Impressions: Continental Speed Ride (Cyclocross Speed) tires 700×42 (38)

(Update: my new favorite gravel tires (2022))

(Updated impressions available here.)

I first became interested in these tires during late 2014 when I was looking for a set of do-it-all rubbers for my cyclocross bike for multi-terrain commuting and adventure rides. My typical commute takes me over pavement and tarmac of varying extents of disrepair, while I have visions of embarking on all-day and half-day adventure rides that contain bits of fire roads and singletrack in the SF Bay Area Peninsula. After reading several blogs and forum threads, I’ve come to the conclusion that a fatter (> 28 mm) tire with relatively smooth center treads might serve me well.

The Continental Speed Rides (wider version of the 35mm Cyclocross Speed) appeared to fit that bill, at least on paper.

The Speed Rides come in two forms (at least as of early 2015): a non-folding wire bead version with reflective sidewalls, and a folding kevlar bead version that is supposedly a couple dozen grams lighter than the wire bead version. Following a series of un-noteworthy circumstances, I ended up accumulating a set of each version to outfit my single speed cyclocross commuter (Raleigh One Way) and my adventure bike (Specialized Tricross Sport Triple). Both versions are listed as 700×42 and they measured approximately 38-39 mm fully inflated on both bikes (as others have reported on various blogs and forums).

The clearance on the Tricross seemed ample both front and rear, while the rear clearance on the One Way, particularly at the chain stay, was just adequate. In fact, I had an incident on the One Way when a corner of my rear pannier swung into the non-drive side rear spokes and pulled my rear wheel slightly out of true. Some minor tire rubbing at the chain stay ensued.

My initial impressions of these tires were generally positive. I should mention that apart from my mountain biking experiences over a decade ago, I have not ridden tires as fat as these. Up to this point, the widest tires I have ridden on a cross bike was 700×35; most of time I commuted on tires ranging from 26 – 32 mm. With that said, I immediately appreciated the comfortable and supple ride quality these tires offered. I typically weigh 182 – 187 lbs and my cross bikes (without bottles or saddle bags) are about 23 lbs, and I pumped the Conti Speed Rides up to about 50 (f)/65 (r) psi. Those pressures offered a great balance of comfort and fast rolling on rough pavement and hard pack dirt (e.g., typical terrain on many parts of the Bay Trial).

Over the past four months, I’ve managed to put a couple hundred combined miles on these tires over a range of paved and unpaved surfaces. I am still in my early days with these tires; the center molding ridges are still visible on these tires, and I have yet to flat (knock on wood).

I am very pleased with the performance of these tires (relatively light weight given the size, so far no flats, decent ride quality/comfort, and good rolling resistance), especially for commuting.

More recently, however, I have taken these tires on trails in the South Bay/Peninsula region (Stevens Canyon Trail, Montebello Trail, Grizzly Flats Trail, Alpine Trail), and have started to notice their limitations as well. Although the tires featured dense file tread in the center with some larger knobs on the sides, they did not have enough bite for many of these trails (looser pack, some loose gravel, some rocks and exposed roots). For example, climbing with these tires on loose fire roads and single track only felt marginally better than doing the same on a 25 or 28 mm slick; if I stayed in the saddle, sometimes the front end would get loose, and vice versa when I tried to get out of the saddle to climb. Perhaps I should have ran a lower psi on such terrain, but one of the major reasons I had for getting these tires in the first place was to be able to do all-day multi-terrain adventure rides. If I run too low of a psi I might feel compromised when I get back onto the tarmac.

Overall, I think these tires are great for commuting if your frame has enough clearance. My limited experience with these tires forbid me from commenting on their tread wear and puncture resistance, but so far, after a few hundred miles on these, I have been happy. I have been slightly disappointed at their lack of bite on some of the looser surfaces but perhaps I was expecting too much. Nonetheless, I think that while they are not perfect for the adventure rides I had in mind, they are probably as good as anything else out there. Several other tires offer similar a tread profile and might be lighter (Clement LAS, Schwalbe Sammy Slick, etc.), but I would not want to run anything skinnier than these 38s for the trails that I sometimes visit. Also, since California has been in a severe drought, I have not yet put these to the test in wet or muddy conditions (but wet performance was never a consideration for me, as I absolutely abhor the cleaning-up process following a wet ride).