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Hannover, Germany. Continental has been developing and manufacturing bicycle tyres since 1892. Those early, so-called "pneumatics", which were much more comfortable and had less rolling resistance than the rim-mounted leather or iron bands used before them, have since been transformed into truly high-tech products. Today's product lines offered by Continental are built to satisfy the demands of touring cyclists, mountain bikers and racing professionals – indeed, the leading teams of this year's Tour de France rode on tyres made by the company's plant in Korbach (Hesse). Continental is the only bicycle tyre producer with manufacturing operations in Germany.
Tyres - also those for bicycles - consist of different components that are 'baked' under heat and pressure during the vulcanization process to form the finished rubber product. Crude rubber is the essential base material and is mixed together with carbon black , sulfur, accelerators, antioxidants, dyes, waxes and oils. The various tyre components are then made out of this mixture together with reinforcing materials like Kevlar and steel wire. Nowadays, more modern materials, such as silica, are included to provide better adhesion on wet surfaces and a lower rolling resistance.
Since the early times of bicycle tyre production, cyclists have had mainly one cause for concern: their tyres should be resistant above all to stone penetration and punctures. Modern tyres, like the Touring Plus tyre from Continental, feature a specially re-inforced puncture-proof layer beneath the tread which is capable of even stopping a drawing pin. Despite this extra punc-ture protection, Touring Plus is barely heavier than a normal touring tyre.
Modern-day bicycle tyres are technologically sophisticated products designed to cater for different biking habits and different types of bicycles. Continental has ten different tread patterns in its MTB tyre range alone. Owners of touring bikes and racers can also choose from a wide spectrum of tyres. What's more, for the modern harsh winters in northern europe, there's also a studded winter tyre series for both trekking and mountain bikes.
Continental AG is a leading supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components and industrial elastomers. Consolidated sales in 2002 amounted to 11.4 billion euros with a global work force of about 64,500 employees.
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