Tire Confusion

Riddle me this, Batman.

what weighs only 4.4 lbs, feels like a ton, rides like a cadilac, and is able to make a 200+ pound man stand in a bike shop looking like idiot?

If you said the new Continental Traffic tires that I put on my mountain bike yesterday, you would be correct!

So let me explain a bit. The evening before last was spent at the local bike shop. I needed a new set of tires and was going to get a pair of slicks for my mountain bike. I've been riding a lot of roads lately and I'm sick of having to replace the tire due to worn tread. So, I walked into my local shop and right away a friendly sales person came to me and asked "How can I help you?" I simply said that I'm looking for tires and tubes and elaborated on my situation. He quickly took me to the back and pointed out the tubes that were on sale and a set of semi-slicks that were also on sale. The story could of finished there and everything would have been just fine, but I had to see what other tires I could choose from.

I started to browse the tire section and I came across a continental brand tire called Traffic. It is designed for on and off road. Basically, there is a lot of tread, really close together, which allows a smooth roll on the pavement and a bit of traction off road. The trade off is that these tires weighed a frigg'n ton at 800+ grams.

The semi-slicks that the salesman offered weighed in at a much slimmer 400 grams and they were about 5 bucks cheaper. Sounds like a no brainer, right? Not so.

For about 15 min. I went into a trance in the middle of the bike store. Trying to figure out the physics of rotating weight... And I don't know squat about physics!

As I stood there with the semi-slick in one hand and the Continentals in the other I had an internal battle going on. Cheaper and lighter vs. more expensive, heavier, but going to last a long time.

What to do? What to do?

Several times the salesman snapped his fingers in front of my eyes, obviously concerned that I was going to suddenly collapse. Several times he asked if there was anything he could help with. There wasn't, so I continued to stand there in confusion.

So you may be wondering what I decided to do.

Well, the more expensive tire that weighs more ended up being my choice. I came to the conclustion that these tires are for training and I shouldn't be concerned with the extra weight (4.4 lbs tubes + tires). If anything, it will make me appreciate my racing tires that much more. Plus, This tread is going to last a long time and I have no concerns about riding this tread on the road.

Finally, it gave me a great goal. I plan to put so many miles on these tires that I'll wear the tread down and with it the weight to sub 400 grams.

Wish me luck!