Continental tyre degrading

[Ljaydee]

Does anyone have any views on why a pair of Continental Four Seasons tyres should degrade like this, after 12 months and approx 3000km. Both tyres on both sides are affected.

[Vorpal]

That doesn't look good. I would contact the shop I bought them from, or Continental directly.

[andrew_s]

Storage conditions?

Something like keeping the bike in the same shed as some sort of chemical that the rubber doesn't like (eg lawnmower petrol, not that I've any idea whether that would be a problem_), or something electrical that creates ozone by sparking.

The "track width" doesn't look far off a normal contact patch width, so it doesn't look like it's habitual soft running.

[peetee]

Possibly been squashed flat for months at the bottom of a big pile of tyres before you bought them.
Beware of buying tyres cheap. I have had issues with premature cracking of bargain priced Vittorias.

[Des49]

Not uncommon to see something similar for me. The strange thing is some tyres just wear out down to the carcass, but the odd tyre just gets all flakey well before that stage where the rubber seems to come off.

Here is an example I am currently running on a front wheel:-

I have a spare and should replace it asap I think. It can't be more than a couple of years old, at a guess maybe 6k miles. I have seen this a few times on my GP 4 Seasons tyres, but not consistently, also on front and rear. I also use GP4000 tyres, don't recall seeing this on those.

In my case it can't be storage as all bikes and tyres are in the same environment and they do not all suffer this tread degradation, I assume it is manufacture related.

I had a couple of 4 Seasons fail with what looked like a split in the rear tyre a few years ago, got no response from Cambrian Tyres when I contacted them. Years before they were really good at replacing defective Continental tyres, that was when the Top Touring 2000 tyres split at the bead all too often.

[mig]

tread must run over and through an awful lot of stuff within a 12 month period though. it newly wet conditions my commute sees all sorts of oils, fuels and god only knows what on the road which could degrade the tyre's surface i would think. newly laid tarmac seems pretty nasty stuff and the 'shale' that manchester city council are laying down pretending to repair old surfaces is dreadful kit indeed.

funnily enough i can't remember any defects to any continental tyres that i've used and they have been hammered, GP4S regualrly included.

[Vorpal]

I have a spare and should replace it asap I think. It can't be more than a couple of years old, at a guess maybe 6k miles. I have seen this a few times on my GP 4 Seasons tyres, but not consistently, also on front and rear. I also use GP4000 tyres, don't recall seeing this on those.

In my case it can't be storage as all bikes and tyres are in the same environment and they do not all suffer this tread degradation, I assume it is manufacture related.

I'd be really pleased to get 6000 miles out of a GP 4 seasons.

[Des49]

I'd be really pleased to get 6000 miles out of a GP 4 seasons.

Mainly front use only. It may have done a few miles on the rear to wear in then swapped to the front. Maybe I should be happy I have got a good bit of usage and replace it now. Though I find the prices of tyres has gone up a lot and I wait to get a few on offer. Now the 5000 series are out Continental seem to have taken the opportunity to raise their prices to another level.

[tim-b]

Hi
The only issue that I've had with Conti cycle tyres was a thread in the narrow rim protection layer of fabric unravelling on a Gatorskin. Cambrian dealt with that very efficiently, although I think that you get referred to the retailer, which is where your contract is
Any problems with a front tyre and it's gone, I value my teeth

Edit:

Continental seem to have taken the opportunity to raise their prices to another level.

I think that GP4S and GP4000 have been around the £30 mark for a couple of years now at both Wiggle and Merlin. The 5000 is considerably more though and the Attack and Force tyres seem to be available at fewer retailers than they were last year
Regards
tim-b

[roger]

I contacted Conti . They told me that they are an independent importer for Continental and cannot issue replacements from their UK warehouse to consumers. If I returned the tyre to the shop where I obtained it, the retailer would process my claim.
Having moved 250 miles from the shop, I bought a Schwalbe replacement. Unfortunately, a 4 season has the wicker effect on the side coming away. This was bought new at a jumble complete with a Conti wrap round label. The others I bought at the same time have been faultless.

[rmurphy195]

Maybe bike tyres should be date stamped, like car tyres?

[mig]

Maybe bike tyres should be date stamped, like car tyres?

they are. small logos on the sides of continetal tyres.

[Brucey]

Does anyone have any views on why a pair of Continental Four Seasons tyres should degrade like this, after 12 months and approx 3000km. Both tyres on both sides are affected.

The degraded parts are (I think) aligned with the edges of the carcass fabric overlap. IIRC most continental tyres are laid up using one piece of fabric, wrapped in such a way as there are three plies in the centre of the tyre, but two plies elsewhere.

This diagram (which is really of a tub) shows more or less how the carcass is laid up;



It is also possible that the breaker ply has something to do with it; the lines of damage could be at the edges of that.

In any event it ought not happen; I've seen many GP4S which have worn out without suffering this kind of damage, so one has to conclude that there is either something odd about the conditions of use, or something odd about the tyre itself.

Consumers are not well protected in the event that they can't return a product to the retailer (as often happens if they cease trading for example). However they are not always well protected even if they can; there's nothing much in it for the retailer to pursue this matter on your behalf.

cheers

[Ljaydee]

IMG_20190401_125947.jpg

Does anyone have any views on why a pair of Continental Four Seasons tyres should degrade like this, after 12 months and approx 3000km. Both tyres on both sides are affected.

I returned the tyres to Continental last Friday through the retailer Sigma Sports, full credit received today.

Now running on GP5000 which so far are quite impressive for rolling resistance and grip.

[Samuel D]

Now running on GP5000 which so far are quite impressive for rolling resistance and grip.

I don’t doubt they’re noticeably faster than the Grand Prix 4-Season, but how are you ascertaining the good grip?