At the advice of friends, I tried the Continental Road Attacks. These tires are marketed as Sport Touring tires, just what I was looking for. After installing these tires, I was very happy with their performance. They stuck really well in all conditions, good feedback, and great wear. I got over 12,000 miles out of the first rear Road Attack, and over 17,000 miles out of the front! I have found my new tire! I sang its praises to everyone I could, and mounted a second set.

The second set seemed to be wearing just as well as the first set. In preparation for a camping trip with friends, I mounted up a new set of tires. The existing rear tire had almost 9,800 miles on it, and looked like it could go another several thousand, but I wanted new tires for the trip, just to be safe. Mistake. About halfway through the trip, my riding buddy had to replace his rear Continental RA since it was down to cords at 5,800 miles. Looking at my rear tire, I was very surprised at the wear. At 3,000 miles, I was down to cords, and had to limp home, expecting the tire to go flat at any moment. Luckily, I made it home, but now I do not know what to think.

My only theory is that Continental either A) changed the compound of these tires so as to sell more tires, or B) there were quality control problems, and some of the Road Attacks were manufactured with the Race Attack compound.

I have sent a letter with copies of these photos to the Continental North American representative, and will post their reply as soon as I receive it.

Continental really came through. I got a call from Greg Reich, the North American representative. After a nice conversation with Greg, he offered to send me a new tire under warranty. Here is the e-mail I received from Greg. Sure enough, a few weeks later, I have a new tire waiting for me on my door step. I will install it in the spring, or when I wear out my current tires and will track the mileage very carefully.