The new-ish Conti range.
Discussion
I've gone through a lot of MTB tyres over the years, but have been properly impressed with Conti's new Race-King and the X-King. Both these are fast rolling and sub 500g tyres.
I was looking for a new summer tyre to put on my Hardtail and despite the mixed reviews, thought I'd give the Race-King (2.2) a go. As my bike is used mainly for XC stuff - mainly racing my mates - and I'm reasonably competent when it comes to roots / slippery stuff, I wasn't really put off by the reviews on MTBR by American kids claiming they suck because they offer zero grip and pinch flat all the time.
So I've been running these for about a month now and despite me being 17.5 stone they have not pinch-flatted once; even doing the very rocky red route at Keilder with a child-seat on the back and a big three year old in the seat didn't trouble them. Also, considering how minimal the tread is, they offer tremendous grip even in the gloop. Yes they don't grip as well as a mud tyre, but the places they find grip is astounding.
On the hardpack and fire roads though is where they really shine. They absolutely fly with me being able to carry 2-3 smaller gears on every climb compared to my winter Kendas. And to top it off, they saved half a kilo of rotating mass.
I've just fitted a set of the x-kings which are bit more aggressive to my wife's bike and have a set to go on my Full-Sus so will update later.
So far though, I really cannot recommend these new tyres (compound changes) enough. And if you want some cheap, check out bike-discount.de for some incredible deals. One caution though, they have various compounds and carcass designs. My review is of the new Race Sport / Black Chilli models.
I was looking for a new summer tyre to put on my Hardtail and despite the mixed reviews, thought I'd give the Race-King (2.2) a go. As my bike is used mainly for XC stuff - mainly racing my mates - and I'm reasonably competent when it comes to roots / slippery stuff, I wasn't really put off by the reviews on MTBR by American kids claiming they suck because they offer zero grip and pinch flat all the time.
So I've been running these for about a month now and despite me being 17.5 stone they have not pinch-flatted once; even doing the very rocky red route at Keilder with a child-seat on the back and a big three year old in the seat didn't trouble them. Also, considering how minimal the tread is, they offer tremendous grip even in the gloop. Yes they don't grip as well as a mud tyre, but the places they find grip is astounding.
On the hardpack and fire roads though is where they really shine. They absolutely fly with me being able to carry 2-3 smaller gears on every climb compared to my winter Kendas. And to top it off, they saved half a kilo of rotating mass.
I've just fitted a set of the x-kings which are bit more aggressive to my wife's bike and have a set to go on my Full-Sus so will update later.
So far though, I really cannot recommend these new tyres (compound changes) enough. And if you want some cheap, check out bike-discount.de for some incredible deals. One caution though, they have various compounds and carcass designs. My review is of the new Race Sport / Black Chilli models.
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