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Old 11-28-21, 07:24 PM
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prairiepedaler
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Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Winnipeg - traffic ticket central
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Bikes: Looking for "the One"

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Originally Posted by sweetride01
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...

Hi there, I have seen bikes with the Conti tires, local picture classifieds advertisements of them used and even had in hand two used 700c versions. I do see wear down the centre on them. Some variables on longevity come into play of course, like mileage, pressure when mainly used, weight of rider, used all year, rear tires only etc. Just saw a set on a parked bike within the last few days but the tread was too crud covered to see wear. I still would like to try them for sure, and if found inexpensively local at 26 x 2.0, then that'd happen undoubtedly. Now, I may have seen the Top Contact Winter, and not the II version (didn't take note). Probably a different rubber compound between the two as they are always making improvements.


A bit of an update on the GT365 - good thus far! You can forget slick ice on them though. We had a blizzard here a few weeks ago which brought wet snow, then it got compacted and polished by traffic. Bad enough, but then came in some freezing rain to skin it two nights ago. And when the temperature is at freezing or just above, that is when ice is at it's most slippery. I attempted to ride on it with a partially studded Conti on the front and a GT365 on the back, and no dice. Not risking it. If the GT365 had a contact patch the size of a touring motorcycle tire, I'd try that as a test (while wearing boot sole scratchers). Only fully studded front and back tires are good on such ice.


Rough, cold unpolished ice on an even plane; not bad if you are mindful in your riding and keep your tire angles perpendicular to the surface. It's navigating the frozen tire car (or even other bike tire) ruts which can take you down. When pedestrians walk in slushy snow and it freezes hard afterwards, this can be equally treacherous. It makes for a bumpy, jarring ride too. Packed snow, no problem at speed. Haven't tried any fresh powdery stuff yet as none has fallen. These tires don't kick up too much crud either like the studded knobby style Contis and Nokians I have used can. Small pebbles are attracted to the tread, but not much. Liveable. Will offer more feedback as riding time progresses.

Last edited by prairiepedaler; 11-25-22 at 08:23 AM.
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