Replacement tyres (Conti Contacts)

[yashicamat]

Ahead of a 2 week Germany tour in May, I've decided to replace the 2 year old tyres on my touring bike. While there's plenty of tread left on them (maybe half worn), they're sliced up quite a bit and have had quite a bit of hammer. These current tyres are Continental Contacts, a tyre that doesn't seem to be made anymore. The grip from these tyres I have found to be fantastic, especially when really going for it in the corners with a load on - they actually inspire more confidence than my road bike on Conti Races!

I'm tempted to get the popular Marathon Plus as the replacements, but I am worried these won't be as sure footed (plus I've read reviews suggesting the ridge is harsher?).

I have searched but couldn't find a direct answer to these queries, so I'd appreciate any opinions please.

Cheers.

 

[the snail]

Lots of people swear by Marathon plus, but the Contis are widely available, erm.. you can't have looked very hard!

 

[Manonabike]

Continental Contact

4 tyres left there!!!!

 

[Yellow7]

Hi Yashicamat.

I used the Conti Contacts for the first part of my tour and they served well, I rode just over 6000 miles and had 1 flat, and this was due to riding a gravel piste trail in the Atlas mountains. I then fitted Marathon 'Plus Tour' tyres that were waiting for me at friends in The Gambia.



As the Marathon tyres were on back order from all sellers at the time I was basically 'pushed into the corner' with the Conti Contacts
but they proved excellent for the paved roads, where-as the Marathon 'Plus tour' are more suited to some of the gravel roads here in Africa

Both tyres i'd use again without questioning.

Mark wallisonwheels.com

 

[yashicamat]

Hi Yashicamat.

I used the Conti Contacts for the first part of my tour and they served well, I rode just over 6000 miles and had 1 flat, and this was due to riding a gravel piste trail in the Atlas mountains. I then fitted Marathon 'Plus Tour' tyres that were waiting for me at friends in The Gambia.



As the Marathon tyres were on back order from all sellers at the time I was basically 'pushed into the corner' with the Conti Contacts
but they proved excellent for the paved roads, where-as the Marathon 'Plus tour' are more suited to some of the gravel roads here in Africa

Both tyres i'd use again without questioning.

Mark wallisonwheels.com

Hi Mark,

So how would you say the Contacts compared to the Marathons on the road? Thanks for the reply.

 

[willem]

There is a lot of confusion here. Conti make quite a few different `Contacts` and it is important not to confuse them. THe same aplies to Schwalbe Marathons. There is the bullet proof but absolutely horrible Marathon Plus, there is the older -2010 ordinary Marathon HS368 that was a really nice all round tourer, and there is the new 2011 Marathon that is more like the Marathon Plus, so pretty stiff and uncomfrortable. For an allround tyre, I would quickly try to get a -2010 Marathon in some sale. If you want a fast and comnfortable tyre, and don't mind the very occasional puncture and a reduced life expectancy, the Panaracer Pasela is the best you can get.
Willem

 

[yashicamat]

There is a lot of confusion here. Conti make quite a few different `Contacts` and it is important not to confuse them. THe same aplies to Schwalbe Marathons. There is the bullet proof but absolutely horrible Marathon Plus, there is the older -2010 ordinary Marathon HS368 that was a really nice all round tourer, and there is the new 2011 Marathon that is more like the Marathon Plus, so pretty stiff and uncomfrortable. For an allround tyre, I would quickly try to get a -2010 Marathon in some sale. If you want a fast and comnfortable tyre, and don't mind the very occasional puncture and a reduced life expectancy, the Panaracer Pasela is the best you can get.
Willem

I think this is where the confusion arose earlier; my Contis are just called 'Contacts', not 'TopContact' or anything else like that. It caused me a lot of confusion when I originally bought the bike as trying to find out what tyres it was is a nightmare when the model name forms the prefix on so many other models!

 

[Yellow7]

Hi Rob.

To be honest, with the weight of a fully loaded touring bike I’d say it’s difficult to compare the tyres. It’s not like the bike is being used in a manner that requires fast response and terrain feedback like with a downhill or road bike. I manage the same daily mileage on both tyres.

The Continental Contacts I used were the ‘Winter’ tyre and had a puncture protection liner, they were quite slick and ran nicely on the road. I think they were a 1.9 in size, whereas the Marathons I used are 2.0 so slightly bigger.

Caution needs to be used also when referring to the ‘Marathon plus’tyres.

The Marathon tyres I have are the ‘Plus Tour’, NOT the ‘Plus’. Both of these tyres have the same puncture protection liner but totally different tread. If you look on the Schwalbe website there’s a PDF data-sheet listing all their tyres along with images and recommended use. This proves a good way in choosing your tyre as your getting information directly from the manufacturer, not from people with their own specific preferences and biased in any way. Continental will also have a datasheet.

http://www.schwalbe.de/gbl/en/startseite/?gesamt=495&ID_Land=38&ID_Sprache=2&ID_Seite=126 datasheet is here, page 38 is where it shows the difference between the 'Plus' and 'Plus Tour'.

P.s. The Plus tyre is similar in style to the Continental I had (slick centre line), where-as the Plus Tour have sort of a slick/ knobbly centre with a knobbly side edge so good for loose gravel.

For me the extra weight and stiffness of a tyre with a puncture liner is a very small price-to-pay for such a big advantage. On a tour like mine there can be enough things to worry about without the hassle of punctures. I’m 2/3rds of the way now and still only one Pu£$%&re

Mark. wallisonwheels.com