Let's talk about friction. Not the kind in your hub and bottom bracket bearings, which is relatively minimal. Rather, especially in the realm of time trialing, your tire choice could be as important as whether or not to wear a teardrop shaped helmet. And Continental builds their Podium TT Tubular Tire with friction reduction, or decreased rolling resistance, foremost in mind. They start with a responsive 180 tpi casing. Since it's a race tire, it doesn't get any extra layers of rubber or Duraskin that would serve to make it heavier. In fact, the tread thickness is reduced in comparison to Continental's typical road racing tires. This minimizes tread deformation under load, making the tires roll faster. And with a minimum thickness of the Black Chili tread rubber, the Podium TT tubular tires are superlight -- 70 grams lighter than Grand Prix 400 tubulars.The Podium TT Tubular Tires are light indeed, but they have a special form of puncture protection in the Vectran Breaker system. Vectran fibers have greater cut resistance than Kevlar, so even though the tire is very light, it has a defense against road debris. After all, what good would it be to have the fastest tire on the race course if it couldn't get you to the finish line' They're available in 700 x 19mm and 700 x 22mm versions.

BLACK CHILI- Features Continental’s revolutionary Black Chili Compound which reduces rolling resistance by 26% improves grip by 30% and adds 5% more mileage out of your tire.

VECTRAN PROTECTION- Reinforcing and matrix fibers made of Vectran are 5X as strong as steel yet still extremely lightweight and abrasion resistant, protecting your tire from punctures more effectively than two layers of Nylon.

HANDMADE IN GERMANY-Continental has been hand making their tires since 1871, maintaining the integrity of tradition, while evolving with the most advanced technology.

TIME TRIAL MODEL- The TT stands for Time Trial, where entire tours are decided. The Podium TT is also popular among the pro’s in normal races as well though.

EXTRA LIGHTWEIGHT- The Podium TT only comes in at 205 grams and this coupled with the reduced tread thickness gives you extremely low rotation energy