Murray Missile 

Over the past couple years I've had 3 Continental Tour Ride tires split around the sidewall over the Winter. I chalked it up to having been sold old stock and bought a new set from a different vendor. Today I pulled my old '97 Trek 820 out to take a ride. It has 2 year old Continental Town and Country tires on it, they were low so I aired them up to about 55 PSI. Lo and behold they're split around the sidewalls and some of the splits are pretty big. The bikes they are on are not exposed to direct sunlight when in storage. I'm puzzled, I'm still going to ride them but it's aggravating, I'm going to take a close look at everything I have Contis on now including the replacement set of Tour Rides. Anyone else had this issue?

Chris!

I have not had this issue but I love my continental gator skins. I had an issue with one last summer and I emailed customer service. Got a fast reply and about 2 weeks later had a free replacement. Maybe try to reach out and see if they will help you out.

Troul 

Dry heat will shorten the shelf life of rubber.

CAT7RDR

Just a long shot, do you store your bikes near a dryer vent or heater vent?

canklecat

Any source of ozone where the tires were stored? Ionic air cleaner, old defective electronic equipment, etc?

I wouldn't assume the Contis were defective, but if you decide to try something similar in another brand, check out Michelin Protek tires.

Olefeller77 

I would change brands and find a customer service add. to send a copy of your post to. They might appreciate photos also.

pdlamb

How long have the tires been mounted on the bike? Are the splits just the surface rubber, or do they go down to the cords?

(Reason for asking is, the answer might just be to ride more and wear the tires out.)

Gardener D

Hi I have continental tyres on my bike they are about five years old and I have similar concerns.
I put it down to leaving the bike with flat tyres for a while on the ground - blame myself
David

BlazingPedals

I've had many Contis with cracked rubber where the cracking was inconsequential. OTOH, I had 6 out of 7 Conti Sport Contacts crack around the shoulder area and subsequently blow out through holes in the carcasses where the cracks were. At the time it was the only tire I could find in 28x406 size.

SethAZ 

I live in Arizona, and it's incredibly hot in my garage during the summer, and I haven't had any problems with the Conti or other tires rotting or cracking like this. There might be some with a garage as hot as mine, but probably none hotter. I think there's got to be more to this than just heat, because I've got a lot of Continental tires out in the garage and have had no problems with the rubber drying out and cracking like this. Not sure whatever other factor is contributing to that, but just plain heat probably isn't it. The only tires I've had that were cracked like this were many years old. Is the OP saying he's bought brand new Conti tires and had them crack like this within one or two seasons?

zweitesmal2

I bought new Tour Rides last summer for a tour and had both split at the bead while underway. The front tire was so bad I was getting pinch flats every few hours. I limped across the border at Sault Ste Marie (into Ontario) to the first decent bike shop in days and had to replace both at under 2000 miles- a real bummer. I dislike the Reflex stripe on the Schwalbe tour tires and really like the profile and feel of the Contis but there is definitely something wrong at their factory. Now running those Schwalbes anyway as I found I could peel the whitewall right off.

skidder

I had a set of Continental road ties on my commuter bicycle that split after 6 months; the bike is stored indoors at home and at work, RT each day is 8 miles. I rationalized it as a few bad tires, bought a new set, and they did the same thing. Bought some inexpensive 'Gotham Street' tires at a Performance Bike shop and they have been working great - a bit heavy, but no cracked rubber, good puncture resistance, and they roll nicely. Will be buying them again (you can get them on the Performance Bike website).

Murray Missile 

Yes, that's exact;y what I'm saying.....

