravel roads here in CO. So, dry and fairly smooth with some rougher sections. I have also made some descents on some favorite (not too technical) single track trails and they have held up surprisingly well. No flats yet (knock on wood) and good cornering hold. On the road they are decent enough with OK rolling resistance and only a little noise form the treed. The 42 width allows me to run between 40 and 50 psi without puncture issues while giving a smooth enough ride.

i ride on paved bike paths and hard packed dirt gravel. this tire is excellent. its fast, handles well, and has good grip, as long as the running surface is firm. when the dirt gets soft, this tire washes out and gets a bit squirrelly. so, its necessary to keep the speed low. also when the dirt road gets cobbley, the ride is a bit sharp, because it is a relatively low volume tire with higher min inflation pressure. but i love its speed and low rolling resistance

I like this tire. I have looked at other tires that cost twice as much and none of them are of the same quality and characteristics. The weight of my bicycle was lessened by about a pound. The only problem, is small pebbles and bits of glass sticking between the raised treads, but can be removed easily. The online service is very good and I saved 5 or 10 dollars with a gold account and price reduction from other purchases.

Thanks,

Richard Callander

I picked up these Conti Speed Rides on a special at Bike Tire Direct for a smokin deal. It was purely a price driven purchase (at the time), but after mounting these tires up (with some new Conti tubes) I was surprised at how well they perform! Really easy roll, great traction, and dare I say Stylish. I needed to replace the tires on my Cannondale Quick 4 hybrid and wanted to "repurpose" it into a gravel-esk ride. Mission Accomplished! The bike still has road manners, not a big friction drag and yet is light and nimble on the dirt paths. Will it replace my mountain bike, no, will it replace my road bike, no. But these tires keep it fun when you're out with dare I say, regular people??

I picked up a set of these on sale and I'm glad I did. I'm writing this review after 800 miles (4 weeks in February) -- at which point they were ready to be rotated front to rear. This is as good as a $xx tire gets. The file tread pattern is fast, quiet and generally pretty grippy. They do, however, behave like bicycle tires on mud and on ice. I've been riding these at 60-73psi rear and 60-65psi front with tubes and zero problems. To many people that is going to sound like too high of pressure -- but that is how I like it -- so piss off. I got one flat from a metal shard that produced a slow leak which finally required me to borrow the loaner pump at the local hardware store before commuting home from work. They have performed flawlessly on terrain where proper mountain tires are the norm. I've fended off a couple of roadies hell bent on attack. And they've given me enough confidence to ride in new unexplored places. If you can't find he value in a tire like this, then a $xxx tire isn't going to help 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.