Continental Rear Conti Gelande Sport GS Tire

[reepicheep]

Too late now, as it is already ordered and on the way, but after spending a lot more time then I should have grinding through tons of different tires for my KDX-200 rebuild, I choose the Continental Rear Conti Gelande Sport GS Tire.

Continental Tire Description

I choose it because it was about the same price as the other tires I was looking at, was listed as "intermediate terrain", but had nice big open areas that looked like they would clear well, and it had side knobs.

I ride in southern Ohio / Kentucky. So I have to deal with a couple of different terrain problems... We have lots of incredibly sticky and slick clay when it is wet, and when we go to climb hills we have tons of rock "plates" ranging from 10" to 5', some attached and some just floating. So we have both rocks and mud. The big knobs look like they will hold up well also... hopefully

So I am hoping its a good compromise between mud and rock. I just want a tire for a playbike, no racing. I haven't actually ridden the KDX-200 off road yet, its still being restored, but I rode my KLR-250 all over on Kenda Trackmaster II's... they did OK for a DOT tire, but they would clog with clay easily and were a bear to clear.

Any experience with this tire, pro or con? Looking at it now, I wonder if it is a "motocross" tire because it is not DOT legal? Or because it is insanely sticky. Hopefully the former, and not the latter, otherwise I will have a half dozen or so very fun but fairly expensive rides :)

 

[mudpack]

We have lots of incredibly sticky and slick clay when it is wet, and when we go to climb hills we have tons of rock "plates" ranging from 10" to 5', some attached and some just floating. So we have both rocks and mud.

Sounds like you need a soft pattern for the mud and and a hard pattern for the rocks....so, the intermediate tire you've purchased could well be the best compromise. :cool:
"Motocross tires" are not DOT legal. Or, should I say, not DOT-approved.
They may meet all the requirements, but the manufacturer might not have spent the $/effort to go through the approval process. DOT approval says relatively little about the tire and everything about the approval process.
Just enjoy your new tire and stop second-guessing your decision....it looks like a good one to me!

Mud

 

[reepicheep]

Got the tire yesterday, it looks pretty nice. The side knobs aren't as pronounced as I thought, but the space between the center knobs is really wide, so it looks like a good intermediate tire leaning a bit toward the mud end of the spectrum.

I have lots more to do before the bike is running again, so it'll probably be fall before I get a chance to put it through it's paces. I'll post an update when I get some miles on it.