Conti is now dead to me

[DfCas]

Back in the 90's I had some sidewall failures with Conti bike tires and never bought them again.

I bought a car in January that had new Conti tires on it. 2 weeks ago boom and 1 tire exploded due to a sidewall failure. nothing around on the road that may have punctured it. Appears to be a sidewall failure.

[Baron Blubba]

Tire reviews are so subjective. Back in the day I had a pair of Schwalbe Ultremo ZX's that I got 6000 miles out of (granted, they were almost literally paper thin by the time I took them off, but they never once punctured!). I swapped them out for a new pair, and double flatted the new pair within 20 miles. C'est la vie.
I've had many enjoyable rides on the newish GP5K TR's, no problems at all. Likewise on the tubeless Schwalbe Pro One tires. Some people don't like either.
So much depends on expectations, rider weight, rider habits (through that patch of debris or around it?), road conditions where one rides, etc.

[flying]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Yep, I've had no issues. Primarily run 700 x 25's and despite weighing almost 60 lbs more (right now....sigh) than the OP I run mine at 80/90 F/R psi.

I am the same weight as the OP & run the same PSI & size 700x25as you do.

I have to say I have no complaints on the 5000 tires running tubes. I am averaging 5000 miles usage on both mine & my wife's tires.

Very few flats but that is probably down to roads & the fact we brush tires with our gloves if we go thru a bad patch & also when we get home

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by DfCas

Back in the 90's I had some sidewall failures with Conti bike tires and never bought them again.

I had one in the early '90s that lasted 5 miles before I hit a rock and blew out a sidewall. Never used the other one of the pair. More recently, I ran gatorskins for a long time without issue. But the internet convinced me they were too draggy.

I had a gravelking slick that looked worse than OP's tire after less than 2000 miles. I was lucky I checked it when I did.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

I had one in the early '90s that lasted 5 miles before I hit a rock and blew out a sidewall. Never used the other one of the pair. More recently, I ran gatorskins for a long time without issue. But the internet convinced me they were too draggy.

I had a gravelking slick that looked worse than OP's tire after less than 2000 miles. I was lucky I checked it when I did.

I had a new 5000 a few years ago and on the very first ride hit a rock that cut through the casing, ruining the tire. I had often been suspicious of Continental but wanted to give them another try after the 5000 came out. The sidewall issue seems to be a common theme.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I had a new 5000 a few years ago and on the very first ride hit a rock that cut through the casing, ruining the tire. I had often been suspicious of Continental but wanted to give them another try after the 5000 came out. The sidewall issue seems to be a common theme.

Wow, I must have low criteria for a performance road clincher. If I hit a rock (something I try to never do) with any brand performance tire I'm just happy if it survives. If it fails I curse my attention and bike handling, not the tire brand.

That said I've only had one sidewall failure from hitting a rock that I can remember in around 50,000 miles of riding on the road. Can't even remember what brand it was. I also had a panic stop years back where momentary lockup of the rear wore clean through the Conti 4000s II tire. Road it home for another 20+ miles with some highs speeds totally clueless to the fact I was down to the white casing at the time. That earned my respect.

[Ken Robb]

If we refuse to trade with any entities that supplied AXIS powers during WW II
our choices of bicycles and components as well as cameras will be quite limited won't they?

[EastCoast_Cali]

Originally Posted by mcteague

After what we did to the native Americans and slaves I wonder how he can live in THIS country at all!

Now, back to tires. I'm running GP5K 32mm (tube type) and love them so far. If they last as long as my previous Pro4 SC tires I'll stay with them.

Tim

Weren't all those German companies basically taken over by the Brits post-war before being spun off again? Albeit often to the same families (Piech/Porsches and the Quandts etc)..

Not entirely sure re Japanese companies (Mitsubishi, Datsun, Toyota), whether they went into US ownership or not, I havent' heard anything re that.

[EastCoast_Cali]

Also, I've been trying Pirelli Race 4s's and so far so good...the bead seems a little less prominent than Conti or Vittoria so I had to double check more often to make sure it was seated but honestly it's still too soon to tell..

[robertbb]

Originally Posted by Red Tornado

Let's punish the children and grandchildren for the sins of the parents. That will make it all better.

My avoidance of Conti has nothing to do with “punishing” anyone’s children or grandchildren, any more than buying McDonalds is a wicked elaborate scheme to punish a KFC shareholders’ third cousin’s ex-girlfriends’ hairdresser.

But you already know that.

[bigbill]

IMO, the sidewalls on Conti tires fail from riding through gravel like you see at intersections on roads or where dirt roads meet pavement. You can't always go around it and of all the sidewall failures I've experienced, that has been the case.

For companies with a past, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that is innocent. You dig enough, you'll find the dirt. I am a recovering engineer and I am now a historian. I'm currently writing my thesis for a second history MA. Our entire nation was complicit with slavery followed by systemic racism beginning in Reconstruction. In the 1870s, the U.S. Government stopped making treaties with Indian Tribes because they were all considered wards of the country. We created Indian Schools where "you kill the Indian but save the man," and destroyed entire cultures. There are no innocent companies or groups of people.

[verticaldoug]

At our current rate, our next decision will be whether we want to join the Morlocks or the Eloi.

Tech Bros are definitely Morlocks.

And lest we forget, history is written by the victors.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by bigbill

IMO, the sidewalls on Conti tires fail from riding through gravel like you see at intersections on roads or where dirt roads meet pavement. You can't always go around it and of all the sidewall failures I've experienced, that has been the case.

For companies with a past, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that is innocent. You dig enough, you'll find the dirt. I am a recovering engineer and I am now a historian. I'm currently writing my thesis for a second history MA. Our entire nation was complicit with slavery followed by systemic racism beginning in Reconstruction. In the 1870s, the U.S. Government stopped making treaties with Indian Tribes because they were all considered wards of the country. We created Indian Schools where "you kill the Indian but save the man," and destroyed entire cultures. There are no innocent companies or groups of people.

This is so sadly very true. Humans be humans make the worst people. Genocides and the most awful atrocities are not the exclusive domain of foreign nations and their respective corporations. Look at the treatment of black and native peoples in North America. It’s is heartbreaking, disgusting, and so sobering. These acts were carried out by governments, corporate entities and churches. Hard to be sanctimonious about others when our prosperity was built on such a foundation.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

This is so sadly very true. Humans be humans make the worst people. Genocides and the most awful atrocities are not the exclusive domain of foreign nations and their respective corporations. Look at the treatment of black and native peoples in North America. It’s is heartbreaking, disgusting, and so sobering. These acts were carried out by governments, corporate entities and churches. Hard to be sanctimonious about others when our prosperity was built on such a foundation.

Just re-reading Jared Diamond's book "Guns, Germs and Steel" about how some cultures end up with technology while others appear to lag behind. NB: it is not race but rather arable land, resistance to disease etc. Anyway, the story about when two related tribes meet is instructive. The Māori were warriors and the Moriori, due to their isolated island with few resources, prized peaceful negotiations. The Moriori were quickly conquered and nearly wiped from the face of the earth. IMO tribalism is still at the root of most human conflicts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriori_genocide

Tim

[AngryScientist]

meh, sure it's important to understand and recognize what has happened in the past, but with big companies especially, I think they are best judged by what they are doing today. We have very real world problems that are happening right now; I think it makes sense to support companies that are doing the right things now and boycott those that are not.