Dreaded Contis Split Again!

photonic69

Noticed my Four Seasons suddenly developed a split around the whole circumference in both front and rear at the same time. Really annoyed as they both had at least 6-8 months left in the tread and they weren’t that old. Maybe 16 months. They are on my commuter. I do love them as they have been reliable in the whole and I like the grip and confidence they give. Just a shame they always develop faults at some point.

Anyone had similar experience with these? Luckily I had bought a new set about 6 months ago so had them sitting in my bike bits box. Didn’t fancy them letting go at 40mph on my descent home. I could see the carcass through some splits!

Ben6899

Both tyres look brittle, almost! Very odd.

photonic69

Ben6899 said:

Both tyres look brittle, almost! Very odd.

They might look worse as our neighbours are having a window cut into some stonework and there is fine stone dust all along the path to our back garden. Maybe this helped to highlight the issue. Funny that both splits are on the same side of the tyre. The other side is fine. I bought them as a pair. Possible a bad batch?

Ben6899

I would guess bad batch, to be honest, yes. I have some light use Contis - currently in use - that are going this way through age and are ready for a change, but they're really quite old. Like several years.

laurentian

photonic69 said:

Ben6899 said:

Both tyres look brittle, almost! Very odd.

They might look worse as our neighbours are having a window cut into some stonework and there is fine stone dust all along the path to our back garden. Maybe this helped to highlight the issue. Funny that both splits are on the same side of the tyre. The other side is fine. I bought them as a pair. Possible a bad batch?

I would be inclined to send the photo to Conti if you can find out an appropriate email address. Assuming they aren't very old, it looks like some kind of quality issue - it would be interesting to hear what they had to say about it

photonic69

Tracked down my order for them 9 March 2020 though I wouldn't have fitted them straight away. Probably mid April. So tyres are around 2 years old. I guess I can't grumble too much.

ibr17xvii

laurentian said:

photonic69 said:

Ben6899 said:

Both tyres look brittle, almost! Very odd.

They might look worse as our neighbours are having a window cut into some stonework and there is fine stone dust all along the path to our back garden. Maybe this helped to highlight the issue. Funny that both splits are on the same side of the tyre. The other side is fine. I bought them as a pair. Possible a bad batch?

I would be inclined to send the photo to Conti if you can find out an appropriate email address. Assuming they aren't very old, it looks like some kind of quality issue - it would be interesting to hear what they had to say about it

Waste of time IME.

YMMV of course but when I contacted them about a GatorHardshell that kept puncturing & then had a big split it in all within the first 6 months of ownership they didn't want to know.

imposter2.0

Send a pic to Conti - it would be interesting to hear what they have to say. I have tyres way older than that in far better condition. I'm not sure this should be written off as an 'age' issue just yet...

Ben6899

Certainly not at 2yrs old!

webboo

Maybe they are called 4 seasons for a different reason to the obvious one.

Ben6899

webboo said:

Maybe they are called 4 seasons for a different reason to the obvious one.

Should be called "four cheese" with that longevity!

photonic69

Well, I sent the pics to Conti-Tyres co.uk and they have referred me back to Merlin from whom I bought them to investigate a warranty replacement. I've now forwarded this to Merlin for comment. I'm not holding any breath for this...

carbonclem

I’ve had a couple pairs of Continental tyres that have had splitting around the beading after a summers use. Haven’t been impressed.

drhaggis

My first set of GP4S developed a similar issue, both front and rear, within 1000 miles. Rather than dealing with Conti, I went to Decathlon Edinburgh, who kindly replaced them for a new pair of the same. Those ones lasted better.

I've also had a similar, but substantially worse, issue in Michelin Power Roads. The carcass on those split substantially further than as seen above, and you could actually see the wiring within. Even worse, the split happened in 2 months while the bike was on a garage, out of sun or heating, at a reasonably constant temperature. I contacted Michelin with pictures, and a bill. Their reply was "this is not an admission that our tyres are defective... but please have a Pro4 service course in replacement".

You might have noticed that Power Roads, having been marketed quite a bit about 2 years ago, are nowhere to be seen. These aren't listed as current in Michelin's webpage, so I'm pretty sure that yes, the construction is defective.

Munsford0

I gave up on GP4S after 2 pairs; I don't think they last long enough for me.

After a couple of years the rubber would take on a crazy paving appearance as the cracks proliferated. I ignored them at first but eventually the rubber started coming away from the carcass in patches. I don't do intergalactic mileages on the winter bike so they were giving up the ghost long before they were worn out, and considering the cost they didn't represent very good VFM.

It's got Rubino Pros on now and they seem to be holding up a lot better and at a fraction of the cost

First.Aspect

How do you store your bikes?

Munsford0

Me? parked in dry but unheated garage