Touring Bike Tire Test: Continental E.Contact

According to Continental, the E.Contact is a tire designed for large e-bikes or rental bikes. They claim this tire to have the highest puncture and cut protection while still providing a low rolling resistance thanks to its double layer of puncture resistance material. The E.Contact comes with the ECO 50 logo and the ECE-R75 certification which makes it suitable for high-speed e-bikes up to 50 km/h.

To achieve the highest puncture protection, Continental uses both a thick but soft layer of puncture resistance material together with a SafetyPlus Breaker which is a layer which is harder to penetrate, but much thinner. When examining the E.Contact, I immediately noticed this to be a very stiff tire. On top of that, the rubber compound itself also appears to be of a very hard kind. I definitely believe this tire to be hard to puncture, but is rolling resistance still acceptable?

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Continental
Model	E.Contact
Year	2015
Supplied By	Supplied by Continental
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	Med
Buy At
Manufacturer part number	0100687
TPI	3/180
Compound
Bead	Wire
ETRTO	37-622
Size Inch	28"
Width mm	37.00
Specified Weight	800 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	87
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	47-622 (28x1.75) 42-622 (28x1.60) 37-622 (28x1.40) 47-559 (26x1.75)

Continental E.Contact Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	800 grams
Measured Weight	840 grams
Measured Width	35 mm (un-round)
Measured Height	35 mm (un-round)
Tread Depth	2.0 mm
Total Tire Thickness Center	6.6 mm
Total Tire Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 60 psi / 4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance 75 PSI / 5 Bar	29.6 Watts CRR: 0.00887
Rolling Resistance 60 PSI / 4 Bar	33.4 Watts CRR: 0.01001
Rolling Resistance 45 PSI / 3 Bar	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 30 PSI / 2 Bar	Members Only
All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	124 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	16 Points
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness	6.6 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Static Grip Test Results

NOTE: Grip test data is only available on tires tested after November 2018. You can find more information about our grip test here: Introducing Grip Testing

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	No Data
Wet Grip Center	No Data
Wet Grip Edge	No Data
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 Tour/E-Bike grip test rim width = 23.0 mm

Conclusion

Puncture resistance is good, but rolling resistance is very high. Continental's claim of offering the highest puncture resistance while still rolling easy isn't true. I really like Conti's road bike and mountain bike tires, but can't recommend using their touring bike tires as they don't impress. Using the E.Contact on rental bikes might be a good choice as I'm sure the hard compound and strong sidewalls will last for ages.

It gets boring, but just getting a pair of Schwalbe Marathon (read review) or Marathon Plus (read review) seems to be the easy choice in the tour/e-bike category. Those tires provide a good puncture resistance and a much lower rolling resistance.

RATING: 2.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Not Recommended

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