Product Review: Continental Ultra Sport Ii Road Tyre

Continental Ultra Sport Ii Road Tyre – Wire Bead

This Continental Ultra Sport Ii Road Tyre provides everything you need for racing and training. This road bike tyre features reliable puncture protection, grip, and is durable for winter training with a durable tread.

Features:

Bead: Wire
Max Inflation (PSI): 120 (23 & 25C), 115 (28C)
Technology: Performance
Weight: 310g (700 x 23C)

Continental Ultra Sport Ii Review:

As a tyre this Continental Ultra Sport II Road Tyre isn’t much different from the other Ultra Sport tyre that has been around for a number of years. That’s not a bad thing as the Ultra Sport tyre has been a solid performer when fitted to a road bike. Unfortunately for me I don’t have any of those tyres to compare them to, but I do have other Continental tyres from a different range so I can use those as a comparison.

I normally use Continental GP4000S II tyres on my road bike, but as I was going on a cycling holiday, I wanted a tyre that would look like the other brand new tyres on my road bike. I had a set of HED Jet 6’s wheels so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out the Continental Ultra Sport II Tyres.

The Ultra Sport II Tyres have a lightweight central rib which increases steering precision, decreases vibration and increases handling. They also have good puncture protection with a durable 3 layer casing that is flexible in the roughest terrain.

As I said earlier this tyre is no different to my other Ultra Sport Tyres so I was expecting them to perform in the same way. In fact they did, but after I had used them a while I realised that they have better grip in the wet and dry. I didn’t actually notice this until I had goose packed the rear tyre to remove a thorn.

The goose pack came off really easy which got me thinking. I checked out the tyre and could see that is was a little more rounded than when I fitted it. As I’m running tubeless tyres this wasn’t a problem, but it was only when I started using the other tyre again I noticed that the Ultra Sport II had a better grip in both wet and dry conditions. I think the extra gripping is down to a number of things:

The tyre has a new tread that lets it grip slightly better in the wet
The carcass of the tyre has been strengthened so it has a better grip
The carcass of the tyre has been strengthened so it is more resilient in the dry

I also noticed that the Ultra Sport II has an improved puncture resistance. I know this as I have had 2 pinch punctures with the Ultra Sport II in the last 4 months and zero with the other tyre in the same period of time. I was also impressed by the fact that they don’t seem to wear as quickly as the other Ultra Sports, but I can’t really comment as I’m comparing it to a tyre that’s only a year or so old.

The only thing that I would change about the tyre is the rolling resistance as it is a bit higher than the GP4000S II. However if grip is more important to you then this is easily forgiven. I’m not saying the extra rolling resistance is a lot, but it is measurable.

If you want a tyre that provides better ride feel, better performance in wet and dry conditions, and better puncture resistance then I would recommend you try these tyres. The only question you have to ask yourself is do you really want your tyres to look like the rest of the team? If not then these are the choice for you.

Continental Ultra Sport Ii Review Summary

The Continental Ultra Sport II is a tyre I have used many times before, in fact I have even used it on my race bike. In fact, it is the one tyre that I have used for every season, and although I have had zero problems with punctures, I do sometimes have problems with it ‘getting stuck’ on the rim (happened twice on a 600km brevet).

The rolling resistance, in my opinion, is at a minimum, and there have been times on long distance rides where I actually think I am getting a free speed bonus in comparison to other tyres I have tried. This may not be noticeable to everyone, but I am talking large differences.

There are other tyres that may give you better puncture resistance, but as long as you are prepared to sacrifice on weight and costs (and for some people, this is a non-issue), then these tyres are possibly the best all-rounder out there!

Mick Rathbone

5 Stars – Review by Gordon Finlay about one year ago…

“After using a set of the definitive top of the range road tyre, the Continental Grand Prix 4000 S II, I have since converted to the Ultra Sport II, primarily because they are 20% cheaper and fitted to my bike (hands off, there is no Ebay for this one, you audacious boy).The Continental Ultra Sport II tyres offer an excellent mix of comfort, durability and wet weather grip, especially if ridden behind a Mavic Ksyrium Pro wheel.”

The best bit: To provide you with some clarity we pinned the review to the top of the page. Maybe it will give you results for your search!

To save you the trouble of reading further into this article, because there is no hidden agenda, the Continental Ultra Sport II is my tyre of choice, and this is why:

This tyre is easily fitted
This tyre is easily fitted The fit is easy to balance
The fit is easy to balance It has excellent grip in the wet
It has excellent grip in the wet It is significantly cheaper than the top of the range
It is significantly