Having ridden many, many (approximately 10 of the most popular different gravel tires) I can soundly say that these are my favorite all-round tires. Fast on pavement, confident on loose over hard dry gravel, and surprisingly confident on singletrack. Honestly, one of my favorite things about this tire is how quiet it is on pavement - the silence is golden!
I do hesitate to tell everyone how good these are, but don't take my word for it. Check out https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews for the real meat and potatoes.
10/10 will buy again.
This has been a great tire fore dirt road and light trail riding with low rolling resistance and a plush ride. They tend to 'weep' a bit through the carcass, but not enough to loose sealant or air. They wear pretty quickly, but that is a fair price to pay for the ride quality. Unfortunately, the last two I purchased had a defect causing a side to side wobble which Continental readily replaced after i contacted them. This also happened previously on a 650b Terra Speed as well. Hopefully, Continental can fix their quality control issues in which case i would give this tire 5 stars.
Perfect tire for the Rad in Trinidad-very fast. Love it with my Enve 3.4SES wheels-I was faster than anyone around me downhill. And I used the same wheel/tire for state cyclocross champs and it was amazing in grass, dirt and asphalt. 22 PSI on 25 internal rims and I weigh 160. I ran 28 PSI for The Rad. Perfect for both. Very fast and grippy. I am hooked!
Anecdotally seems to roll relatively fast across multiple surfaces including light singletrack, so grip is also not of concern. Hooks up nicely on turns. Measures narrow at 42.5 instead of the stated 45 on my wheelset, not too dissimilar from Maxxis Reaver (43 instead of 45). Similar premature wearing as well with the rear tire losing center tread at just over 1000miles. Still good value for the tire, but would prefer a true 45+ that could hold tread a bit longer.
I've been testing these tires out (35mm width) recently as a "go fast" gravel tire that has some grip to it, and they work well. I'm running the Winspace gravel wheels, and they measure at 35.3mm on those wheels - I know there have been many complaints that they are more narrow than advertised, but you need really wide wheels to get the full width. I used these yesterday at BWR SD on the short course (41 miles/4,100 feet of climbing and 4 dirt sectors), and they rolled fast on the pavement, and didn't crash on the dirt. I had them pumped up a little harder than normal at 45 rear/35 front (I normally run them at 35 rear and 30-32 front) to favor the pavement, so the more technical/rocky dirt parts were a little more hairy (and bumpy), but they held up. Oh, and I didn't use any sealant in the tires, and they held air just fine as tubeless. At those tire pressures and the terrain on those dirt sectors, the tires didn't really give a ton of confidence in the grip department (especially on steep downhill dirt/rocks)....BUT, they held on. A 40mm or 45mm would've been a better choice for the more technical sectors, but the 35mm is the better choice for pavement (and like all things BWR, always having the wrong tool for the job). Oh and they handled fast downhill flowy road cornering pretty well too....the roads were a bit wet, and was able to keep up with everyone (had to slam on the brakes coming into a turn to avoid a guy who had slammed on his brakes, which loosened up my front end as I was already turning, but kept it upright without issue). I'd like to do Steamboat gravel at some point, and these tires would be perfect on those types of gravel roads.
Easy to mount, lighter than air and grips great
These tires are fast on smooth pave, grass, gravel and fine dirt trails. I mounted the 40mms on my Mavic Open 4s after running Conti Dogfighters (discontinued) on my cross bike for the last two summers, and started with 40 PSI on both front and back, From the first mile, I could feel the difference, like I was riding a newer, faster bike. The handling is great on dry, dusty trails downhill, yet grippy on the uphills! Highly recommend these tires!
I have the Conti Terra Speeds in both the 40 and 45mm and love them both. I recently used the 45s in a BWR-style event that was roughly 50% dirt road and 50% single track. Despite not being a "trail tire", I never lost confidence in the single track. It felt right at home on the rolling single track and excels in all sorts of conditions - sandy two-track, gravel, you name it.
Concerning mounting, I have an internal rim width of 25mm and both mount up true to size. This is my go-to tire for anything off-road.
Gravel racing and training. Excellent and far superior to anything else.
