Note: All information and all images courtesy of Continental Tires.
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| Continental's most aggressive gravel tire, the new Terra Adventure |
Continental has released news today regarding an addition to its Terra range of gravel tires. The newest tire also is Continental's most aggressive gravel tread suitable for rough roads and even of-road trails.
Dubbed the Terra Adventure, this tire will come in a 700 X 45mm width with 50mm and 55mm widths as well, making this tire suitable for adventure riding and long-distance gravel events where comfort and control are desired over speed and aerodynamics.
The Terra Adventure features a tread pattern inspired by Continental's XC MTB line. All options provide sidewall and center reinforcement for puncture protection and feature state-of-the-art tubeless-ready technology. The Terra Adventure is hookless bead compatible. Prices for the Terra Adventure are set at 61.95€ and $69.95 USD. Available currently from many online and brick and mortar retailers.
Comments: This introduction is interesting from the standpoint of a few other developments in adventure riding, one of which will appear in a couple of days from a European based brand. Another development being the new Fox 34 Step cast 130mm travel XC fork.
While drop bar MTB is nothing new, and "adventure" style bicycles and accessories have been around for nearly two decades already, European brands are starting to trend toward this as being something new. You'll see a new term coined soon which reflects this shift from "trekking", which was the traditional Euro style of "adventure biking", to this swing toward MTB-ish styling and marketing.
Again, here in the USA this all may seem a bit 'ho-hum', and old news. However; it appears that marketing for some companies, like Conti and other Euro brands, are trying to tap into the ultra-distance and "adventure" side of the gravel craze. This makes sense because "gravel", or more correctly, crushed rock roads, do not feature heavily in the European network of roads and pathways. Not like it does here and especially in the Mid-West.
7 comments:
European Bike routes are often gravel.
After my first European tour I sold my Trek with its 28mm tires, which was no fun loaded on gravel routes, other riders asked why I was riding such skinny tires.
They were riding mountain bikes w/panniers.
I got a just introduced Rivendell Atlantis with 'monster' Conti 37mm tyres,
I put Avocet Cross II 35ish tires on my friends Bianchi Volpe for the next tour.
Trekking… sounds like what we often do on our bikes. We're practically stars at it. ;-)
Could the tire industry do some tire size standardizing? Lets dump 2.1, 2.25, 2.35 & 2.4 widths and just go mm to 53, 55, 57, & 60?
I’d happily get behind that…
@N.Y. Roll - Great idea. However, the Germans are not very amenable to the metric way, despite that being their standard for things for....? I don't know. A long time, I would guess.
Anyone who has worked bicycle retail and was in a shop that sold Conti knows the mass confusion their tire markings cause. I always knew what brand someone's tires were when they asked for "28 inch tubes". ;>)
@scottg - Ironically enough, Continental was almost the first company to have a 2" wide 700c tire. Their "Goliath" model was about a 47mm wide tire back in the 1990's. Wes Williams rode them and sold them previous to the Nanoraptor for his Willits New Sheriff bikes which became 29"ers in 1999. Conti had another hybrid tire we sold at a shop I worked at in the 1990's which had to be nearly 2" wide, but it wasn't a Goliath.
I LOVED Avocet Cross tires for touring. Those fatter widths were great tires for self-contained touring and I used those back in the 1990's for that reason.
@GT , the lines are blurred between gravel and XC MTB, the market should just go metric and be done with it. Has anyone seen my 10mm socket???
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