Technology As a Means of Safety
Continental knows that for many of you bad weather is no reason to leave the motorcycle parked, so we prepare our tires with the necessary technology to face rain, wind or freezing temperatures. The engineers working every day in the R&D department at the factory in Korbach, Germany, have developed different technologies that ensure that Continental tires meet the two essential requirements: grip and safety. This is even more important during the winter, when the roads are colder and wetter. We talk about some of the technologies that make Continental tires safe during the winter months.
Continental Technologies
Multigrip: This Continental grip technology provides more resistance in the center area of the tread to support the tire from “wearing out quickly” over the miles. In addition, it features a compound with even more grip at the ends of the tread that allows for more grip when leaning into corners and a more gradual transition when going from straight to banked angles. MultiGrip is possible to manufacture only with high technology that ultimately allows the rider more safety and comfort.
Specifically, Continental’s MultiGrip technology consists of a “gradual transition” of the compound, harder in the center and whiter towards the shoulders, achieving the benefits of a multi-compound, but using only one compound and controlling its vulcanization temperature in the different areas of the tire. This avoids the steps produced in multi-compounds and ensures uniform wear with no steps.
BlackChili: Another big step forward taken by Continental is the BlackChili compound. Its development is a secret that we cannot reveal, but what we can say is that it inherits technology from Silica and a new generation of Carbon Black. This compound makes the most of the three main areas involved in the performance of a tire, without affecting the performance of the others. We are talking about grip, rolling resistance and mileage. In other words, it makes the tire reach the maximum level of grip without wearing faster or rolling more slowly.
RainGrip: This technology is essential for winter, when wet roads are more common. It is based on applying more silica than usual to the compound, which causes a reaction that increases grip on water. In addition to this technology, the increased grip is also significantly influenced by the new tread design of the new Continental models, which are capable of expelling water in greater quantities and at greater speed.
ZeroDegree: Finally, the ZeroDegree technology, which applies a steel belt around the entire tire to provide greater rigidity to the structure. This aligned structure distributes the heat uniformly over the entire surface, so the first moment the tire is rolling, it is already applying temperature from the central part, which receives more friction, towards the sidewalls. Grip is quickly noticed in leaning, and this confidence causes the temperature to be distributed more quickly.
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Choose Correctly and Take Care of Your Tires
Continental offers some tires that have these technologies and offer excellent performance in these conditions (and for the rest of the year, of course): if you have a daily naked or sport-touring bike, go for the new ContiRoadAttack 4, while if you usually ride a sportier bike, the ContiSportAttack 4 is better. The ContiTrailAttack 3, the TKC 70 Rocks and the TKC 80 are perfect for trail riders, the former being the most asphalt and the latter the most off-road.
But obviously, in addition to choosing good tires, you should also take care of them as they deserve. The battery or the antifreeze fluid level is not the only thing to check when the cold weather arrives, it is also important to ensure that our tires are in good condition. If it is time to replace the tires, this time of the year is not the recommended time to rush them since, as we have already mentioned, the road conditions are much more delicate than in summer.
It is also essential to make sure they have the right pressure. In cold weather, tires take longer to reach working temperature, so we can raise a few tenths more (two or three at most) than recommended by the manufacturer. In this way we would make the bike feel similar to the behavior it has when the temperature is higher, that is to say, we are looking for the opposite effect than when we go to the track. We recommend you to take a look at the pressures every morning to make sure they are at the right point, you will see how much security and confidence you will gain.
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