Review: Continental Terra Trail 47-584

By Richard Hallett

Pros: road speed, grip and traction, low weight

Cycle magazine's technical editor, Richard Hallett reviews the lightweight, low-drag gravel tyre for on/off road usage

Continental £37.95

After testing it last year, Continental’s Terra Speed became my favourite winter commuting rubber thanks to its reassuring grip on local lanes mud-layered by farm tractors.

At only 400g in the 40-584 size, the Terra Speed was also the lightest of the four gravel tyres I tested. Continental’s broadly similar Terra Trail is the same weight despite being wider (47- 584 or 27.5×1.75in).

This is surprising for a couple of reasons: the Terra Speed is supposed to be the ‘fast’ model in the ‘cross gravel’ range; and the narrower, 40-584 version of the Terra Trail is heavier at 430g (albeit with a different casing). So this particular 47-584 Terra Trail model is something of a standout in the line up.

Like the Terra Speed, it uses a tread pattern of small, roughly hexagonal knobbles – widely-spaced over the sides of the sidewall carcass and clustered more closely around the centre line. The design minimises mud clogging and helps keep the weight down, thanks to the small amount of rubber in the knobbles. Fitted to 24mm rims, the Terra Trail measured exactly 47mm in width.

I ran the tyres tubeless to take maximum advantage of the potential performance. Installation was quick and trouble-free on non-tubeless rims fitted with Stan’s No Tubes rim tapes, and the tyres were still holding 20psi four weeks after their last ride.

Inflated to 40psi front and 50psi rear for the road, they give a sumptuous ride on all but very smooth tarmac, where the slight whine from the knobbles reminds you that this is not the ideal surface on which to use them. Chipseal, however, is dispatched with disdain.

That 400g weight means that acceleration and climbing mirror the narrower Terra Speed, although the softer inflation pressure (by about 10psi) means the Trail feels slightly less communicative and sprightly. Off-road, the fatter tyre is, predictably, much the better performer, allowing you to blast rock-strewn farm tracks that need a more considered approach on narrower rubber.

Verdict

This version of the Terra Trail may be the fastest in its class, rolling so well for a knobbly that tarmac sections can be enjoyable, while making short work of muddy tracks.