Conti Attack Days 2012

Burning rubber on the high banks of the Contidrom.

Don Canet

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Attack family of performance radial tires, Bavarian tire-maker Continental treated Cycle World to two days of testing its latest products on and around the Contidrom proving grounds near Hannover, Germany. New additions to the lineup headed stateside include the trackday/street-focused ContiSportAttack 2 (OEM fitment on the 2012 BMW S1000RR) and the ContiAttack SM, which was developed for street supermoto use. Additionally, while I didn't get to sample the ContiRoadAttack 2 Classic Race first-hand, this new tire is certain to win favor with the vintage-racing crowd for bringing modern radial technology to bikes running classic 18-inch wheel sizes.

Each of these tires employs core Conti technologies such as zero-degree steel-belt construction, use-specific variations of Conti’s Black Chili compound and the wear benefits of Continuous Compound Technology. CCT is achieved by varying the temperature across the tread during the curing process to create a seamless transition from the grippier side tread to a longer-wearing center tread. The new tires also feature Traction Skin, which was introduced on the ContiRoadAttack 2 a couple of years ago. It has a rough surface texture and no glossy mold-release residue that could cause a crash during a new tire’s initial scrub-in period.

The Contidrom test tracks include a dry-handling road course, an irrigated wet-handling course (pictured above) and the spectacular high-speed oval with 58-degree banked corners at each end. I primarily rode liter-class sport nakeds fitted with SportAttack 2 tires, while a few other bikes wore the RoadAttack 2 for the purpose of comparison.

In every case, I experienced quick warmup and a knee-dragging degree of confidence from the very first lap. While no puck abuse ensued on either the wet course or the oval, every bike I sampled tracked nice and true while circulating at a pace I dare not replicate on the street.

Our final task was to sample the tires on the street, and what better way to do so than a fast-paced blast on the Autobahn en route to that night’s lodging at an 800-year-old castle?!

Continental ContiSportAttack 2 Tires