Conti Race King 2.2 tires

[rockyrider]

Finally had a day here in Juneuary (coldest first half of June in Vancouver's recorded weather history) where I was able to get out and ride these Continental Race King 2.2 tires. These are a big tire, the carcass is 54mm wide, the tread just a titch narrower. Note how much of the SID fork arch and rear chainstays they fill up.

Running at 32-35 psi they roll fast (they're tubed tires) on pavement and hardpack. The start of my test loop is a short trail covered in cedar bark mulch, and usually it's only new Stick-E Nevegals that shower the downtube and my shoes in wood fragments to the point where it sounds like a xylophone solo, but the Race Kings' Black Chili rubber was efficient at tossing wood too. Not sure how much of that is the rubber Chia pet nubbins sticking out of the these fresh tires. They are nice and grippy on the moist forest soil sections. Smooth roots and rocks are also not a big challenge for these tires. There's a been lots of rain lately so there was ample opportunity to find mud patches and despite the low knob profile there were no problems with the tread packing up or spinning in the goo. The huge air volume means they have lots of deformation grip crawling over roots and rocks, even smooth round rocks, and they're even comfy. They have good grip on pea gravel surfaces and loose over hardpack too.

These weigh in right around 487-488gms each which makes them silly light for a grippy big tire. They're likely aimed at the big volume Schwalbe race tires.

Likely not a good tire if you have lots of pointy edge rocks on your trails as they have very light sidewalls, so they are likely going to be prone to pinch flats and sidewall tears on nasty rocks.

[Spalls]

Thanks for the review, Rocky. It has been a bit cool of late, hasn't it? I am still wearing most of my January riding garb.

[rockyrider]

In June 2007 the first half of the month was the wettest in Vancouver's recorded weather history, this year it's been wet but not the wettest, so it had to make up for it by being the coldest June in recorded weather history.

I'm already impressed enough with the feel of these Race Kings that I've ordered a second set to put on my ETSX. The 2.2 Mountain Kings I have on the ETSX now are very small tires (48mm wide carcass), small volume and have widely spaced knobs by comparison and weren't that secure feeling on loose over hardpack, even though they use the Black Chili rubber as well. They feel good in soft soil where those knobs can bite in, but the Race Kings didn't feel like they were giving up anything on forest floor type soil. The Race Kings are only 28gms heavier than the Mountain Kings in this 2.2 sizing, not a bad difference for such a big difference in the carcass size.

24127

24128

Apparently they will have a smaller Race King later this year.

The one nice thing about all of these Continental tires using the Black Chili rubber is they are all handmade in Germany, so the tread is laid on the carcass dead straight, and the carcass itself is perfectly laid, no wobbles and hops. That is the biggest gripe I have about all the Asian built tires, is I'm tired of looking down at the front tire and seeing the tread wobble all over the place like the rim is bent.

[Rock Star]

So how do the 2.2 speed kings and 2.2 mountain kings compare to 2.1 nevegals in size, volume, comfort and grip?

Great review as always. Thank you for testing and reviewing so much cool equipment!

[rockyrider]

The 2.2 Mountain Kings are much smaller and lighter than 2.1 Nevegals, nice and grippy and roll faster than the Stick-E Nevegals. The Race King 2.2 roll much faster than the Nevegals and Mountain Kings and are bit larger volume than the Nevegals. Time will tell if they are as grippy in all conditions. So far so good.

[robcycle]

Apparently they will have a smaller Race King later this year. Any plans for 29er?

-Rob.

[rockyrider]

I haven't seen anything about that... but they do the Mountain King in a 29'er so it's not completely out of the question.

[robcycle]

.. but they do the Mountain King in a 29'er so it's not completely out of the question. I've seen them, and they look awesome, but aren't they rather portly?

-Rob.

[rockyrider]

I've seen them, and they look awesome, but aren't they rather portly?

-Rob.Doesn't seem that chubby for 29" tires (http://www.speedgoat.com/productB.asp?part=131119&cat=47&brand=57)

29X2.2 is 658g
29X2.4 is 754g

The 26x2.4 ProTection version of the Mountain King was 748gms.

[rockyrider]

Well, more time on these Race King tires and I'm really lovin' the way they work. A few steep gravel and loose climbs with grip to spare, even out of the saddle. A couple of fast downhill fireroads and lots of lateral grip even on the transitions between hardpack and gravel and hardpack and rocks. And a couple of stretches of rocky baby head trail with some water running across them and they grip nicely on round smooth wet rocks. The big volume is nice on those baby heads, I can run low enough pressure to avoid being bucked off in the rock gardens. Same with roots and wood bridges, really good traction. And for a knobby they are very fast and quiet on the pavement on the way back home again.

[RickB]

Doesn't seem that chubby for 29" tires (http://www.speedgoat.com/productB.asp?part=131119&cat=47&brand=57)

29X2.2 is 658g
29X2.4 is 754g

The 26x2.4 ProTection version of the Mountain King was 748gms.

I have the 29er Mountain Kings on both of my bikes, and in both cases, I have a 2.2" in the rear and a 2.4" in the front. I'm very happy with the performance of them.

I did cut a tire at the Stoopid 50 race last week, but it was basically on a knife blade rock (at speed) that would have destroyed any tire.

One observation though, they can seem a bit tricky to mount, but here's a tip: when you get the tire mounted and are trying to roll the last few inches of the bead on, push the valve stem in a bit so that the bead on the valve side can seat all the way to the rim. After that little trick, I'm now able to mount them without any levers/tools.

[rockyrider]

Just installed a pair of Race Kings on the ETSX as well, so I'll have a couple of platforms to ride them on. This pair weighed 490 and 491gms.

[TubeDriver]

Anyone know when these will be available in the US?

[rockyrider]

Likely sometime after Interbike. But you can order them from Chain Reaction in the UK, they ship to North America and the prices are competitive with buying from an online retailer in the US.

[TubeDriver]

Cool.

I have been trying a set of Speed King 2.3 Supersonics. They are light and roll fast but cornering traction just blows. I would describe them as "medium volume" so they are fairly cushy. Sidewall is paper thing so if you ride rocks I would skip it and go with the Vertical or Explorer Pro (maybe the Race King?).

Likely sometime after Interbike. But you can order them from Chain Reaction in the UK, they ship to North America and the prices are competitive with buying from an online retailer in the US.

[rockyrider]

The side walls are very thin on the supersonic Race Kings, but they will have a Protection and a UST version this fall. The guys on MTBR.COM that have tried Speed Kings and Race Kings prefer the Race Kings.

I like the Race King 2.2 much better than the Mountain King 2.2.

I don't think the Race King will work in gooey clay mud as the tread doesn't look like it would self-clean well.

[TubeDriver]

The Speed King is the first Continental tire that I really have not liked. I used Explorer Pro for years and then Vertical Pros and really like both tires. Just by looking at the cornering tread on the speed kings should be enough to convince anyone about how sketchy things get when the tire is leaned over. The Race king has much more closely spaced cornering blocks which will probably work great.


The side walls are very thin on the supersonic Race Kings, but they will have a Protection and a UST version this fall. The guys on MTBR.COM that have tried Speed Kings and Race Kings prefer the Race Kings.

I like the Race King 2.2 much better than the Mountain King 2.2.

I don't think the Race King will work in gooey clay mud as the tread doesn't look like it would self-clean well.