Continental TRAIL ATTACK tyres/tires ongoing test

[Chris_GS]

Hi all,

I have decided to do an ongoing report on the new Continental TrailAttack tyres, posting as I go.

Why? I have scoured the web for info on various tyres and it seems that you can't get decent info on this newly-released tyre. So I got a set.

First off, I do mostly road km's, and some off-roading. Our dirt in this area of the woods consists of gravel roads, leading up to gnarly rocky roads. there is some sand but it's usually a puddle of mud that's avoidable. mostly.

This tyre is designed by the factory to be "a mostly on-road tyre with all the latest technology, for the rider that sometimes goes off-road". eg what I would say is 90% of GS usage.

I intend to use it as designed, so if I have a gnarly off-road trip that I know about coming up, on will go TKC's- either a set or just a front to give me some dirt grip. or maybe not!

so saying that, here's some facts:

Bike:
R1150GS 2002 model (80,000km)
Suspension:
WP
weight of rider:
approx 100kg WITH gear.
Ride ability:
I'm what I would consider a quick, but not outright fast road rider. Offroad I'm Mr Joe Average.
Pressures:
I'll run the stock pressures, experiment either way with dirt and road usage. I'll post this as I go.

Here's a pic of the tyres. Some initial notes. The Continental tyres are made in a few places around the world, and quite often (as is the case here) the front is made in one country (Korea), the rear is made in another (Germany). go figure. I would be interested in posts from other users on the sidewall markings- where their tyres came from?

Tread depth is 5mm at the front, and 9mm at the rear. Very similar to a new Tourance. the grooves are thinner at the edges of the rear, giving the impression of less groove and therefore less 'dirtability'. The front has similar groove numbers and widths as the Tourance, so I can only assume that the front will behave as a Tourance would. I will use the Tourance as a comparison as A: most people have ridden on Tourance as it is an OEM fitment and B: I have good experience with the same.

[Chris_GS]

Oh, I forgot to add, they are V-rated, and are similarly priced (here in OZ) as the Michelin Anakee's and the Metzeler Tourance (referring to the V-rated tyres, you can get H-rated versions of both) You'll get a set for $420 retail, plus fitting yabbida yabbida. While I was giving the importer a hard time I found out that the TKC 80's are now a similar price to this. The buggers used to be a lot dearer.

Sig hier: http://www.conti-online.com/ and search for 'trailattack'. you'll need to translate it... They are that new!!!

[Chris_GS]

tiTrailAttack
ContiTrailAttack
> Technische Details > Aktuelle Reifenfreigaben zum Download	Neuer Straßenenduro-Reifen speziell entwickelt für die großen und leistungsstarken Reiseenduros - Continuous Compound-Technologie: Ermöglicht eine homogene Gripabstufung mit nur einer Mischung durch eine temperaturgesteuerte Heizung der Reifen in der Produktion Schulterbereich flexibel = Grip Zenithbereich abriebfest = Laufleistung Übergang stufenlos - 0°-Stahlgürtelkonstruktion am Hinterrad für hohe Stabilität und Komfort auch bei hohem Reisetempo und mit hoher Zuladung - Verstärkte Karkasse in Verbindung mit einem fortschrittlichen Profildesign am Vorderrad sorgt für eine erhöhte Präzision und ein optimiertes Abriebsbild - Sehr gute Haftung auch bei Nässe kombiniert mit einer exzellenten Laufleistung auf langen Touren durch eine innovative Mischungstechnologie Reifengröße Profil 110/80 R 19 M/C 59V TL ContiTrailAttack 150/70 R 17 M/C 69V TL ContiTrailAttack

Translates to:

New Straßenenduro tire particularly develops for the large and high performance Reiseenduros
- Continuous Compound technology: Makes possible a homogeneous Gripabstufung with only a mixture by a temperature-steered heating of the tires in production
Shoulder range flexibly = Grip
Zenithbereich resistant to friction = run achievement
Transition steplessly
- 0°-Stahlgürtelkonstruktion at the rear wheel for high stability and comfort also with high travel speed and with high additional load
- Strengthened carcass in connection with a progressive profile Design at the front wheel provides for increased precision and an optimized abrasion picture
- Very good adhesion also on wet roads combined with an excellent run achievement on long routes by an innovative mixture technology

[BMW-K]

9mm tread depth on the rear is awesome!

FWIW: SPORT tires like Diablo's run a 4mm starting treat depth.

ST tires like a Metzler Z6 run a 6mm starting depth.

The Adventure Touring tires seem to be around 9mm.

So just based on tread depth and profiles, this should be one long lasting and smooth running tire! Please keep us posted!

PS: if this thing ends up being "nothing more" than an RA with 50% more depth...well, I'm sold!

[CASTIRON]

[Chris_GS]

more idle thoughts: The front tyre has a flatter profile than the taller Tourance, which pleases me as I prefer the turn-in of the Anakee, which is a flatter (more symmetrical curve) tyre. the rear seems taller and rounder than a Tourance, more like a road tyre. They should ride rather interestingly.

