Continental Contact Plus tyres

Continental's Contact Plus tyres are tough and portly but surprisingly fast options for everything the concrete jungle can chuck at you – provided, of course, your frame's clearances can cope.

These days it seems bigger is better: the Contact Plus is offered in five 700C widths, from 28 to 47mm. I've been testing the 37-622 (listed as 35mm on the side of the tyre) and 42-622. I was just about able to park the former in my cross-inspired fixed-gear build's rear triangle without mudguards – increasingly less of a problem for disc braked tourers and gravel bikes, but double check if you're riding a more traditional rim-brake build.

In light of this and their spec, I wasn't surprised to discover the 42mm offerings weighed 998g apiece – not outlandish by genre standards, but still heavier than the seriously heavy duty 26x2in models presently adorning my Univega.

Their size and the wire beads do mean, for the most part, they're a doddle to mount, with directional arrows to help. You might want a single lever to scoop them aboard deep-section hoops, otherwise it's a tool-free affair, requiring just a pair of strong thumbs.

Belt 'n' braces

Comparisons with Schwalbe's Marathons are perhaps inevitable. These are rated 7 for puncture/cut prevention and I wasn't surprised to discover they use a thick rubber layer beneath the tread – just like the Schwalbes. This is the main point of defence, flexing and pushing any sharps out with a capillary action, though they also employ a Kevlar strip beneath for added protection, should anything sneak past.

Hitting the mother of all potholes, with a nine-inch nail lurking beneath, while hauling the kitchen sink, might do it, otherwise you'd be very unlucky to flat. Deliberately riding through thorns, shards of glass, tacks and anything else that usually has our senses screaming with alarm has made no impression to date. There's not even a nick in the casings.

Operating pressures of 50-73psi for the 42mm, and 56-85psi for the 35mm aren't anything out of the ordinary and give some scope for additional grip during really wet rides or a slippery winter. Generally speaking I've run them around the 70psi mark, which has catered for most scenarios. Acceleration isn't on par with a big slick, but they aren't difficult to coax up to speed and keep at a decent tempo.

I've been happy enough letting rip at 35mph along local 1-in-4s, and pushing them hard into corners. Wet manhole covers/similar ironworks call for a bit of common sense, but railway crossings, cattle grids and so on haven't taxed them – or spooked me.

The big pocket of air guarantees a smooth-as-you-like ride over lumpy tarmac and takes the sting out of those occasional unavoidable holes and ruts.

> Why you need to switch to wider tyres

Something like the Maxxis Roamers are a notch or two quicker, especially on the open road, but the Contis have felt a good deal more dependable. This is a consideration for touring and long, dark commutes, or when riding with children, say on the tagalong, where reliability is paramount.

The water-channelling grooves do a decent job of flushing wet stuff out, taking muck, silt and flints away too. That said, it doesn't hurt to tickle them clean with a brush when treating bikes to a spruce-up.

So long as you're not going too mad, they're surprisingly comfortable off-road too – dirt roads, moderate forest trails and towpaths – great if you want to explore.

As an aside, when it comes to lights I'm a hub dynamo kind of guy, so I was slightly disappointed by the lack of dynamo track – the sidewalls are certainly stout enough. However, they do sport the familiar and extremely extrovert reflective pin-stripe.

Bottom lines

Although there are faster 42mm tyres around, the weight penalty and more pronounced rolling resistance isn't going to be apparent on a heavily laden expedition bike, tandem, or off-road on an adventure type build for that matter. The 35mm section is noticeably quicker, much easier to mount, and my choice if you wanted a super-dependable four-seasons road-biased tyre.

Verdict

Versatile, dependable and surprisingly quick-rolling big-section tyres