Conti ULTRA sidewall problem.?

[John the Canuck]

Continental ULTRA Sport 700 x 23c

i read somewhere that people have had probs with sidewalls - cannot find the review atm

just seen this on my rear tyre - virtually new less than 100 road miles
actual threads are showing - some ends too, as though cut

obviously i'll be watching like a hawk - but not seen this before so asking advice
do i need to replace immediately ..?
.
.

 

[ianrauk]

I wouldn't trust it. Take it back to the shop for a replacement.

 

[Berties]

i wouldn't trust it,your lbs will be able to say if its a manufacture fault or just a flint slice,i have slashed a gaiter skin within a 500 mile period,these things happen

 

[John the Canuck]

I wouldn't trust it. .............thanks - i''ll replace it

Take it back to the shop for a replacement. - unfortunately supplied on a 1985 Peugeot from a dealer in Stoke

to be frank - it does look like a straight stone cut, plenty on my country lanes

thanks... john [not Frank.]

 

[John the Canuck]

i wouldn't trust it,your lbs will be able to say if its a manufacture fault or just a flint slice,i have slashed a gaiter skin within a 500 mile period,these things happen

- no LBS.....you're prob correct - looks like a flint slice. i'll order a replacement tonight

john

BTW anyone ... i bought a pair of 700 x 25C Schwalbe Lugano from hopkinsoncycles from eBay for my other Peugeot
£22.99 delivered ... well impressed so far - a better ride than the Conti ULTRA ...in fact i may just buy another pair and keep the 23c Conti as a spare

have a good weekend y'all..!

 

[Learnincurve]

Oddly enough I've just read on another forum: "I had the sidewalls tear on two Gatorskins in as many weeks."

 

[Nigeyy]

I had exactly the same problem, the sidewalls were terribly fragile (did also make sure I had good tyre pressue too). I noticed the issue on my front tyre just prior to descending a mountain, so I was more than a little careful on that descent! I looked at the rear, saw similar issues and threw them out as soon as I got replacement tyres (always have good luck with Michelins). Anyway, this has put me off Contis considerably (oh, and one of my friends had the exact same problem as well). Based on this I'm surprized so many people like them -not for me thanks.

 

[John the Canuck]

Oddly enough I've just read on another forum: "I had the sidewalls tear on two Gatorskins in as many weeks."

damn.....was going to get a pair next payday rather than the Luganos again
back to the drawing board then..!

 

[John the Canuck]

...I had exactly the same problem, the sidewalls were terribly fragile ...............

thinking about that - if you look at my pic ^^^ there doesn't seem to be much rubber covering over the threads.!!

 

[BigAl68]

IMO they are as much use as having edam wrapped around your wheels. Mine lasted about 3 weeks before atrocious wear and multiple punctures. Replaced with gp4000s

 

[cyberknight]

I ran gators for years till i switched to the normal ultra sports that came stock with some wheels and they have not let me down in the last 6 weeks , i did find the sidewalls prone to cuts .
I Dont know if luganos have gone any better but when i had a pair a fwe years ago they were made of cheese and cut up really badly very quickly.

 

[zacklaws]

Replaced with gp4000s

Don't expect much from Conti GP 4000S either, I run on them all the time, but in the past two months, I have gone through three of them, all of them new, one with the thread side badly gashed and two with the side walls ripped. The last being 5days ago when I looked at my back tyre as I was putting my bike away, I noticed my innertube blebbing out through a gash in the side wall, suprised it did not go "bang". I cannot afford tyres like this on a regular basis, so I patched it with a large chunk of one of the other tyres, but I was suprised how thin and fragile the side walls are when I gave it a little rub with sand paper.

I have decided now, that best Conti GP 4000S's and similar will now be saved for fast club runs and events etc, and I will get a spare set of wheels out of the shed and stick some cheaper tougher tyres on. End of day, on your own it does not matter how fast you go so long as your working hard. And last weekend, I dug my Marathon Plus's out and did a couple of hundred on them and after I got used to the lack of rolling resistance and weight, I was soon able to blast along at a good pace and I also became aware of how responsive they were climbing steep hills, which may account for all the tears I get in the GP 4000s in the smooth thread wall, too much power in the pedals make the tyres spin on the ground ripping them, whereas the Marathons, grip the road better and the slightest increase in pedalling, I could feel the bike lunge forward.

 

[John the Canuck]

^^^^^
''I cannot afford tyres like this on a regular basis,''

overnight i have come to the same conclusion reading all the above
and do appreciate many have no probs at all


----- ordered a pair of Schwalbe Lugano again - at £23

 

[e-rider]

this is a strange thread!
ANY tyre sidewall will split open if you ride over a flint, glass, rock or other sharp hard object. This can happen in the first mile of a ride or after 2000 miles - it makes no difference. I recently met a guy at the side of the road when I had a puncture, and he made a comment like "mine is a brand new bike so I wont get a punture, if I did I'd take it straight back to the shop and complain"!!! WTF.

 

[zacklaws]

ANY tyre sidewall will split open if you ride over a flint, glass, rock or other sharp hard object. This can happen in the first mile of a ride or after 2000 miles - it makes no difference..

Quite true, but some tyres are far more tougher than others and thus more resilient to such events, ie I have never had a side wall split on Marathons, Marathon Plus's and Bontrager hardcase all weather and their must be lots of other tyres similar. Its virtually a case of deciding whether you want high performance tyres with thin side walls or heavier more durable tyres with all round protection and not just on the thread side.