Continental Tyres is 150 years old and has been making bike tyres since it started out in 1871. To celebrate the event, it’s worked with bike-components.de to launch a limited edition of 150 Open New U.P. gravel bikes with a special colour scheme and Terra Trail gravel tyres in Conti’s signature yellow.
According to Jan-Niklas Voß, product manager at Conti: “We wanted to give our award-winning Terra series a truly unique look by incorporating our Continental signature colour. Gravel, still a young segment, gave us the opportunity to immortalise our passion for mobility with an exclusive bike collaboration.”
!["Conti]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/Conti_150_hero2-68f32c8.png?quality=90&resize=619%2C413" "\"Conti")
The orangey-creamy-gold-ish 40mm-wide Terra Trail tyres are definitely the star of the show here.
When we reviewed the tyres, we reckoned they were great for grip on softer ground and in wet weather – that’s pretty much all year in the UK – although you’ll need to work hard to maintain their colour in mucky conditions.
Unfortunately, the tyres will not be available for wider sale, but a spokesperson for Continental suggested enough interest from the public may change that stance.
The tyres are fitted to a special hand-painted Open New U.P. gravel bike, which includes a numbered badge on the head tube and seatstay bridge.
!["Conti]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/211007_Conti_LTD_Studio_02_as-7de30e9.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Conti")
The special-edition bike – which is limited to 150 examples – comes kitted out with a Shimano GRX RX810 groupset, a Fizik Terra Argo X3 gravel-specific saddle fitted to a Crankbrothers Highline dropper post, and a hand-built RAVeL wheelset.
The bike is priced at €4,999, but you can’t just order one – you first need to express your interest via the product page at bike-components.de and its team will contact you when your chosen size is painted and available.