What do you do when you’ve already reached the top and proven yourself by creating the world’s favorite road bike tire? You go back to the drawing board — and then you go higher, of course.
That’s exactly what Continental did when it developed the Archetype.
The Design
A racer’s tire, with speed and low rolling resistance at the core of its design, the Continental Archetype is the new pinnacle in road rubber. To achieve such a feat, Continental started with its legendary Black Chili compound — a material that has already proven to give the best balance of grip and rolling resistance, especially when paired with its Lazer Grip profile. But to make the fastest faster, the brand redesigned the carcass entirely, removing the Vectran Breaker and creating the most supple tire possible.
You’ve probably already noticed the trend: pro teams riding wider and wider tires to take advantage of lower pressures and better vibration dampening. It turns out those vibrations aren’t just unpleasant, they also slow you down.
At 30 mm, the Archetype is already wider than anyone would have dreamed of in the pro peloton a few years ago. But with its ultra-supple casing, this tire can absorb vibrations at a level typically only achieved with wider rubber. The result? A svelte, 275-gram tire (Continental’s lightest at the 30c size) that unifies the benefits of a lighter, wider design.
Proven Success
At the highest level of this sport, Continental tires have few rivals. Riders on Continental tires have finished on the podium of the Tour de France every year for the past decade. Fun fact: eight of those riders raced in yellow jerseys — conveniently matching the logos on their tire sidewalls.
From the Competition Pro Tubular to the Grand Prix 4000 clincher to the Grand Prix 5000 S TR tubeless, Continental tires saw plenty of change during that decade. But the brand never stopped improving and refining its top-level race tires to ensure their performance matched the level of the riders counting on them.
This season, three-time Tour de France winner and current world champion Tadej Pogačar has been spotted racing on conspicuously unlabelled tires, causing speculation to run rampant. To make the best even better, Continental combines engineering in the lab with real-world testing. Who better to put in the miles and provide honest feedback than UAE Team Emirates-XRG — the UCI’s top-ranked team led by the man in the rainbow stripes? Now, with the Tour about to begin once again, that brilliant yellow Archetype emblem is ready for its day in the sun.
Upgrade Your Ride
Even riders who aren’t climbing Mont Ventoux can benefit from Continental’s rubber rocket ships. Expect to see the Archetype make waves as the new standard in performance and speed, dominating local road races half a world away from the Alps and Pyrenees.
That said, there’s plenty of nuance in Continental’s road lineup to suit every rider. Here’s a quick look at some of the brand’s other high-performance offerings:
- Grand Prix 5000 S TR – A Tour de France winner that can hold its own against all takers. The tire’s Vectran Breaker is an excellent puncture-resistant layer that makes this model a bit more resilient when faced with road debris.
- Grand Prix 5000 AS TR – For even rougher roads, especially when wet, this model gives even more confidence and grip, which makes it a solid, super-fast training tire.
- Aero 111 or Grand Prix 5000 TT TR – Optimized for a flat course or a time trial, these thinner tires cut weight down as low as it can go.
The Archetype, and all things Continental, can be found at BikeTiresDirect, home to the world’s best selection of bicycle tires, plus tons of other cycling gear. Allez!
This post was sponsored by BikeTiresDirect.
