Touring Bike Tire Test: Continental E.Contact

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  • Continental E.Contact
Performance compared to all other touring bike tires
(100% is best)
Pro Members get 11-point radar charts

Continental E.Contact road bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

According to Continental, the E.Contact is a tire designed for large e-bikes or rental bikes. They claim this tire to have the highest puncture and cut protection while still providing a low rolling resistance thanks to its double layer of puncture resistance material. The E.Contact comes with the ECO 50 logo and the ECE-R75 certification which makes it suitable for high-speed e-bikes up to 50 km/h.


To achieve the highest puncture protection, Continental uses both a thick but soft layer of puncture resistance material together with a SafetyPlus Breaker which is a layer which is harder to penetrate, but much thinner. When examining the E.Contact, I immediately noticed this to be a very stiff tire. On top of that, the rubber compound itself also appears to be of a very hard kind. I definitely believe this tire to be hard to puncture, but is rolling resistance still acceptable?


Manufacturer Specifications


Manufacturer Specs
Brand Continental
Model E.Contact
Year 2015
Supplied By Supplied by Continental
New or Used New
Mileage 0 km
Price Range Med
Buy At
Manufacturer part number 0100687
TPI 3/180
Compound
Bead Wire
ETRTO 37-622
Size Inch 28"
Width mm 37.00
Specified Weight 800 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi) 87
Made In Members Only
Available Sizes 47-622 (28x1.75)
42-622 (28x1.60)
37-622 (28x1.40)
47-559 (26x1.75)

Continental E.Contact Test Results

Continental E.Contact Touring/E-Bike on a rolling resistance test machine

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements


Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight 800 grams
Measured Weight 840 grams
Measured Width 35 mm (un-round)
Measured Height 35 mm (un-round)
Tread Depth 2.0 mm
Total Tire Thickness Center 6.6 mm
Total Tire Thickness Sidewall Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 60 psi / 4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results


Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance
75 PSI / 5 Bar
29.6 Watts
CRR: 0.00887
Rolling Resistance
60 PSI / 4 Bar
33.4 Watts
CRR: 0.01001
Rolling Resistance
45 PSI / 3 Bar
Members Only
Rolling Resistance
30 PSI / 2 Bar
Members Only
All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs.

Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Continental E.Contact Touring/E-Bike on a rolling resistance test machine
Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread 124 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle 16 Points
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle No Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness 6.6 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle No Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness Members Only

Static Grip Test Results


NOTE: Grip test data is only available on tires tested after November 2018. You can find more information about our grip test here: Introducing Grip Testing

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average No Data
Wet Grip Center No Data
Wet Grip Edge No Data
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100
Tour/E-Bike grip test rim width = 23.0 mm

Conclusion


  • Continental E.Contact
Performance compared to all other touring bike tires
(100% is fastest - lightest - thickest - strongest)

Pro Members get 11-point radar charts

Puncture resistance is good, but rolling resistance is very high. Continental's claim of offering the highest puncture resistance while still rolling easy isn't true. I really like Conti's road bike and mountain bike tires, but can't recommend using their touring bike tires as they don't impress. Using the E.Contact on rental bikes might be a good choice as I'm sure the hard compound and strong sidewalls will last for ages.


It gets boring, but just getting a pair of Schwalbe Marathon (read review) or Marathon Plus (read review) seems to be the easy choice in the tour/e-bike category. Those tires provide a good puncture resistance and a much lower rolling resistance.


RATING: 2.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT:
Not Recommended


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