I decided to try another 27X1&1/4” Continental tire, the Ultra Sport. I ordered a pair and mounted them. They looked nice, and I was excited about testing them out with a load of groceries in the front basket and my son in his child seat on back. Unfortunately, the beauty of these tires is only skin deep.I have been riding on the Ultra Sports for a couple weeks now, and I do not like them at all. The rubber on the tread is very sticky. I hear the constant "tink, tink, tink" of road debris getting tossed up against my steel fender with the Ultra Sports that I did not hear with my old Sport 1000s, which just rolled over such debris without grabbing it and flipping it up. I am very concerned that the Ultra Sports will grab something sharp and hold onto it until it punctures the tire. Many of the reviews I have read say these are very flat-prone tires, and I do not doubt it. For now, I am glad that I mounted Mr. Tuffy tire liners inside these tires. They should afford me some protection against the inevitable tire puncture.
The Ultra Sports are also very narrow. I checked mine with calipers, and they measured out at 1.13” (28.7mm) wide at their widest point when mounted on Velocity Synergy rims. They are 1.05”(26.7mm) high as measured from the top of the rim’s side wall to the top of the tire. I have already bottomed them out a few times while riding over uneven concrete sections with my son in the child seat and the tires inflated to 80 psi. Fortunately, I have not experienced any pinch flats, but it is just a matter of time before I do.
I'm going to keep riding the Ultra Sports for a while to see if the rubber loses some of its tackiness. I will run them at higher pressures and hope for the best, but if I had it to do all over again, I would not have bought them in the first place. On the other hand, I love my 700CX32mm Panaracer Pasela TG tires, so I would not hesitate to recommend those in their 27" form. Also, I am looking forward to mounting my cheapo 27X1&3/8" Kenda K40 tires on another bike. These look A LOT like the old “Specialized Commuter” tires used to look, and I think they will work well on bicycles used primarily for utilitarian cycling. I'll let you know how those work out.27X1&1/4” Continental Ultra Sport Overall Grade: D+
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3 comments:
This is a terrible review. Sorry, but its true. Tackiness of a tire can be a good thing, and nothing says ridiculous like a Mr. Tuffy strip.
I've never used Conti Ultra Sports, but seriously, you don't like the tires because they're tacky? You'll appreciate that tackiness once you don't have it.
That being said, if you want decent puncture-resistance with good grip, try Schwalbe Marathons. They come in a 27 x 1 1/4" and definitely aren't "tacky".
Okay, Brian, what is it you do not like about Mr. Tuffies? I have been using them for decades, and I find that they are a very effective way of preventing flats. I am not at all concerned about wheel weight on the bicycle in question.
I see a lot of Tuffies on flats that come into the shop where the Tuffy strip has actually worn a hole in the tube where the strip overlaps. On top of that they're a pain to install and are unreasonably heavy (even on an already unreasonably heavy Dutch bike).
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