Conti fail

just to add to the Conti vs Schwalbe debate... i've been riding the same tyre combo for years, Rocket Ron Evolution TL ready at the front, Racing Ralph Double Defense at the back. set up as tubeless of course. never torn a sidewall or any other issues (apart maybe from the initial setup of the double defense on the rear which is a PITA, but nothing a Lezyne pump and removable valve cores couldn't sort out)
sometime last year, purely out of boredom, i decided to give the Conti's a go. As i also happen to be a little bit of a weight weenie i went for the racesport version which is roughly equal in weight to the schwalbe setup i had before.
so, X-King at the front, Race-King at the back. riding them I found that to get the same level of grip to the schwalbes i had to drop the pressure significantly lower, which meant that after landing jumps on hardpack i could really feel the tyre squirt.
i rode the conti's for about 3 months, including the 100 mile fling. in the end the sidewalls were so worn that even with lots of scoops of Stan's in them they just wouldn't hold air overnight anymore. below is what they looked like. (mind you the rear pretty much looked like this after the first ride)

... to make matters worse, the same week this happened my trusted Conti Grand Prix 4000s disintegrated completely on my roadie commuter. just started loosing big chunks of rubber on 4 different spots. no skidding involved. it had done about 4000ks so i can live with that. i guess now i know why they call them 4000s.

back on Schwalbe on all bikes now.