Conti Supersonic lifespan report-Great!

[Weisse Luft]

I finally wore out my first Supersonic in 700C x 23. It took over 2800 miles of riding over many miles of asphalt and concrete surfaces with only TWO on-road flats! Sure, there are many small nicks from glass (thanks to disposable beer bottles and dumb people) but the overall life has been great. My post ride inspection revealed some casing pattern visible on the flat wear section, indicating not much more time before fabric shows through.

The front still has a visible mould parting line so I will save it for replacement use in case my luck runs out. Somehow, it is actually LIGHTER than the worn-out rear by about 5 grams. Just a fact of tire variation...and the fact I put the heavier one on the rear.

Yes, I have a replacement pair on hand. And I will use them for general purpose riding since I love the feel of tubulars without the trouble of fixing flats (actual patching of the leak, not swapping out on the road).

[benz76]

Very impressive!
I weigh 45 kg, and I only managed to ride 900 km (600 miles) on my rear Supersonic 700x20 .

I'll try 700x23 immediatly!

Bye, Benz.

[Superlite]

Supersonic's are a joke for everyday riding. They are too dangerous if you ask me. That kind of milage on a race tire can spell trouble!

[520 Dan]

Superlite, why do you always defer to the "danger" issue? what is so dangerous about this tire? I know its lightweight, so its lifespan is greatly decreased, but I've had blowouts on much heavier tires. Basically, it seems to me that cycling in general is pretty dangerous, and the only thing you can really do is take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety (like replacing your supersonics when they are worn) and hope for the best.
On a side note, superlight tires and tubes and wheels when training seem to kinda take the edge off of training. You have nothing faster (or much faster) to switch to when you race. You wanna be fast? Run Chorus hubs 3x on openpros, Conti Gatorskins as wide as you can get them and a 19mm tubular tire filled with slime as your tube. You will hate life for most of your training rides, but you will fly come race time.

[rico]

Hey, now that's a good idea...

rico

[Oswald]

On a side note, superlight tires and tubes and wheels when training seem to kinda take the edge off of training. You have nothing faster (or much faster) to switch to when you race. You wanna be fast? Run Chorus hubs 3x on openpros, Conti Gatorskins as wide as you can get them and a 19mm tubular tire filled with slime as your tube. You will hate life for most of your training rides, but you will fly come race time.

I agree... I hate it when people talk about some bling bling race wheelset being their everyday training wheels... Training wheels have to be dependable, easy to service and cheap... not lightweight an sick expensive...

I have this old wheelset with Ultegra 8 speed hubs, and Mavic MA3 rims to train on when it rains... and a set of 105 laced to Open Pros for when it is dry...

I use my good wheels (and good bike) for race day only...

[C-40]

I agree... I hate it when people talk about some bling bling race wheelset being their everyday training wheels... Training wheels have to be dependable, easy to service and cheap... not lightweight an sick expensive...

So only racers can have good wheels? What about the guys who just ride on fast club rides? We wind up running stuff on a more regular basis that maybe would (should?)be reserved for special "events".

[bobalou]

I finally wore out my first Supersonic in 700C x 23. It took over 2800 miles of riding over many miles of asphalt and concrete surfaces with only TWO on-road flats! ..snip..

With all due respect.. All I can say is that's hard to believe! How much do you weigh? Even Continentenal themselves say only to expect 500 miles out of them. I wore out a pair of GP 3000's with about 3000 miles. I wore out a pair of "attack-force" conti's in 2500 miles. Was real happy with both sets.. I love continental tires but stay away from the supersonics for practical reasons.

[Oswald]

So only racers can have good wheels? What about the guys who just ride on fast club rides? We wind up running stuff on a more regular basis that maybe would (should?)be reserved for special "events".

You can use them for whatever you find important... be it a race or a fast paced group ride... But some guys would use Winiums or whatever for every day commuting!!

I work in a shop and always warn people when they want to buy some lightweight part... I'm not talking about the racers, but about the guys that just like to ride... usually they take my advice, but sometimes they don't and in those cases, I'm often wright...

I wouldn't buy that carbon ITM post, if I were you... It'll probably break!
-Yeah, but I'll take it anyway...

Two weeks later, they come back for a warrenty claim... Same thing with wheels, tires, ...

I'm just saying that you should use the parts for what they were intended for...

[veldt01]

I used the supersonics om my tt bike not more than 80 miles and they where completely gone. Think these are the worst tyres I've tried so far. The grip is very poor (in the wet there is none) and any time one might win due to the weight you'll loose in the curves. found out that veloflex (in combination with the Supersonic inner tyres which are good/light) is the much better choice.

[Weisse Luft]

68 kg or 150 pounds. I only ride 23 mm and usually inflate 135 rear, 130 front. I ride without gloves in complete comfort even though I have a Cannondale CAAD 4 team replica. With an Alpha Q Sub 3 and Easton EC90 bars, it is perfectly suited for centuries.

Mind you, this was my first set, a freebie door prize on a supported fun ride. Everyone said to reserve these for racing but then they also said they were unreliable. Oxymoronic. Why would I want to trust an unreliable tire on a race? And 80 mile lifespan? I don't race track so if I were to ever use these, I would want a real life test. And either I got an exceptional set or my riding style prolongs tire life.

Now, I would caution against using the 20's because my experience with GP3k's in 20mm isn't nearly as good as 23mm SS's. As always, roadway surfaces vary and YMMVC.

[bobalou]

Must be somethin' in that Texas asphalt. Maybe Armadillo roadkill prolongs tires.

[Weisse Luft]

Most asphalt gets the aggregate (the stones 1/4" and up on the surface) polished smooth after a short time.

One time an afternoon shower left a nasty curve very slick. I was riding my steel bike, shod in Conti GP3K's and was going about 28 into this curve. I had ridden it many times in the dry but never in the wet.

I slowed down to about 24 MPH and managed to carve an arc beautifully all the way around. As I was straightening out, I suddenly lost control, sliding on the slick, smooth pave for at least 100 feet. This is a narrow, country road and judging from the physics and memory, I know I fully straightened out.


Only slight scratches on the bike QR's and one tiny scratch on my arm. As I got up off the ground, I noticed the surface was like a bed of ball bearings.

[martin]

I am very surprised by the good performance "Weisse Luft" got out of his Supersonics. I had 4 (!) of them jump of my rims for no apparent reason in one season, one while i was standing, two at lower speeds and one spectacularly jumped of my front rim on the descent from Penser Joch (Passo Pennes on some maps) while making aronud 40-50km/h - boy was i glad i managed to stop without crashing...
Needless to say, after that they were off my bike in no time at all, and i haven't touched them since. The on that lasted longest had about 800km on it and it started to develop the typical "Conti flat" already.

Slightly OT: Buddy of mine had Supersonics for MTB sponsored for the "Transalp Challenge" Race; he and his partner punctured several times a day. No way a couple of grams saved will ever make up for the time lost in a race with a puncture. Tires are a bad part to save weight on, IMO.

I also had very bad experiences with the Supersonic inner tubes, the puncture rate about tripled while i used them. Now i use "Bohle extralite"s with good results.

I have to stress that at ~60kg i usually get excellent mileage out of my tires. I ride around 7000km/Year on my training bike, and usually i throw the Conti GP's i use on it away after a year. And that cause the sidewalls get dry, with plenty of rubber still on them. Typically one can still see some of the profile, even on the rear tire.

Martin