JonathanGennick 

Any experience with Continental's Top Contact Winter II Premium Tires?

https://www.continental-tires.com/bi...inter2-premium

I've just ordered a set for my Priority 600. They look to be best thing going for a winter commuter tire for 650b.

I'd prefer something more studly, but there is just nothing else out there .

John Nolan 

I quite like them when it's not too icy.

2_i 

I have earlier versions of these tires and they are my main tires from late fall until early spring. I put on studded tires only when I absolutely have to, which ends up being between never and few weeks across the season.

PaulRivers

It's bizarre how they just don't seem to sell anything. I could find a 27.5" at 2.2" wide but that's it:
Tyres | Suomi Tyres

I can get find a schwalbe marathon winter in 24", but not 27.5".

Sorry no experience with the top contact.

JonathanGennick 

Thanks! Interesting. I'd have to remove my fenders to fit those, and even then I'm not sure they'd clear adequately.

That's encouraging. I'm optimistic, and am keen to try them when they arrive.

2_i 

What's good about them is that you can ride them having them on just in case ice or snow might arrive - they do not hamper your ride like studded and/or knobby tires.

fietsbob

I have a 30 year old set of Suomi Nokian Mount & Ground W tires, 26"
back in 90, they shipped a bundle of 10 to our shop in Eugene,
direct from Finland..

JonathanGennick 

I still treasure a set of Nokian Freddies Revenze tires, the versions with crazy-long studs that I believe originally were meant not for snow and ice, but for downhill racing in dirt. They are completely impractical unless we get a major damaging ice storm, but they hang on my wall and make for great conversation starters.

GrainBrain

I look forward to your opinion on these Continental's, I was considering purchasing them as well but was thrown off by the e-bike endorsement. Does this mean they're overkill for the 12-20mph I'd ride them at?

79pmooney

I have a pair of Top Contacts. Only ridden them once as they havce worked too well. (This is Portland, OR and Murphy operates here too. Since I purchased those "rim in anything" tires, the "anything" weather hasn't happened but once. (Well, we did have a run of ice but chancing riding with Portlanders driving is asking for a very bad outcome.)

The Top Controls really soft and grippy. Sheer ice is quite ridable. It is still ice and you need to be smooth but they are the most forgiving non-studded tires I have ridden (save perhaps the diamond point, near matte thread cyclocross tubulars I used to ride in the '70s. Hard to compare tires 40 years apart. I was also young, crazy, the bike was a fix gear and I rode it well and hard.)

If it were me, I'd have either a separate set of wheel or a second bike set up with those tires and run much faster rolling Paselas the rest of the time. The Paselas, at half the price, will be far cheaper over the winter when you don't need the grip. (I am guessing the Contacts wear relatively fast, being so soft and on the days I want that slow tread, I REALLY want it!

Ben

JonathanGennick 

I was put off by that e-bike endorsement also, and last year didn't buy in part due to those words. I wonder whether they are the best choice of marketing copy. This year my need for something in 650b trumped the e-bike endorsement. I'll for sure report back on how the tires work in winter conditions.

Ben, you have my curiosity raised big time now. I'll be waiting for some good, glare ice to try them on.

fietsbob

FWIW, only 2 rows 160 studs, that are not long, in the Suomi Nokian Mount & Ground W tires,
Center has no studs , so it's great on the mixed bare and Icy Roads Here.

It's my understanding the Continental has an extra soft compound
that may wear very quickly when warmer,
but does OK at 1~2C, because it's firmer when cold.

hence they write :

GrainBrain

I wonder if that's their black chili compound, that stuff is seriously deliciously grippy.

PaulRivers

My gp4000's are amazing when it's warm but get noticeably sluggish around 25f-40f. They still work but they feel noteably slower.

JonathanGennick 

They claim a winter rubber formulation, which imho is more important than studs under many circumstances.

wolfchild

Do they actually provide any grip on icy surfaces ??...How do they work in deeper snow and slush ??

Bikewolf

It is my understanding whatever you pick, the right tire pressure is key. Even when rollin’ your Spikey.

fietsbob

Buy and try.. report back

Down here, winter, I have mostly rain to deal with , Ice a short term occasion,
Then I drag the Old MTB out with the Suomi Nokian Studded tires on it,
When that melts, it's back to the rain-gear, The MTB back in the basement..

...

wolfchild

It will take a couple of years....Right now I have two pairs of studded tires on two different bikes, when my studded tires wear out I may give Conti Winters a try.

2_i 

Yes, but it is limited. They work better than regular tires, giving you some breathing space for correction, but not as well as spiked tires.

For deeper snow you need knobs and they lack those. On mild snow they are OK.

One thing that happened for me that I would jump back and forth between Contact Winter and Nokian/Suomi 240, skipping Nokian 106. The 106s turned out to be a worse compromise than Contact Winter.

JonathanGennick 

I can't speak for the Contis yet, but last winter I tried a set of Michelin StarGrip tires. Those are also non-studded. The StarGrips had nothing to offer on wet, glare ice at the 32/33 F mark. They were tolerable on glare ice that was dry, as in well below freezing, so long as you kept rolling smoothly and the distance was short. They were decent on the thin white ice that you get after roads are scraped clean, and they were quite good on packed snow like we often have on roads where I live. The StarGrips have a lot of tightly-spaced knobs that will do a fair job of digging in to a surface that's amenable to being dug in to. The tread also picks up lots of little bits of gravel, which I took note of but it never bothered me too much. I expect somewhat similar results from the Contis.

2_i 

The latter, I believe, is intentional - the gravel acts as low level studs. The very first version of TopContact Winter had shards of glass integrated with the rubber. After they adopted fine thread in Winter II they dropped the shards.

JonathanGennick 

That's interesting about the glass in the Top Contact. The gravel though, didn't do me any good. It didn't do me any harm either.

JonathanGennick 

Found this video comparison last night. The guy does a good job on it:


I love his answer to the "what does this tell us?" question at the end. I like his style.

rumrunn6

haha, yup