By no means do 22s ride harsh, but are they as silky smooth as a Dugast? No they are not. Will you be out $150 everytime you flat? No you will not! And much unlike Dugast's these are always in stock and you don't need a buddy in Belgium smuggling them over on a boat. At 260g each the 22s are by no means heavy and fall well within the normal weight range of a high end tubular tire.
In the Competition 22s, Continental uses its Vectran Breaker Technology as well as its Black Chili Compound. To put it as simply as I can, the VBT is a layer of Vectran underneath the tires tread. The Vectran material is five times stronger than steel as well as lighter and more flexible than 2 layers of nylon... This is the only Liquid Crystal Polymer in the world. So needless to say you don't have to worry about flatting, which is a great feature because it is so hard to go fast with a flat tire! Real world technology ladies and gentlemen... there is a reason why most PROs race on the 22s when it's an option. Also included with the 22s is the ever popular Black Chili Compound. Continental shrinks individual black carbon particles to an ultra-fine level creating nano-technology for when mixed with butyl rubber. How will this affect me you ask yourself? 30% better adhesion, 26% less rolling resistance, 5% improved mileage over Continental tires without this compound. The Continental Competiton 22s are a real world performance product that you can rely on to be there when it counts. For frou-frou-shi-shi call your up your buddy in Bruges.
Clean and simple graphics. Bold yet not offensive.
This is my most favourite salient feature of the 22s. Micro file tread. In my opinion this tread offers the best water and dirt shedding capabilities and makes the coolest of noises when you put your hand down to skim-clean your tires. "zzztttt!" "zzztttt!"
Here is a side profile of the all-black 22s. Pure class in my opinion.
Love that clean, tough, fast look of the micro file tread... it makes other treads look overkill and a tad cliche.
Another pic. At this point I am just showing off the old Campagnolo Record Alloy Bits.
This too can be yours. Or at least the wheels and tires!To order a set of Contintal Competition 22's click here.
ps: Yours truly trains on these tires and wheels everyday on craggy New England roads. Saving your carbon tubular wheels for special occasions is soooo 2007.
Cheers,
Justin
1 comment:
Justin,
How difficult is it to wrestle these Conti tubs onto a rim? I used them in the past and always had a bear of a time to get them on a rim, even after trying to stretch them. Has that changed? I use Vittoria and have used Veloflex and find them easy to mount. I would use the contis but for my fear of mounting troubles.
thanks,
Geoff
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