Originally Posted by
prairiepedaler
I might drop the hammer on a set of GT365. If they don't work out, at least I can use them any time of year, and they are a fine tire to boot. With the contis, they are so soft and delicate they'd wear out in no time if the temperature were to climb which means winter use only. I always have studded tires as a backup anyways.
I'm glad you went for the GT365 as they look good and there's not many reviews... looking forward to yours.
Regarding the Conti TopContact Winter II though, that's not true. I have 6,000km on mine since 2014, most of which is on UK roads, the rest mostly Dutch bikepaths. Less than 1% of my riding has been on snow, and they've been on year-round since I got them. They've also encountered fine gravel and even really nasty large chunky gravel. Ridden from -12c to +35c. Ridden with up to 170kg (2 people) over the rear. 0 punctures in all that time, and still on the original Conti tubes as well.
They feel a little soft above 25c, but never so much that control problems arise. In cold weather they feel firm and fast. I still have plenty of tread left after 6,000km, even the fine pentagonal grip pattern is still visible on the centre tread. I may replace them in a year or two, to ensure optimum performance, but I'm hoping that Conti might release a MkIII version first, as the MkII has been out a long time now.
I'd say they really excel on cold, wet autumn roads, and even grip nicely when you get a slippery wet mud layer over the top. Also grip amazingly on fresh untouched snow, and probably packed smooth snow too. They do struggle in deeper snow and nasty slushy/cruddy stuff, only then would I rather have a knobbly MTB tread instead. I wonder if the GT365s will do better in such conditions, as the tread blocks are spaced further apart and thus a bit more aggressive...