Continental SuperSport Ultra Folding Clincher

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
Diamondback steel roadbike with a big mix of parts.

Summary:
The tires feel heavier than they weigh. I tried swapping identical wheelsets with cheap IRC tires and these definitely feel like they are slower in acceleration. This might be due to the thick sidewalls compared to most "enthusiast" tires I've tried. The first day I mounted them a pea sized blowout occured in the sidewall not near the bead. After sewing it up (yes), the tire has had no problems except for moderate number of flats due to glass.

Strengths:
Tread doesn't wear fast

Weaknesses:
Feels dead slow, weak sidewall, tread cuts easily

Similar Products Used:
Conti Supersport Wired

Price Paid:  $25.00

Bike Setup:
Ultegra

Summary:
I wouldn't race on them but they'll last forever as a training tire.
At $20 at Supergo, I'm buying another pair for training.

Strengths:
tread wears forever. I've trained on these for 3 years, including rollers in the winter and the tread just won't wear out.
Never a worry with flats.

Weaknesses:
Hairy sidewalls. The sidewalls threads keep coming off the tire. They have been doing that for over a year but I've never questioned their reliability. Just an annoyance.

Similar Products Used:
Specialized Team Turbos

Price Paid:  $28.00 at Colorado Cyclist

Favorite Ride:
ALL

Bike Setup:
Mavic Open Sup Rims

Summary:
I have found these to be very long wearing tires. I weigh over 200 pounds and have been riding the same set of 20 mm wide SuperSport Ultra Folding Tires (the pre 2000 models) for over 5000 miles, with few flats.

Strengths:
Very long wearing (over 5000 miles)

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Michelin Select

Price Paid:  $19.00 at Supergo

Bike Setup:
Litespeed Ultimate

Summary:
Switched to these from Michelin Axial pro's in an effort to keep cost down - the ride quality isn't as nice - the Axials were very very smooth - these feel "rough" - seems like I feel alot more road buzz... They are also smaller than they are supposed to be - a 25 is more like a 23 (same size as my Michelin 23's which measure 23mm...).

The tread is definitely more durable than the tires they replaced - no cuts at all (despite running through glass on a number of occasions). They are squaring off faster than I expected, though.

I believe these have been discontinued - looks like the Ultra 2000 is the replacement, which I will try next (caseing looks to contain finer threads, which may make it more supple and smoother... we'll have to wait and see)

Bottom line - not a bad tire - very good for $19 - there are better tires out there, but probably not for under $20...

Strengths:
Inexpensive
Flat resistant
Decent traction

Weaknesses:
Less than smooth ride
Smaller than posted size... 25 is more like 23
Wore faster than expected

Similar Products Used:
Michelin (Axial Pro, Axial Supercomp, Supercompe HD)

Price Paid:  $35.00 at mail order and LBS

Favorite Ride:
jostclan@yahoo.com

Bike Setup:
Litespeed Classic, Ultegra group and Mavic Cosmic Elite wheels.

Summary:
In my opion, the foldable Conti's just don't hold up. Either use these as a spare set or be prepared to replace them often.

Strengths:
If Conti could fix the sideway issues these would be fantastic tires. The grip well and the tread last a long time.

Weaknesses:
Not only do the sidwalls cut easily, I've blown out a sidewall in an "emergency" stop. On two other Conti's this year, the threading along the "bead" unravelled. I have strings hanging all over the tire. I'll cut one back only to have two more appear. These strings get caught up in my breakshoes.

Similar Products Used:
None yet, but I'll probably look at the Vredensteins.