Hannover, Germany, Summer 2003. Continental has been developing and manufacturing bicycle tires since 1892. Those early, so-called "pneumatics", which were much more comfortable and had less rolling resistance than the rim-mounted leather or iron bands used before them, have since been transformed into truly high-tech products. Today's product lines offered by Continental are built to satisfy the demands of touring cyclists, mountain bikers and racing professionals – indeed, the leading teams of this year's Tour de France rode on tires made by the company's plant in Korbach (Hesse). Continental is the only bicycle tire producer with manufacturing operations in Germany.

Tires - also those for bicycles - consist of different components that are 'baked' under heat and pressure during the vulcanization process to form the finished rubber product. Crude rubber is the essential base material and is mixed together with carbon black , sulfur, accelerators, antioxidants, dyes, waxes and oils. The vari-ous tire components are then made out of this mixture together with reinforcing materials like Kevlar and steel wire. Nowadays, more modern materials, such as silica, are included to provide better adhesion on wet surfaces and a lower rolling resistance.

Since the early times of bicycle tire production, cyclists have had mainly one cause for concern: their tires should be resistant above all to stone penetration and punctures. Modern tires, like the Contact Security tire from Continental, feature a specially re-inforced puncture-proof layer beneath the tread which is capable of even stopping a drawing pin. And yet despite this extra punc-ture protection, Contact Security is no heavier than a normal touring tire.

Modern-day bicycle tires are technologically sophisticated prod-ucts designed to cater for different biking habits and different types of bicycles. Continental has ten different products in its range of tires for mountain bikes alone. Owners of touring bikes and racers can also choose from a wide spectrum of tires. What's more, a new studded winter tire in various sizes for trekking and mountain bikes will be available in Germany's shops in the fall of this year.

Continental AG is a leading supplier of tires, brake systems, chassis components and industrial elastomers. Consolidated sales in 2002 amounted to 11.4 billion euros with a global work force of about 64,500 employees.