[gear_head]

I was one of the first to get them a couple of months ago in the States. I bought them based on a very small pic which is all they had at the time. I knew reviews for the RA's on my Wee Strom were mostly tremendous and I wanted to give these a whirl. They were more road-oriented than I thought when I first saw them in person, but I guess I don't really care because I ride in similar terrain to you- mostly road. It's funny someone in this post said something similar to what I was thinking at the time, maybe just a beefed-up RA. I will say this- the first time I got them in the twisties grip was incredible! So, so confidence inspiring. No serious rain riding yet (lucky I guess, plus drought conditions in the SE). Quiter than my D607's (still my favorite, but I have so few miles on the TA's to say for sure). I've owned stock trailwings, 020's, D607's, and now these. My front and rear are made in the same places yours are.

[skidlid]

Great tires! Stick like glue and are great in the rain. I have them on my 1200ADV, and they'll do anything that the Tourance or Anakee will do. Of course if you want to get in the mud, go with the TKC's.

[Chris_GS]

200km update:

All scrubbed in and I note the tyres roll very smooth. They turn nicely too, in fact I'm quite impressed. Dead stable and here I am going around roundabouts and I scrape a foot, which is surprising as I don't usually. normal suspension settings and years of riding racers sees me 'step back' onto the ball of my inside foot for each corner. I have run them at 2.5bar and 2.9bar and find that they are quite hard, so I'm guessing at a similar wall construction as other tyres that have the same load rating for the GS, so I dropped them to stock reccomended settings, with a little extra at the rear, so back to 2.2bar front and 2.6bar rear. very very nice and still roll very well. grip is much better at this pressure and I am happy.

I had the opportunity to drop off the side of the road onto gravel at 90kmh (literally ride off the edge, to avoid a mobile chicane) and they set up well, and were stable enough to drop back onto the asphalt, a step up of about an inch or two. on the gravel I was able to turn the bike quite well, but a decent ride on gravel will let me know about whether they work as well as other 90/10 tyres.


so far, so good.

ps. punctures suck, rear got a small puncture on day one, but no structural damage or belt damage, so prof. repaired.

[BMW-K]

Originally Posted by Chris_GS

200km update:

ps. punctures suck, rear got a small puncture on day one, but no structural damage or belt damage, so prof. repaired.

LMAO! It just works that way.

[Chris_GS]

I have spent a bit of time in the rain and some wet dirt roads, and find the tyres work well in all conditions.

WET ROADS!

The tyres work really well in the wet, channeling water away from the bike and even when I emergency braked in the wet, deliberately it was almost impossible to engage the ABS. I found it very difficult to spin the rear on the exit of roundabouts also.

DIRT ROADS!!

On the dirt, I did about 50km this afternoon, and it varied from wet gravel to slick hardpack mud, and the tyres felt stable, although a little choppy as I did not lower pressures on tyres nor did I reduce rebound damping as I would normally for a dirt ride. on rutted corrugations it was difficult to manage (see above) but when you ride well and use your bodyweight and be smooth I found I could zoom along at approx 80-90, slowing to 60-70 for tricky stuff. this was under overcast skies and on varying poorly maintained roads.

My final thoughts:

• On the road the tyre works fantastically and as good as any road/ touring tyre should. It easily meets and exceeds the bike's capabilities on the road, any surface.
• In the rain, they are confidence-inspiring allowing you to concentrate on the road surface and your direction, and provide good feel.
• On the dirt I can only say 'WOW'. they should not work as well as they do, given the tread pattern. I am very impressed and am pleased with their performance, taking into account their design brief. anything more gnarly or rutted I would only recommend slow, deliberate progress and of course forget deep, loose sand.

I will update as I do more kms.

Brunnen - getane Continental Reifen!

[Yellow Pig]

I just spooned a set on my KTM 950 w/ 19/17 wheels an love the tires. I've only got 400 miles on them so far, but they stick like glue. I'll have to wait a bit more to see how well they wear.

Anakees used to be my favorite tires, but the ContiTA have replced them for sure.

[walrond]

I just put a set of these on a few weeks ago ( with the help of Jim Von Baden) and I have to say that so far I am thoroughly impressed. I took off a well used pair of Tourances so obviously most anything would be better as a replacement, but I can honestly say that these tires feels wonderful and inspire incredible confidence.

So far I have ridden about 400 miles of some very twisty roads with a variety of surfaces (all paved) and about 500 miles of very wet interstate. These tires are quiet and smooth. Turn in is very predictable and these tires allowed me to achieve some very good lean angles with lots of feedback (ie not a numb feeling). Even though the Tourances have lots of grip, I never remember them giving me great feedback to the point where I wanted to push them even harder. Some of the corners had some pebbles in them and the Trail Attacks never missed a beat.

I did find a more thorough review over at a Varadero forum that does a much better job of summing it up. It covers all types of roads, conditions and even some track time: Conti Trail Attack review. Look about 3/4 of the way down on the first page for the first real review by Two Plugs. There is even a good comparison to a new set of Anakees on a bike that is riding with him.

These are my new favorite tires!

[moymurfs]

Ordered my set today

[DegrA]

Hi Chris,

what's your speed when you were on the wet road ?