Has anyone else noticed their conti sidewalls perishing in a very short space of time?

I bought these barons at the same time I built my Covert (5 months ago):

I just took them off to fit some more quicker rolling tyres before I head up to scotland next week, and the sidewalls are cracked and knackered. Not sure if they’ll be fit to use again:

It doesn’t show so well in the picture, but there is one ‘crack’ on each side that runs the entire circumference of the tyre that is visible even when you don’t flex the rubber; when you pinch it, the whole surface is as shown. Both tyres are the same.

Now, these aren’t the super dooper expensive black chilli ones, but I’m bloody glad these only cost me £13 each. They haven’t been stored in direct sunlight, and they’ve hardly been ridden (probably only about 10 proper sessions, due to the crappy weather over winter). I’ve been a Maxxis user for ages, and I’ve got High Rollers, Minions and Ignitors that have been hanging around on and off of bikes for 6+ years without cracking like that. Likewise Spesh and Panaracer tyres.

Is it a one off, or are Contis not built to last? Are the black chilli tyres better (and is it worth the risk at 50 quid a pop)?

Not impressed.

Dave

uhhh…..warranty?

never thought of warranty…. TBH, i’m not sure I can be bothered with the hassle for the £26 the pair cost me.

I had been considering some post new rubber queens, but I think I’ll chalk this one down to experience and avoid conti like the plague!

Dave

You’ll never know whether it was a one-off then, while many will be happy on their conti’s.

I have one 5+years old with no perishing.

Had a pair handed in like this. Warranty for sure.

What cleaners have you had on it? Maybe it’s been reacting to something chemical?

Never used any cleaners on this bike. I usually just wash my bikes with a hose and brush. Used to own some pedros green fizz, but it ran out some time last year. I’ve also got degreaser, but that doesnt go near tyres.

I’ve got 6 bikes, plus my missus’ 4; all treated the same way and all with older tyres than these, plus a box of assorted old tyres. Apart from some ancient vert pros, these are the only contis, and the only ones that are perished.

I bought them from nextdaytyres (who are excellent). Maybe an email to them tomorrow would be worth a punt.

Dave

Never rated contis meself but then I’ve only ever had the cheap uns.

I’ve been a bit unimpressed with the longevity of bike tyres myself. Kenda Kinetics on new bike perished after two years. Maxxis crossmark perished after one year (have another that’s fine after two years). Spesh Mondo road tyres split to canvas after two years. Had some WTB tyres die quickly too, but some last well. Doesn’t seem to be any correlation between use and life, I have six bikes so none see huge mileages, none kept outdoors in the sun. Led me to wonder how long they have been folded up on a shelf before purchase, although some were on new bikes. This would not be acceptable on car or motorbike tyres, is it a built in short lifespan to keep you buying new tyres?

fair enough if they look like this after 5 years, but 5 months is pretty ridiculous.

Out of interest, what sort of grounds to have have to complain? Does this come under the almighty Sale of Goods act? I suppose they could be deemed unfit for purpose.

Dave

Hutchinson tyres FTW (whatever that means).

I’ve been using only Contis for the last two years, Mountain Kings Mk 1 and 2, Race Kings, and X Kings. I’ve used wire and kevlar bead and non of the tyres have perished. I’d definetly take yours back as you don’t tend to see tyres like that unless they’ve stood around inflated and under weight.

I had some Rubber Queens brought back to me last week with the same problem. They were the cheapie wire bead version. In future I’ll stick to stocking Kenda Kinetics as a cheap fat tyre.

only time I’ve seen that is on very old tyres. Wonder how long ago they were manufactured?

Out of interest why fit such cheap tyres to such a nice bike – was it based on price or performance?

A couple of guys here at work who have ridden for years have many stories of this happening. Conti sidewalls not good on road tyres as well.

Out of interest why fit such cheap tyres to such a nice bike – was it based on price or performance?

I needed some tyres that shed mud really well; these looked like they had a nice open tread pattern to them, and at the price, I figured they’d be worth it just to try them out; instead of spending £100 on a pair of black chilli ones.

I ended up being really impressed with them, and had no reason to change – they worked well in the mud, and still worked well once the ground had dried out. I was taking them off for summer to go with something a bit quicker, but was planning to keep them to go back on next winter.