Love the 45 Terra Speeds. Used during several gravel races this year. More grip than you'd think. Roll super fast. The only downside is that the low-profile knobs wear down quickly, so you may not get great mileage out of these tires.
I would think that Continental would have better quality control than this :(
The tire runs out or wobbles when inflated on the rim.
Terra speed is a fast, tough tire, & mixed pavement doesn't burn them up too quick. Not the best tire for wet singletrack, but gravel, mixed, & dry trails, it is hard to beat.
I ordered a set of these and a set of the Terra Trail because I wasn't sure which I wanted and I wanted a better look at them than what the pictures provided. I kept the Speeds and sent the Trails back opting for better speed on the hard pack and gravel that I ride most often. The Trails would be good if you're riding a lot of chunky, loose gravel, but overkill for most everyday gravel riding IMO. The Speeds were easy to mount on my DT Swiss XR1501 wheel set. I was able to seat them tubeless with just a floor pump, but on my wife's DT swiss X1900 wheel set, I had to use a compressor in order to get the bead to seat onto the rim. First ride was on hard pack for 25 miles. Easily handled and fast, no problems at all. Second ride was a gravel race and a good test for the Speeds. It had stormed the night before the race and the roads were a good mix of mud, gravel, sand, etc. The Speeds performed flawlessly. I was able to descend and take corners without worry. There was just enough grip to get me through the wettest parts of the course and the mud did not stick into the treads. They also roll fast on the parts of the course that were pavement in order to get from one gravel road to another and I did not feel like I was losing any time compared to the semi-slicks I had on my bike before. No punctures for either myself or my wife. We are both very pleased with the Speeds and I do definitely recommend them. I see no drawbacks to having these. They are indeed another high quality product put out by Continental.
Fastest rolling knobby gravel tire on planet earth. period. if you want to shred gravel with the big kahunas, this is your tire. Continental knows what they are doing. I�d trust them with my newborn child, or at least my tire choice. Stop contemplating and buy them now.
The terra speeds are my favorite gravel tire. They are the quickest, most supple tire I've ridden, they are extremely supple and provide surprisingly tenacious grip for how small the knobs are. They've worked for me in sandy, rocky, wet terrain just fine. No worse than other SK in mud really, and they are very predictable in corners and on descents. I do with they had better side knobs for cornering, but you just choose a more direct line and your are fines. Ridiculously fast on the road. BUT they will wear down quickly on the road. I use them for gravel events, races, saving them for when I want my fastest tire. I ride the Michelin PowerGravel for everyday exploring, etc... they are great also, nearly as fast, but not nearly as supple as the Terra Speeds. Both are extremely tough though and can handle sharp rocks and flint.
I used these on two gravel races in the past month and have found them to perform very well. I ended up flatting on one of the races but that was due to a rusty nail piercing the rim tape inside my wheel. I let the sealant do it's job and took the same set on to a race last week where they were simply top-notch. My only complaint is that they are a very tight fit on my rim. I was having a lot of trouble getting the tire back on when I experienced the flat due to the nail. Usually I don't have to use a tube so outside of catastrophic failure these are worth it for the excellent overall comfort and performance.
First time trying these on my Stigmata gravel bike which came with Maxxis Ramblers installed. The Terra Speeds definitely roll faster than the Ramblers. On the flip side, the Ramblers do feel more supple and roll very smooth, they're just not as fast. They're also chunkier tread so they might work better in the rougher terrain, but on the typical hard pack gravel around here the Terra Speeds win IMO.
Seems tough enough and def fast. Recommended.
I have a set of 35mm and 45mm without any complaints. The tires mount up easy (both are set up tubeless) and inflate to the size marked on the tire. Ride is smooth on mild to medium gravel plus great on tarmac. Although the compound is a little soft roll is quick and quiet. When they need to be replaced I�m going right back to the Terra Speed without hesitation.
I mounted these tubeless on my Haanjo, loved them from the start. Very fast rolling for this type of tire, good confidence on light gravel and trails, even some snow. They seemed to leak down pretty fast, and I started noticing sealant randomly seeping through the casing. Went back to tubes and they're still great tires, perfect for what I wanted. They do seem to wear fast, back tire nubs are 50% worn after 1000 miles approximately