I'm in the Midwest, tires have never seen the high side of 95 deg. and low 90's only for short periods and the affected tires were well below max pressure at the time. Definitely no "dry" heat LOL, it gets quite humid here in the Summer months and last year was especially wet. They were stored at lower pressure over the Winter but never enough for the weight of the bike to cause even a bulge and while it got pretty cold the previous Winter this one was pretty mild. No heat sources of any kind in the garage, no electrical equipment except a refrigerator about 15 feet away and the garage is WELL ventilated. I do have pair of Panaracers that have also done this but they are probably 7 or 8 years old and only split where the gumwall meets the black, the Contis have split all over. I think I'm done with Continental tires.

alcjphil

How well ventilated is your garage in winter? Just offering a possible explanation

Murray Missile 

Normal venting, no heat, no insulation. It pretty much maintains whatever the temp and humidity is outside but keeps everything dry. My Schwalbe, GEAX, Vee Rubber and several year old NASHBAR tires aren't doing this and they're stored right next to the Contis.............

alcjphil

OK, so sounds as if you have some pretty good empirical evidence. No more Conti's for you. To be sure, I am not being sarcastic, I think you are deciding based on good evidence.

Germanrazor

Maybe I have been lucky but I have run Conti’s for years on my road bike with great success. Could not be happier nor would I change manufacturer at this moment.

SethAZ 

I'm riding a set of Compass tires right now, but before that it was mostly Conti GP4K and I loved them, and never had any troubles with the rubber splitting. I'm thinking it's something specific to the OP's environment or something. Granted, if it's really happening to him then it's a good move for him to use some other tire, but I wouldn't hesitate for an instant to use Contis again, because OP's experience with them isn't what I've experienced where I'm at. In fact, I'm thinking of ordering some Conti GP5Ks to try them out, since I liked the GP4Ks so much.

TiHabanero

I have run the Town and Country tire for years without trouble. No cracking after 5 years, but they did wear through to the cords! Have Conti tires on several bikes and have experienced zero issues with cracking. It could be the user needs to change brands to see if they do better in his environment.

Leyburn

Found this useful thread (and this forum) when searching for info re: splits in the front Continental Tour Ride tyre on my road bike. Most of my riding is on poor quality tarmac and poor quality concrete, used to get frequent punctures before fitting the Tour Rides front and back, not one puncture since, perhaps 3k miles. Front has several splits, but no tube protruding. Have bought 2x Continental Ride Tours as replacements, assuming the "Ride Tour" tyre is similar to the "Tour Ride" tyre, but perhaps without the splitting.

Slightspeed

I've never heard of Conti Tour Rides, and never seen any issues with Continentals, but I've only used Grand Prix or Gatorskins. I've done thousands of miles on them on several bikes. I keep them inflated, and always hang the bikes by the wheel rim. If you let the air go flat, and the bikes are sitting on the flats, I can see how cracks might develop. Otherwise? Never seen that. I had one tire develop little tread "bubbles" in the tread center. It also made strange "squishy" noises as it rolled along. It was more than 50% worn by by then, and the rubber at the center was getting thin. I love my Gators, and I've also had good luck with Panaracer Paselas.

woodcraft

Refrigerator runs intermittently 24/7, producing ozone, which degrades rubber.

Plus, if it's like most garage refers, it is an old energy hog struggling to work in a hot garage,

and has a few sodas in it, running up the electric bill. Chuck it.

Germanrazor

Environmental and road conditions most often the culprit. I am telling you, ridden Conti’s for years and no issues......knock on wood.

My only other favored manufacturer was Michelin until I started riding Conti’s.

Murray Missile 

So why have my other bike tires, some of which are years older, not done this? ONLY the Continentals purchased in the last couple years are doing this.

I'll be keeping the refrigerator, we use it a LOT.

tkamd73 

Thanks for the info, just rebuilt my neighbors two Treks, putting new Continental Town & Country tires on each. No experience with these tires, but have Gatorskins on all my road bikes. No issues with the Gatorskins so far, oldest set 6 years old. I too live 700 ft above sea level, and store my bike in the garage or basement over the winter. Did note however, a bit to my dismay, that the Town and Country tires are labeled, made in India, all my Gatorskins are labeled, Handmade in Germany. I’ll be sure to check my neighbors tires next spring.
Tim