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Conti Top CONTACT II or… ?

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Old 05-08-24, 04:46 AM
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imi
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Conti Top CONTACT II or… ?

Hi, I’m currently on a greek island and will be staying here for another two months, writing.
My bike, Bianchi Volpe, has Gator Hardshells 32 mm, my standard touring tires for decades.

However, many of the smaller roads on this island were designed more for donkeys than my bike, so in order to explore, I’ve decided to order new tires (online from Germany).

Conti Top CONTACT II look great to me, and would be a no-brainer if they came in 35mm. However the closest is 37mm.
Does anyone know if these will fit my Volpe (no fenders)?

Any alternatives? Preferably Continental, and absolutely not Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I tried SMP’s once. Nope, not for me. Nor ”boutique” tires that probably won’t be carried by my go-to stores. Preferably foldable too, so I can change back to my Hardshells when I get back to the mainland.

Big thanks in advance! 🙏
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Old 05-08-24, 11:21 AM
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They are great tires. They (or their predecessors) are all I have ever toured on. I also commute on them. I’ve done a good amount of mileage on rough, unpaved roads. No flats.

Unfortunately, I have no idea whether the 37s will fit you. I can tell you that they run true to width, at least on the two sets of rims I’ve measured them on.
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Old 05-08-24, 01:09 PM
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Thanks Indyfabz. I eyeballed the clearance and am now confident that 37’s will work.
I actually went ahead and ordered the regular Contacts 37mm as there was a fantastic deal on them. I’ve had 32mm Contacts on my commuter ages ago and they were fine.

This is a bit of an experiment for me, dipping my toe into the ”wider” tire thang. Except for MTB’s and winter spiked tires, I’ve never had wider than 32mm.

It’s probably a slippery slidey slope to talking about inches not mm’s and max pressure of 2 bar! 😆

Good grief! What is the world coming too?
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Old 05-08-24, 02:17 PM
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Originally Posted by indyfabz
. I can tell you that they run true to width, at least on the two sets of rims I’ve measured them on.
How dare Conti start sizing their tires true to size ! Blasphemy. I almost always have to order one size larger to get the actual desired width.
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Old 05-08-24, 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by robow
How dare Conti start sizing their tires true to size ! Blasphemy. I almost always have to order one size larger to get the actual desired width.
I had actually never checked: One time I became curious and measured them with a caliber. One thing I don’t understand is that the 37c is labeled as 38c. Biketiresdirect.com notes that they are really 37c.
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Old 05-15-24, 07:32 PM
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I had a '96(?) Volpe years ago and ran 37mm Voyager Hypers on it..they fit fine. I'd think 38mm tires would fit. Close fit, but they should fit.
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Old 05-16-24, 07:22 AM
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Thanks. They should be here in the next few days. I’ll get them fitted and will report back
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