Continental have been giving their entire tyre range a glow up, and following in the tyre marks of the Trinotal, Dubnital and Magnotal for the XC and downcountry crowd, the gravel riders are next to be served a pneumatic refresh from the German rubber masters, introducing the Continental Terra Competition.
The Continental Terra Competition is at the far left of the spectrum, happy to bridge the gap from road to light gravel. We were sent a pair in 45mm, the largest size available in this tread. Also available in 35mm and 40mm sizes, as the name suggests the Continental Terra Competition is ‘ideal for long rides and competitive races,’ and it ‘seamlessly transitions between road and gravel, providing the ultimate in speed and control.’
At about 506g per 45mm tyre, the weight is good, and the casing is supple but by no means paper thin. Both inflated on 25mm internal width rims with the help from a compressor, with a splash of Joes’ No Flats to ensure they stayed airtight.
The tread pattern is sparse. Edge knobs? Never heard of her. The chevron appearance will put edges into hardpack under acceleration, with minimal rolling resistance. On a mixed surface ride, they sure roll fast on the road, with a lot of comfort on crappy rural road surfaces.
On some chopped up multi use trails they bounced around, but on rolling hardpack they were fast and fun. Cornering under brakes on anything with loose gravel or loose dirt is a bit alarming, and while this test set were setup nude (without tyre inserts) at first, adding some inserts to get pressure low should allow the full exploration of the performance window. More to come!
