I respond to all the postings in regard to Continental tyres. My name is Ray Earl and my company imports and distributes Conti bicycle tyres and tubes throughout Southern Africa. Ian Jones posted his brief on this forum on Tuesday 10th October. I opened it on Wednesday and printed it out for attention when I had a chance. Ian Jones phoned me next morning (before I'd had a chance to do this) and without any preamble asked me why I had not followed the forum string and responded, and proceeded to attack my integrity as the Conti distributor. Firstly, I have an extremely busy schedule. I am frequently not in the office for days at a time. Secondly, I am not employed by Ian Jones and thus am not answerable to him for my movements or work time schedule. The tyre he submitted had a jagged superficial cut in the tread running diagonally from shoulder to sholder on the tyre. There is no question or doubt about this. I challenge Ian Jones to take this tyre to any other tyre distributor or experienced bike mechanic to verify this. The tyre also had numerous other impact cuts and bits of glass and debris imbedded in the tread area. For those in the forum string who have intimated that they never received attention or service from myself in relation to problems experienced with Conti products, I would like to place on record: If action was not taken it would have been due to processes not being adhered to at dealer level, or to a break down in communication. These things happen occasionally. Regarding the GP3000's and any other Conti tyres with tread delamination or compound break-up (ie cracking), these were replaced immediately I received the faulty tyres. This includes tyres replaced by Alan van Heerden who would have done it automatically, knowing my (and Continental's) stance on the issue. There was a compound problem with these tyres in South Africa due to our extreme UV intensity. This problem has been rectified on all new ASC compound tyres including GP4000's. I had no reason to avoid replacing these items. Conti in Germany reimbused our company fully for every tyre. It cost us nothing to replace and it was essential to the well-being of the brand to acknowledge that South African road conditions had realised the need for a compound review. Our country is now the primary test bed for all compound R&D under trial because of this and some serious machinery is to be sent here and set up for continuous running tests. I doubt that any other tyre manufacturer is going to similar lengths to ensure that their tyres are suitable for local conditions. I could go on at length but that is not my objective here and now. I will do backward somersaults for anyone who has a genuine problem with any Conti tyre or tube. This can be verified with around 300 dealers countrywide. It has been the status quo between myself, my dealers, and my valued friends and customers, the cyclists, for over 20 years. If I am attacked in an aggressive and confrontational manner as Ian Jones did before I had even ascertained who he was or what his problem was, then I will react as anyone else would in the circumstances. Regarding the negative remarks about the Attack/Force tyres, it should be noted that these are the tyres of choice for the Microsoft Team. Their results on the products over the past 2 seasons since they were launched, speak louder than any sales pitch I can offer. I am at the service of any cyclist who purchases and uses Continental products. If there is a problem, contact your dealer who will then raise the issue with me. One way or the other, the problem will be addressed, and it will be done in a forthright and friendly manner. If satisfaction is not achieved, I will meet personally with anyone who feels they have not received due attention in their loyalty and support of our products. This includes Ian Jones who is welcome to meet with me if he wants to ease his mind with regard to both Conti and myself.
