Continental Travel Contact Tire - 26 x 1.75

I just bought a second set of these tires for my Specialized Stumpjumper when I finally got a through-the-tread puncture after more than 3,000 miles on the first set. I ride on roads, dirt single track, and packed trails (mixed dirt and gravel C&O trail in Maryland). I bought the bike with knobbies and wore them to thread in 350 miles. The Continentals run smoother, faster, quieter and lasted 10x. I weigh around 235.

They won't perform like knobbies in the lowest traction conditions: mud, snow, ice, loose rock, etc these aren't the best choice. Everything else I think they are terrific. I have ridden the Schaeffer Farm trails and rarely had any issues. Climbing out of a creek on a slippery, muddy bank, for example.

They *are* challenging to mount. I have found the best way is to not use levers at all, but to get both sides started by hand and then roll the last section onto the rim. I used a rag to improve my grip with the new ones because the tires felt waxy to the touch. Given that once they are on, I can count on not touching them for a year, this is a price I'm willing to pay.

These are the best all around commuting tires I’ve used. Great for commuting on your mountain bike using roads, sidewalks, greenways, and a bit of cross country. My wife had them first. I stole them from her for a trip down the C&O Canal in Maryland and never gave them back. The tires run fast and smooth on pavement and corner with confidence. The side knobs kick in when you find yourself in gravel or mud to distinguish this tire from any other pavement tire I’ve tried.

Prior to the Travel Contact, I used the Michelin Transworld City tires. The Transworld City tires are great pavement tires and fixed the problem I had getting flats while commuting with debris along the side of roads. The Travel Contact tires also have great anti-flat technology so now I’ve gone four years without a flat (on my commuting wheels). I’ll never again look at a commuting tire without flat protection.

I purchased the Continental Travel Contact tires to ride my Mountain Bike on the road but still maintain some traction if I temporarily wandered offroad during my ride. When I installed them, I was concerned that the slick center would lose traction on corners. During my ride this morning, conditions were about 71 degrees farenheit and dry. The tires performed excellent. I averaged over 14 mph over the 11.2 mile course, reaching speeds over 28 mph (downhill). I am a casual rider and these are my typical speeds during a ride. I never felt the tires lose their grip at all, and actually felt like I had better traction in the curves than the knobby tires (Kenda Klaws) that I took off. Rolling resistance was noticeably less and noise was almost completely eliminated. Very good tire.

I've put almost 2000 miles on a set of these over the past year. I commute on paved suburban roads. The tires have never had a flat, despite having unavoidably ridden over bits of glass and metal several times. The tires hardly look worn at all. I suspect they have many thousands of miles left in them. The recommended 50 psi feels a little soft with more rolling resistance than I prefer. However, Continental says they'll hold 80 psi, so I usually run them at 60 and they feel better. I haven't noticed any loss of grip in heavy rain, but I have not tried them on snow or ice.

I found theses tires at REI when I was looking for a good alternative to my mtb tires for riding around town. I chose them because they looked like good all-rounders so I wouldn't have to be stuck on the road all the time. They wound up being the perfect choice because they have significantly less rolling friction than my mountain tires but they are also durable enough to take on surfaces other than pavement every once in a while. Even though they are not as efficient as the really thin road bike tires they work great for a hybrid bike.

Great for anyone who wants good multipurpose tires.

One of the best tires I have ridden. I now ride a mix of road, light trail, and some single-track - this tire takes it all without a problem. The only weakness is mud, but then again that is not what this tire is for.

Rough Roads - Check
Hardpack - Check
Gravel - Check
Log Roll-over - Check
Uphill grip - Check

Great tire - Check

These may be a little pricey, but well worth it. Also, don't forget that certain conditions require different tire pressure. At 70 psi - these roll great on road and at 55 do great on trails. Can't miss product.

I am looking forward to really using these as all other reviews are very positive. The main issue I have is that these are a major pain in the neck to install. I got one on, finally, only to discover that the bead didn't set right and I couldn't fix it without taking the tire off. After repeated attempts, I've put my knobbies back on and will be having my LBS put these on. With all this negativity, I plan to keep these and am sure they'll be great once I have them on the bike!

I just finished a 3600+ mile loaded touring trip on these tires through Europe without a single puncture. Part of the trip was on unpaved roads and there was plenty of bad pavement as well.

I will be replacing the tires before my next trip, because they are pretty worn, but they are still in decent shape. The sidewalls have held up as well. I will be replacing them with the same tire.

I recently switched to these tires to make the commute to work more efficient. The difference is amazing. They added about 8mph average speed on pavement and cement.

They also do better than expected on dirt. They are somewhat unstable on crushed gravel and tend to slip when trying to hop on curbs from near parallel angles.

If you're converting an old mountain bike for hard surface riding, these are excellent

I've ridden these for about a month and love the quiet, smooth, and quick riding I get as compared to MTB tires. My one concern is that one of my tires had a manufacture defect with the kevlar bead (it had a hump in the sidewall). REI was excellent in replacing it immediately and as long as that was a one time problem then I think the tires are awesome.