Dave

Conti sidewalls not good on road tyres as well.

I’ve got some gator skins on my commuter roadie; their sidewalls are coming apart (the kevlar coating is coming away), but I was putting that down to the fact that they’re 7 years old and have done many thousands of miles.

I’ve got this on my tourer, it did spend a lot of time locked up outside so I put it down to UV even though I’d not seen tyres break up that quickly.

For the OP and others, could it just be that we’re running lower pressures causing the sidewalls to flex and break up quicker? I know when i started MTBing the norm was 35-40psi, these day’s I’ve rundown to half that on some occasions and I’d considder 35 psi rock hard!

could it just be that we’re running lower pressures causing the sidewalls to flex and break up quicker?

I’ve only ridden them about 10 times, and I had tubes in them, so was running relatively high pressures (for me) probably ~35psi

Been running Maxxis for years at 20-30psi and never had this problem.

Dave

Like the OP I bought some cheapo £13 wire-bead Barons to try out for the winter mud, for which they were very good for the price if you can put up with the drag. I’ve just been to have a look at them (they’re not on the bike at the moment) and the sidewall construction looks completely different – it’s got a sort of diagonal cross-hatch pattern and looks as good as new and is showing no signs of cracking. Definitely worth sending them back to where you got them from. Does make me wonder – are there such things as fake tyres?

no, just bad batches. Low end models are usually made in India, Thailand etc rather than Japan, Germany and most likely use lower grade starting materials and worse QC.

the only cycle tyres ive had issues with were Conti XCs many years ago, it looked for all the world like theyd stopped putting rubber on the sidewalls and they frayed badly. Never used conti again.

I’ve got a pair of Vertical Pro 2.3’s which I got cheap from halfords last summer which have perished in the same way, due to illness and lazyness they’ve probably only covered 50 miles since fitting.
The other halfs bike which hardly gets used has got some panaracer trail things which are at least 7 years old and probably nearer 10 which are still perfect.

How little do you guys ride! I considder my Pitch to be barely used and it’s eaten 2 sets of tyres!

I’ve got contis on my bike that I’ve owned for 5 years at least with no problems. Not mega expensive models either.

As said I suspect it’s the fact they were so cheap and a bad batch. Take them back or at least talk to supplier.

Out of interest, what sort of grounds to have have to complain? Does this come under the almighty Sale of Goods act? I suppose they could be deemed unfit for purpose.

Just ask the shop nicely, No need to state SOGA unless last resort.

im interested to hear what nextdaytyres say.

personally i dont think the purchase price justifies this, nor really the amount of use or where stored….. at 5mths you could possibly have worn the tread to flat and or ripped all the knobblies apart having covered long distances or unsuitable terrain…. but the sidewalls cracking like that? They look like they are over 5years old, not months.

I have a pair of conti race king the wire ones(CHEAP)that are made in india.Hope to wear them out soon b4 they go like that.Only had them 2 weeks

thisisnotaspoon – Member
How little do you guys ride!

weather has been crap, so I’ve been riding other bikes more suitable to the slippery gloop 🙂

Just ask the shop nicely, No need to state SOGA unless last resort

Have sent them an email asking their opinion on what to do. In any event, it isn’t their fault, but I’ve asked what they reckon I should do. If the answer is to send them back at my cost and wait for conti to answer, I may not bother. It isn’t worth my time to go and post them; I’d rather go for a ride.

Dave

You should see single ply Maxxis- LONG before the tread is a 1/4 worn the sidewalls are SHOT.

You should see single ply Maxxis- LONG before the tread is a 1/4 worn the sidewalls are SHOT.

I’ve got a box full of knackered old maxxis tyres of various ages (up to about 5 or 6 years). No sidewall problems that I’ve noticed with any of them.

Dave

I’ve some black chilli UST Rubber Queens that went like that after 3 weeks in storage out of direct light and kept cool. I’ll be returning them shortly as it’s as bad as old Michelin tyres (90’s vintage that did the same when new).

I’ve got a box full of knackered old maxxis tyres of various ages (up to about 5 or 6 years). No sidewall problems that I’ve noticed with any of them.

Mine look like I’ve been riding them flat on the rims constantly. The EXO skin is meant to cure this.