Continental Top Contact Reflex Urban Bicycle Tire (32-622, 28x1-1/4x1-304)

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Price: $63.00    

Product Feature

• Vectran Breaker Technology: lighter, reinforcing tread protection
• State-of-the-Art Polymers
• Heavy Duty Touring Mileage
• Tread Design to Roll Well and Provide Good Traction
• Handles well in Adverse Conditions

Product Description

Continental 0100087 Top Contact Reflex 700 X 32 Urban Tire is ahead of its time thanks to new materials and design features. State-of-the-art polymers in the rubber compound, Vectran breaker belts under the tread for the best and lightest puncture protection available in bicycles tires today, and the prevailing German production quality all work to set the Top Contact apart from other touring tires. This tire was requested by the demanding German touring market, a German made tire for hassle free heavy duty touring mileage. The tire combines a tough construction with a touring specific tread pattern designed to roll well and provide good traction in adverse conditions at the same time. Two layers of Vectran fabric underneath the tread give unrivalled performance and puncture protection, with Vectran proven to be stronger and lighter than aramid belts. It also comes with Reflex reflective sidewall stripes. Specs: Weight - 460 grams; Recommended PSI - 70; Maximum PSI - 85; PU - 10.

Continental Top Contact Reflex Urban Bicycle Tire (32-622, 28x1-1/4x1-304) Review

I have ridden most of the top (meaning expensive) street bicycle tires.

Please allow me a little comparison.

The Schwalbe Ultremo in this size (700 x 28) represents the lightest, fastest and best handling of the flat-resistant types of tires; and, nonetheless,the Ultremo cuts easily on glass, and especially so the rear tire (rear tires take more of a beating than front tires).

The Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons tire provides much better cut resistance than the Scwhalbe; however, the 4 Seasons weighs more than the Ultremo, has greater rolling resistance, and does not have the surgically precise and neutral handling of the Ultremo.

Both of the tires, above, cost WAY more than most commuters or casual riders would ever pay for a tire.

After much experimentation, I had decided on the 4 Seasons as my year round tire, and, despite the greater cut resistance of the 4 Season, I found myself replacing the rear tire twice a year and the front tire once a year.

I have had no flats with either the Ultremo or the 4 Seasons, but the cuts made me not trust them.

Because of the cut issue, I decided to give the Continental Top Contact Reflex a try, based on reviews from other sites and the extreme thickness (for a tire of this size) of the center contact portion of the tire.

I purchased a set of wire-bead Top Contacts in 700x28 from Amazon for around $37.

A steal.

The price has since gone up to about $45 but still remains a fantastic bargain given the quality of this tire (this tire has become popular and more in demand).

One pays a slight weight penalty with a wire-bead (compared to the folding version of this tire), but the wire bead goes on and off the wheel rim SO much easier than the folding version, and I think an inflated wire-bead tire stays on the rim better than does a folding tire.

And, besides, the wire-bead differs only from the folding version in regards to the bead material and the price.

The wire-bead tire costs half of what the folding bead costs.

The marketing people make a big thing about the tread on the Top Contact tire, and I think the marketing misleads people.

The tread works, but not in the way the marketing people suggest.

The thick center section of the tread has a smooth surface, and creates a thick and resilient protective barrier between the tube and glass on the street.

I have hit some very mean glass with this tire, and the rubber absorbs the sharp impact and bounces back rather than cutting.

However, if Continental wrapped this same thickness of rubber all around the tire, the tire would weigh too much.

So, the tread pattern removes about half the rubber on the sides of the tire that do not contact pavement, and thus keeps the weight down, significantly.

The side tread also breaks up water and keeps it from flowing centrifugally to form a "rooster tail."

In other words, because of the tread, these tires to do not fling spray (at my riding speeds, up to about 20 mph), and, for that reason, these tires do not require fenders in order to keep the rider dry.

I did not anticipate this lack of rooster tailing, and whether the designers of this tire did this intentionally or not, I consider it one of the many strong points of this tire.

That said, the side tread pattern does come into play if one finds him or herself unintentionally in the "rough" on the shoulder alongside the pavement.

The pattern keeps the tires directionally stable on softer ground, and, more importantly, gives this tire the ability to climb back on to pavement at an angle.

In other words, the side tread grabs the raised pavement, and the tire, rather than slipping sideways, climbs back up onto the road.

This quality also gives this tire greater resistance to getting channeled by cracks and ridges in the pavement.

I had worried that this same side tread pattern would make this tire "walk" while cornering, or "soft" on corners.

To my surprise, this tire handles better on the street at my commuting speeds than any tire I have ridden, with the exception of the Schwalbe Ultremo (and the Top Contact falls only slightly short of the Ultremo in this regard).

The tire behaves in corners exactly as one would want it to, with neutral precision.

As for rolling resistance, another surprise: this tire comes in second, again, only to the Schwalbe Ultremo.

I have no explanation for this.

Dimensionally, this tire stands a full 28 mm high, but remains as narrow as a 23 or 25 mm tire.

This means this 28 mm tire will fit on a bike that normally accepts 23 mm tires, as long as the bike has 5 mm clearance above a 23 mm tire.

Comfort-wise, this tire absorbs road "buzz" better than any road tire of my experience.

I now take routes I had previously avoided because the roughness of the pavement would make my handle bars "buzz" uncomfortably.

This tire, the Top Contact, literally eats up "buzz," and I now take the rough routes without any thought.

I had also, in the past, avoided some routes that had more than their share of glass.

I don't purposely ride over glass with the Top Contact tires, but when a large piece of glass appears in my head light, and I hit it, I don't worry too much about it.

This tire has magnificent flat resistance, and probably the best flat resistance of my experience, which includes Continental Gatorskins and Specialized Armadillos (very tough tires).

And, the frosting on the cake: the reflective stripe around the tire REALLY works!

I cannot more highly recommend this tire.

Buy it at this price while you can, because I expect the price to go up as more people discover this tire's remarkable combination of qualities.

Most of the consumer Reviews tell that the "Continental Top Contact Reflex Urban Bicycle Tire (32-622, 28x1-1/4x1-304)" are high quality item. You can read each testimony from consumers to find out cons and pros from Continental Top Contact Reflex Urban Bicycle Tire (32-622, 28x1-1/4x1-304) ...