When you think about it, tyres are one of the most inportant parts on a bicycle. They are the only way that the bike connects to the ground and the size, tread pattern, air pressure and rubber softness/hardness (compound) are all vital to how the bike performs in a straight line, uphill, down hill and on corners. The other big factor is what the ground conditions under the tyre are like at the time of riding.
I’ll go out on a limb here and say there is no tyre that covers all the bases, dry, wet, muddy, icy, tarmac, gravel, roots etc and I know these are the conditions the majority you ride in too. There is no perfect tyre but some come close with just a few compromises.
Continental have been in the tyre making game for donkeys years so know a thing or two about tyres. The Terra series has quite a few different models that have been well received by riders all over the globe but really I don’t care about that. What I need is a tyre that works where I ride and if you are in the UK too probably where you also ride. The name adventure conjours up epic riding in inaccessable jungles, icy windswept plateaus whilst surviving by foraging food from the hedgerow after riding 500k in one day. Well, the West Midlands isn’t like that. What I have is tarmac, clay based soil, leaf litter, lots and lots of wet slimy roots at all times except summer and axle deep floods in winter. So yea, getting to work at some points in the year can be an adventure!
Continental say the terra adventure blurs the lines between MTB and gravel and that it’s predominently for off road riding. The tyres have quite close spaced knobs down the centre of the tyre which actually roll quite well on tarmac, they have a lot less rolling resistance than i thought they would have even in this 55mm size (more on this later). this also works well on hardpacked dirt and gravel paths. The shoulder knobs are slightly more pronounced and angled to bite into the ground when you lean the bike over. The tyres are tubeless ready and work with hooked and hookless rims. The tanwall tyres I tested weigh 734g/735g each
Fitting the tyres and adding sealant was easy and straightforward and inflated with a track pump, this is a lot to do with the rim type and tape set up though, your experience may be different but I’ve had to work much harder to get other tyres to stay inflated on these rims than the Conti terra adventures. There was no sidewall sealant weep or overnight deflation.
How did they ride? well lets first tackle the size issue, yes they are 55mm which is equivalent to a 2.1″ tyre. A lot of you will be saying they are not a gravel tyre at this width and right now that is pretty much true (I’m running them om my Cotic Cascade which is a drop bar MTB that’ll actually take 2.4 tyres) but with new gravel bikes being made with 50mm tyre clearance then I think 55mm isn’t far off. You can of course buy Terra Adventure tyres in 45mm.
It’s spring time locally and even though winter brought floods to the local area it has dried up remarkably quickly and so it was a novelty seeking out muddy sections to test the tyres in rather than avoiding them. the terra adventures did quite well in mud, if it’s really sticky the centre knobs will get clogged and here the wide size of the tyre didn’t help and could sometimes start to slide. Leaning the bike into turns and letting the side knobs bite worked much better though. The tyres do quickly clear that mud when you hit a drier section. On firmer dirt and gravel the tyres performed really well maintaining purchase on the ground and the more I rode the more confidence I had in them even to the point of deliberately seeking out off camber stuff to push the limits of the grip. On tarmac there is a pleasant buzz as they roll along but they didn’t feel draggy at all and at no time do you feel that it takes more effort to propel yourself forward.
I found the tyres to be quite pressure sensitive especially on tarmac. Too much air especially in the front tyre when cornering made the bike ride on those taller side knobs making it feel unstable. Dropping the pressure down eliminated this completely. I ended up with around 35psi rear, 30psi front as a good compromise for on/off road riding. Dropping those pressures also made the ride incredibly comfortable. Gravel chatter and rooty trails caused much less vibration to the arms and saddle this would greatly benefit long distance rides leading to less fatique. In fact perfect for adventures! maybe the name is correct afterall
Overall I was very impressed with the Continental Terra Adventure tyre in all but the muddiest conditions, definately a tyre to consider if upgrading your tyres for a more all road model.
The continental terra adventure tyre is a great tyre for 3.5 seasons of the year and if you are a rider who avoids winter mud completely it’s a tyre you might not want to take off.
You can find more details on the Continental tyre website Terra Adventure
UK GRAVEL COLLECTIVE 