Continental Terra Speed gravel tyre review: Good, but not the best value for money

The latest Continental Terra Speed model promises the ideal combination of grip, speed and puncture resistance for fast hardpack gravel riding. It offers a host of claimed improvements compared to previous iterations, including lighter weight and more puncture protection.

While it’s made for riding on dry trails, Continental says the tyre also takes to the road easily for when your route spills out onto the tarmac. The Terra Speed is the fastest 'normal' model in Continental’s gravel range, with the Terra Hardpack being faster but that's effectively a lightly textured slick tyre. The Terra Speed is offered in three sidewall colours – black, cream and tan – and sizes 650b (35, 40) and 700c (35, 40 and 45).

Top line, the Terra Speed is a good gravel tyre which rolls fast, provides ample grip and has been completely puncture-free despite my glass and jagged rock riding. In my eyes though the puncture resistance is the greatest asset to this tyre in my view. Is it enough to beat the best gravel bike tyres on the market, though?

However, while these tyres might work well for some, They're perhaps not the perfect choice on looser, more varied surfaces.

Design and specifications

Image 1 of 3

As the name suggests the Terra Speed is designed to go fast, and a key element to this speed is the tyre compound. The tyre uses Continental’s Black Chili compound, which is a blend of synthetic rubbers with natural rubber, high-performance tread mixtures and soot particles. It's the same as the brand uses on the perennially popular GP5000 S TR and GP5000 AS TR road tyres.

The brand says that the Black Chili compound is adjusted for the gravel surface and considerations, and gives the ideal balance of grip, rolling resistance and longevity. The Terra Speed also benefits from Continental’s Revolution Tubeless Ready Bead which the brand says improves the fit for tubeless tyres.

The tyre tread is a continuous and close-knit hexagonal pattern across the whole tyre. There is no slick central section, though, which is often seen on tyres which blend road and gravel.

The Terra Speed uses a 180 TPI ProTection casing which is borrowed from its premium MTB range. This comes with an extra puncture protection layer which the brand says adds durability and resistance against sharp objects. The tread and sidewalls offer 30% more puncture protection than their predecessors apparently, and are also 25% lighter.

Continental says the 700x40 in black weighs 460g, with an increase of 5g for tan, and 10g for brown. On my scale it was 465g. This is exceptionally light and lighter than many competitors.

Performance

My testing all takes place in beautiful Malta, where the gravel is a mix of dusty compact terrain, rugged stony Roman road and silky soft sand. It's a varied mix, but all surfaces that a general purpose, fast, dry condition gravel tyre should handle easily.

I mounted the Terra Speed in size 700 x 40 on Mavic Allroad 700c wheels on my Ribble Gravel Ti Hero. Installation was simple, bearing in mind that mounting tubeless ready tyres with tubes always makes for a tight squeeze.

Hurtling around on the Maltese hardpack, it was evident from the first ride the tyres took to the dry compact gravel with ease when rolling on the flats. The gravel here is dusty, the sort which gets everywhere, and the hexagonal tread pattern on these tyres is made for it, offering a decent enough traction traction, and plenty of speed on the straights, all with a casing that didn't feel overly harsh.

However, I found myself disgruntled with the lack of traction in the corners and climbing. On rutty and rocky surfaces, especially the type where line choice is key, and also where the gravel was particularly loose, the Continental’s grip felt half-hearted. I admit I found myself rather befuddled and given these are just shy of £70 I was wondering if it was rider or tyre fault.

Continental recommends 44psi for all sizes 40-45mm but after testing and consideration I dropped closer to 30psi and here I began to really benefit from the tyres. This will naturally depend on system weight and tyre width, but they're definitely a tyre that performs better at lower pressures, so setting them up tubeless will help here.

The reduction in tyre pressure immediately improved suppleness and comfort, especially when tackling rocky sections. The tyres soon came into their own, skipping nimbly over uneven terrain and charging up climbs without slipping.

That said, even at an optimal pressure I didn’t feel extremely confident in the corners, although this is not necessary to throw shade on the tyres but likely due to my wariness of what happened on previous rides.

Perhaps it’s down to the rugged terrain in Malta that I felt more benefit from dropping the pressure below recommendations, although in my experience you’d also be hard pressed to find constant flat and perfectly even gravel in the UK either.

Puncture protection is really where the Terra Speed excels. I have been riding over sharp, jagged rocks, and at one point even rolled straight into a pool of broken glass and can confirm I have not had any punctures. I put this down to the excellent extra layer of puncture protection which Continental has added from its MTB range.

Another key aspect of the Terra Speed is the promise of speed on and off-road. Despite not having a central slick section, which I always thought was important, the tyres offer ample speed on the tarmac, felt comfortable and most importantly, I didn’t feel myself turning into a sloth.

Image 1 of 2

There isn’t such as a sprinkling of mud in Malta currently, thus I can’t comment on the tyres ability to plough through damp terrain, but they are primarily a dry conditions tyre. I suspect on damp, sandy gravel they'd be absolutely fine, but in true slippy mud you'll want something with more bite.

I swapped the Terra Speed onto my gravel bike in place of Specialized’s Pathfinder Pros. These are also made for riding at speed on compact gravel, and the Pathfinder Pro is substantially cheaper at £44. That said, the Pathfinder is a different tyre in makeup with a less supple 60TPI casing compared with the Terra Speed’s 180TPI, and they weigh 10g more per tyre.

In my experience the Pathfinder offers better value for money and ride experience at £44, however I would lean towards the Terra Speeds when prioritising puncture protection. It's also worth noting that the Pathfinder Pro does not offer 650b whereas the Terra Speed does.

The WTB Vulpine S is another tyre aimed at the same sort of terrain. It has a 120 TPI casing but comes in heavier at a claimed 500g.

If you want more bite then the Vittoria Mezcal (now known as the T70) which received a rave review from Will is cheaper at £50, has a 120TPI casing but no size 40 so a true comparison is tricky.

Verdict

The Terra Speed is a good compact gravel tyre option offering a decent combination of speed, agility and durability. The puncture protection makes this tyre stand out and if that’s what you prioritise then I would still recommend the Terra Speed, just drop the pressure.

The hexagonal tread pattern allows for plenty of speed on tarmac, but I found in loose conditions the tread lacked sufficient bite to get over technical sections or give me the confidence I needed to really commit to corners at speed.

Would I buy these with my own money? Honestly I think I'd probably opt for the Pathfinders instead and save the cash.