There could be more to Continental’s Competition tubulars than you might think. Besides connecting you and your bike to the tarmac, this top-of-the-line racing rubber may represent an answer to one of life’s biggest questions: can you have everything?

Like a high-flying career and a happy home life, low rolling resistance and high grip were once thought to be contradictory concepts. But, thanks to Continental’s Black Chili tread compound, both of these seemingly mutually exclusive characteristics are contained in these tyres. Not only are they fast in a straight line, but they also provide all the control you need when cornering.

But the Black Chili tread mix goes even further. Quite literally, in fact, as it’s claimed to increase the tyres’ lifespan, which is useful as they’re certainly not cheap. But then you do get a tyre that also has a lightweight puncture protection barrier. So maybe you can have everything