Technical Information   

Deutsche Technik since 1871
Over 100 years of experience in the manufacturing of bicycle tyres has made Continental into a unique, outstanding company. This uniqueness shows in the range of our products for cyclists. Continental tyres are not only designed in the technological and development centre in Korbach, Germany, but are also mostly produced in Germany. As a global company, we also have hi-tech branches outside of Germany but our focus is naturally "Handmade in Germany". That's why Continental is the only bicycle tyre manufacturer in Germany. This is the spirit that motivates our engineers and everyone involved in the production to create new ideas such as the Top Contact and GP4000s with its puncture protection technology and also our Black Chili compound. Innovations that underline the "handmade" technological competence of our factory in Korbach. Take a look at some of the features of our bicycle tyre construction by clicking on the logos below -

• Patented lightweight sidewall protection
• A coarse polyamide fabric that is tear resistant thanks to a special treatment process, protecting the tyre casing from cuts & slashes
• Applied to the sidewalls of all "ProTection" MTB tyres, and covering all areas of our road Gatorskin & GP4Season tyres

• The innovation in puncture protection
• Made from melted Vectra Liquid Crystal Polymer, Vectran is the only LCP fibre in the world, made using a spinning process
• Vectran is lightweight, extremely durable, resistant to water is five times stronger than steel.
• Our tyres which include one or sometimes two layers of Vectran under the tread are some of the toughest and lightweight bicycle tyres available

• Placed underneath the tread, made from a strong, tight nylon fabric, additionally reinforced with Kevlar.
• Highly resistant to pinches and cuts from debris, thorns and glass
• The Safety System keeps the tyre lightweight and flexible. It adapts to the rolling motion and keeps the rolling resistance low
• Featured in our "Contact range" of tyres along with various race tyres

• Maximum protection with a deep rubber block under the tread.
• Sharp road debris have no chance, ensuring that commuting cyclists will get to work on time
• Utilizing an extra duty, highly elastic casing belt

• Our basic range of tyre also feature puncture protection in the form of either a hardened rubber layer underneath the tread, or a single lightweight nylon belt
• Tyres like the "RIDE" series and our UltraSport road tyres feature this technology

• Continental's revolutionary tread design for MTB's
• Endless Edge = Specifically shaped knobs with five edges and five corners for better off camber grip
• More precise steering
• Look out for the Endless Edge logo for which tyres feature this technology

• Natural material shaping helps to spread the stressing more evenly
• Roughened 3-D surfaces in the tread base improve the positive engagement between tire and terrain
• The characteristic arches reinforce the lugs, so that they can get a better hold
• The gripping edges of the tread work according to the endlessedge principle. They counter the forces acting on the tread andensure the tire stays in contact with the surface

• Black Chili - Cutting edge techology, courtesey of our ability to grind our carbon filler particles down so fine, that they do their job so much better, combining with our other compound ingredients to improve grip by 30%, reduce the tyres rolling resistance by 26% and even tread wear by 5%
• NR - Natural Rubber is used in many of our tyres. Natural rubber gives Continental bicycle tyres their renowned qualities like long tread life and great wet grip
• Silica is used an an alternative filling agent to carbon in coloured tyres. Simple Silica is grippy yet too soft for adequate tread life. Continental's unique activation process brings you "Activated Silica Compound". Tyres like GP4000 with a coloured tread give you great grip as well as a longer tread service life.  

Every Supersonic product is uncompromisingly optimised as far as weight and rolling resistance are concerned. All components of the Supersonic tyre and tube are individually reduced in volume and weight to what is absolutely necessary and technically feasible. This affects for example, the thickness of the tyre casing, material distribution of tread rubber, the thickness of the tread compound and the thickness of the tube walls. Of course, only the highest quality materials are used: highly refined polyamide for the carcass and all Supersonic tyres now feature our Black Chili compound technology.

Radically optimising a tyre in terms of weight and rolling resistance means cutting back on other tyre properties. In terms of mileage and puncture resistance, the Supersonic tyres do not measure up to the proven quality of their corresponding all-round tyres.
Our engineers and chemists have turned out superlative technology here, ensuring Supersonic products a top position in racing and tuning. Hobby athletes can also benefit from our innovative capabilities, however, through Continental's various well-balanced alternatives that satisfy virtually the whole range of racing tyre demands. 

Listed here are the tyres & tubes that we currently have in our Supersonic range including their weights.

Twister Supersonic
(MTB–26x1.9) - 370 grams

Explorer Supersonic
(MTB–26x2.1) - 460 grams

Speed King Supersonic
(MTB–26x2.1 & 2.3) - 400 grams & 450 grams

Mountain King Supersonic
(MTB–26x2.2 & 2.4) - 460 grams & 530 grams

Grand Prix Supersonic 
700x20 - 150 grams
700x23 - 160 grams

Supersonic Tubes
Race26 36mm valve - 45 grams • Race28 36mm valve - 50 grams
Race26 60mm valve - 50 grams • Race28 60mm valve - 55 grams
MTB26 36mm valve - 100 grams

TPS is the systematic approach that puts race tyres on a new performance level.

Because road racing can involve riding in such a diverse range of conditions, top level road racers put the greatest of demands on their tyres. Sometimes it is better to have specific tyres on each wheel to satisfy these demands and to maximize tyre performance. That is why we have used different compounds in this new concept, along with different tyre construction and even different sizing, all to provide the best possible performance from a set of road racing bicycle tyres.

Most cycle tyres use only a two-layer monoband construction.   All Continental tyres use a multi-layer construction technique, which ensures that the area of the tyre at most risk from puncture damage (beneath the tread) is covered by at least three fabric plies.

Advantages of multi-layer construction:

• High puncture resistance
• Increased rolling performance
• Minimum weight
• Improved handling
• increased comfort