Continental Terra Trail and Terra Speed Tires: Long Review

Few companies have been building bicycle tires for as long as Continental, and the company’s tires are well respected in virtually every cycling discipline.

The Terra Speed and Terra Trail are the company’s latest gravel offerings, and I’ve been testing a set for more than six months. I’ve ridden the tires on numerous bikes in both normal riding and racing conditions. Today, I’ll break down the highs and lows of their performance.

Models and Options

Terra Speed tread pattern

The Terra Trail and Terra Speed have similar tread patterns, with alternating rows of hexagonal-shaped lugs. Continental uses its exclusive “Black Chili” rubber compound, which is said to deliver enhanced traction without compromising long-term durability.

Viewing the two models side-by side, it’s easy to see the larger, taller, more heavily siped transition and cornering lugs on the Terra Trail. In theory, this should make the Terra Trail a better choice for traction in loose conditions, presumably at the expense of a bit of speed on smooth roads, and a few extra grams on the scale.

Continental offers both Terra tires for 650b or 700c wheels, all with a folding aramid bead and high quality 180tpi “ProTection” casing. Terra Speed models are available in a choice of 35mm or 40mm widths, while the Terra Trail is offered in a 40mm width only.

Terra Trail tread pattern. Note the larger, deeper knobs relative to the Terra Speed.

Claimed weight for the 700x40c Terra Trail is 460g, while the same size Terra Speed is claimed to weigh 420g. My test samples were roughly 20g lighter than claimed, at 438g for the Terra Trail and 402g for the Terra Speed. Impressive.

MSRP for the Terra Trail and Terra Speed is $64.95 each.

Installation and Tubeless Setup

I like my bikes to have a bit more cornering bite up front, so I chose a Terra Trail for the front, and a Terra Speed for the rear, both in 700x40c size. The tires were easy to mount and set up tubeless on the Cantu Rova test wheels (24mm internal width).

After 48 hours inflated to 35psi, the Terra Trail measured a full 40mm in width at the tips of the cornering knobs. The Terra Speed measured 39mm in width, mostly due to the smaller outer cornering knobs. The casings appear identical between the two tires.

On the Road

The combination of the front Terra Trail and rear Terra Speed proved to be a good one, with smooth, fast rolling and plenty of traction in most situations. Durability has also been very good, with minimal visible wear after more than 600 miles on the road.

While not mud tires by design, the Terra Trail/Terra Speed combination cleared mud effectively enough that I didn’t need to clean out my bike after this muddy section of B-road.

For my 165 lbs plus kit, I found a good balance of rolling and ride quality around the 35psi mark. The casings seemed to break in after 3-4 rides, after which ride quality became noticeably more supple. That said, the Continental casings felt less forgiving than the tan wall WTB Riddlers they replaced – a bit of a surprise. Ride quality wasn’t bad, nor was it a major highlight of the tires’ performance.

Traction and cornering with the Terra Trail/Terra Speed combination was predictable overall over a wide range of gravel or dirt surfaces. The only situation the tires struggled with was hard, dry road surfaces with loose gravel on-top. Here, the Terra Speed would occasionally break loose under power when climbing out of the saddle.

The Terra Trail could be trusted more in loose conditions, likely due to the larger, deeper knobs across the tire crown. Cornering was predictable, and I surprised myself a few times with the lines I was able to choose in loose gravel corners with the Terra Trail leading the way.

MG on GRX at Grovelor 2019
MG used the cornering traction of the Terra Trail/Terra Speed combo to get a gap (and eventually drop) the group he was riding with in a late-season race in 2019.

In tackier dirt and gravel, the Terra Trail/Terra Speed combination was fun to ride, with fast rolling and plentiful traction. I encountered mud just a handful of times during testing, and while not designed as mud tires, the Terra tires shed mud quickly. This allowed me to keep rolling in situations where other riders had to stop to clean their bikes out.

Compared to other 40c gravel tires available today, the Terra Trail and Terra Speed are on the smaller end of the spectrum when it comes to air volume. This was most noticeable on rides that included singletrack with roots or rocks. In these conditions, I found I needed to run higher pressure to ward off rim strikes than with other similarly-sized tires.

That’s not to say the Terra Trail and Terra Speed are bad tires. They’re lightweight gravel tires, not mountain bike tires. Those looking for downsized mountain bike tires can find plenty of options that will suit their needs better. That said, those options will likely be heavier and slower rolling on the gravel than these Continental tires are.

