Continental tires from aliexpress

[Benbenben]

Hi guys,

Anyone has ever compared continental tires bought from Ali to a pair bought in local bike shop?

It does not seem to me like the kind of thing that is worth to copy, but we never know I guess.

[Tijoe]

Many of the major name brand bicycle tire companies have tires manufactured in China.   Continental since 2014.    The probability is that the tires sold on Aliexpress are real Continental tires.   OTOH, if the Conti tire model is one of their premium models like Gatorskin, then either they are importing these tires, or they might not be authentic.  I find Conti "Performance line tires" like the ones mentioned in the attached article are listed for sale in Aliexpress.   They are probably Conti tires intended for the Chinese market, but Aliexpress stores are willing to sell and ship them abroad.

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/product-tech/2014/07/08/continental-expands-chinese-made-tire-options

[Pedaldancer]

They are more expensive at Aliexpress compared to the online shops i usually order  . Is it different for you?

[raisinberry777]

Hi guys,

Anyone has ever compared continental tires bought from Ali to a pair bought in local bike shop?

It does not seem to me like the kind of thing that is worth to copy, but we never know I guess.

It seems like it's likely OEM supply. For example, you can buy the Grand Sport Race tyres off Ali which are OEM only - but these are made in China. From what I understand, they're similar to an Ultra Sport 3 but with more puncture protection.

In any case, it's still cheaper to buy legitimate Continental tyres from within my country (Australia) so there's no need to check out the AliExpress options.

[Benbenben]

Exactly the ones I was talking about. Grand sport race comes to 65 CAD for the pair from Ali. That is the price for one tire here in Canada. So half price for me.

I would not go with the gp5000. I just don't see how China could get cheaper units like it was described above.

[sbellote]

I've been using Conti's Grand Sport Race for some years now, all from Ali, and it's been great
they're supposed to be 'supplier only', not d2c, so probably counterfeit in some manner. It's the silver ones which are supplied to factories for full bikes, not the yellow printed which are sold directly to customer

anyway, it seems to be the real deal, I've got 9 to 10 thousand km's on each of the 3 pairs of GSR I've gone through. The GSR seem to be the best bang for the buck, but now I'm testing the Ultra Sport 3 which seems to be more on par

it seems that for these cheaper models, it's real, since they're produced in China. I don't know about the more expensive ones, which some models say are from Germany, and for those I'd be concerned it's fake

in Brazil these tires are much more expensive, the GSR I pay less than half if I buy on Ali. For other more expensive models the difference is lower but still significant, so always worth to import this kind of stuff

It seems like it's likely OEM supply. For example, you can buy the Grand Sport Race tyres off Ali which are OEM only - but these are made in China. From what I understand, they're similar to an Ultra Sport 3 but with more puncture protection.

[tssy5]

Since tires aren't that expensive, I guess it is better to source them locally than ordering from China, shipping cost seems to be more of a concern here, but if you ask me I think those produced in China may not be fake as you all already know, pretty much every "real brand" get their products from China as well.

[Jet the Panda]

If I were buying tyres from China I'd just go for something like Maxxis, WTB, Kenda etc. At least that way I'll know they're legit.

[tssy5]

If I were buying tyres from China I'd just go for something like Maxxis, WTB, Kenda etc. At least that way I'll know they're legit.

Yeah I agree, I have bought a pair of Maxxis High Road tubeless 28C from China, it feels similar to Schwalbe Pro One but 30% cheaper.

[jonathanf2]

The only road tires that remotely interest me on AliEx are the Goodyear Eagle F1 road tires. They come in both clincher and tubeless. They're a bit cheaper than GP5000s and seem to be fairly lightweight. Though I have no clue on how they perform. Plus I still have an ample supply of spare tires so I'm not in a rush to buy them.

For gravel tires it's much cheaper for me to buy Panaracer GKs in the US. They regularly go on sale.

[Serge_K]

In Europe, i have found that buying GP5000 from European shops is cheaper anyway. Serge Dutouron & Probikeshop are shops i've bought such tyres from.
Conti is German. I have no idea where the GP5000 are made, but tyres are what interface with the road. If you dont trust your tyres, you can die, and all it takes is one slip. One slip takes a fraction of a second. I've crashed downhill (at low speed at a hairpin) for no apparent reason, to this day idk why. My rear just lost traction in a flat second. It was a bloody day.
Point is: i'm all in favour of ordering from China. But for Conti tyres, they'd have to be a lot cheaper for me to buy them from a questionable platform. The risk reward profile just feels awful.