The Bottom Line

It’s amazing how good gravel tires are today, and these new Continental tires are great examples of the progress gravel tires have made. They’re not much heavier than a road tire, yet are true 40c treaded tires that can confidently be ridden in nearly any gravel conditions. In their element, they’re fast, predictable and durable. And while clearly not mountain bike tires, the Terra Trail and Terra Speed won’t hold you back on routes that include sections of smooth singletrack either.

Head over to the Continental Tires website to learn more about the Terra Trail and Terra Speed gravel tires.

Please note: Continental Tires sent the Terra Trail and Terra Speed gravel tires to Riding Gravel at no charge for test and review. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review and we strive to give our honest thoughts and views throughout.

Share:

Author: MG

Matt Gersib is the 2014 Gravel World Champion in the Fatbike category. He's also finished some of the most challenging gravel events in the country, including the Dirty Kanza XL, TransIowa and the Dirty Kanza 200, among others. In 2015, Gersib was an inaugural inductee into the DK200 "1,000 mile club" of five-time finishers. In addition to his gravel cycling, Gersib is an accomplished mountain bike racer, with numerous race wins and championships, including the 2012 Nebraska State Marathon MTB Championship.

Related Articles

13 thoughts on “Continental Terra Trail and Terra Speed Tires: Long Review

  1. @MG – great review! I’ve been waiting for someone to do a good review of the Continental tires. I’m currently running Bontrager GR2 Team tires and the Speed tread pattern reminds me of that tire. Sounds like the Contis will wear better than the Bontrager tires. The trail/speed combo sounds like a good summertime gravel tire when things get really dry. My ground gets super hard and all the gravel is on top kinda like marbles. Looking forward to giving the Contis a go.

  2. I’ve been riding the Terra Trails for a bit now and while they are Black Chili Compound, they don’t seem to have the same tread life as say the Race King 29×2.2’s.

    If Conti came out with a Race King in Black Chili that is 700×40, I’d run those.

    1. They measure a hair over 40mm on WTB i25 rims. I’ve also had them mounted on 20mm internal rims and they ran about 38mm… so similar to 700c versions they are on the smaller side.

      1. Terra Speed looked good on paper but I’m now loyal to Hutchinson Tuareg. The Contiz were fine but wore out much too quickly. The Hutchinson’s have performed better and lasted a lot longer. The Contis seemed more like a race option, to be changed frequently. The Tuaregs have been my trusted adventure companions.

  3. Don’t waste your time with either of these tyres. Ran Maxxis Rambler rear and Ravager front, got 2500 & 3000 miles out of each. Running Speed rear and Terrain front, rear leaks like a sieve with pin holes everywhere after after 361 miles and front not far behind on the same PA gravel roads

    1. oh shit this is great information. I am on G one’ 38’s blown up to 40mm and in 2 years have only got 2 punctures that plugs took care of and that was at the end of the tires life.. I am wondering if trying to save rolling resistnace on these vs the g ones and the g one puncture protection they seem to have. Is it worth it for the better rolling resistance that the terra speed and trail have over the g one?!
      hmmmm any further review on these for you?

      1. I drove the G-One Bite in 40×622 on both wheels and it performed pretty well with tube…never had problems, rolling resistance is good as well but i thought there could be a slight better..

        I turned to Terra Speed Protection 40×622
        on a 21mm wide rim with tube inside.

        I drive with my 12.5kg bike and my 63kg body weight 50% Street, 50% Forest Streets, pressure about 3 Bar…..rolling resistance is much better than the G-One bites.

        I’m very happy with these tires

  4. Can confirm w/ the Terra Speed. Blazingly fast gravel tire, but they do weep sealant through pinholes. I have to say though, I haven’t had a flat on them yet. But yeah, after 350 miles the rear Terra Speed is getting bald. If these were like $20 I’d probably treat them like the consumable they are but I have a hard time spending $50+ for a tire that doesn’t last. Too bad too cause they are like lightning 🙁

  5. Thanks for the review, you convinced me to give these a try. I’ve been running terra trails on my giant revolt advanced for 2 months now and have tackled some of the toughest xc and gravel routes in Yorkshire in the uk on them. They are fast tyres With plenty of grip in pretty much all conditions apart from deep mud. I’m 70 kg and running tubeless and find them best on mixed gravel / trail conditions with pressure around 30 front, 33 rear. The tread on the rear is starting to show slight wear at about 750 miles. Picked up a couple of minor puncturesnthat the sealant has sorted, but otherwise no issues at all.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.