are they that bad? the 2.4s are reasonable price.

Can't comment on 2.4's but rode a five with 2.2's on last year and they were awfull, no grip, weak sidewalls, apparently the black chillis are better but i'm not convinced on the tread pattern tbh. Might be a half decent summer tyre at a stretch.
Personal cheap recommendation is a specialized eskar – have one on the front of mine in 2.3 flavour and team it with a larsen on the rear for summer.

You will get mixed reviews on them

Part of the issue is they need higher pressures to work otherwise the sidewall folds and the knobbles all fold in reducing grip. 40+ psi needed

I have them in both flavours and like them but if you are used to the feel of heavy tyres at low pressures you probably won't like them

My mate had troubles with his 2.4's they kept burping at lower pressures and the sidewalls cut quite easy.
The other problem he had was that it lost its shape when we was riding in s-wales,It was like all the chords had broken inside the sidewalls and it had no strength at that point,making the tyre weak and bulge at that point.

I had the 2.2 protection version on a 4X bike for half a day. In dry conditions with some dust, when leant over in berms they would just break loose with no warning at all.

Mountain King Black Chilli on the front and, if anything, it's better in the wet than the dry around Calderdale. Grip suffers a little in the dry on the front as the tyre seems to judder sideways when pushed, although I always catch it and i'm no riding god.

Mud seems to just clear instantly with this tread pattern so no problems up until you need a mud specific tyre, and it seems good on roots/rocks.

Bikeradar said 'In short, this all-conditions tyre is fast feeling and grippy. It's worth the price'.

However, I have heard bad things about the standard compound ones which are made elsewhere, Black Chilli are made in Germany.

I've been running MK Black Chili in 2.4 all year round. Front at 20 psi, rear at 22 psi. Get a little bit of folding over, but nice and grippy. Less draggy that mates' Panaracer Cinders, etc.

I liked the UST 2.2's I had (have one worn one left), no problem here, but then they do seem very 'local' condition specific going by some threads. M8 has some 2.4's and hasn't died yet. Put my well worn one on the rear yesterday and it survived the damp 'cobbles' @ Cannock without any slip-out, unlike the RR I had on the rear previously, which scared the living daylight out of me in damp condition the week before.

the standard ones are shocking, my Genesis iO came with them and having a little ride up and down the road, went to ride up a dropped curve and very nearly came off, the front tyre skidded along the lip!

Not bad if it's dry, flat and not rocky but other than that avoid

2 eskars for £40 have decided it for me 🙂

can pretty much agree with steve_b77 up there, came standard on my genesis, was out for the first time the other nite, and they were shocking. will be getting swapped out asap.

The black chilli ones are quite draggy in in 2.2" mode which is more like 2.0" in real world use.

They also are silly thin walled as mentioned above but are protected by a type of orange colour mesh so I seem to remember, sold them on a bike just to get rid.

I love continental twister pro's though BUT they don't friggin sell them no more, just the supersonics which are apparently only good for light clear from debri riding. 😡 😛

:EDIT:

OR you could opt for some Hutchinson Toro hardskins in 2.35" flavour to use mainly in the dry as they have a tendency to drift in wet deepish mud which is well, fun I'd say but also quite demanding too at times.

These Toros are fast as **** on compact dry trails like the conti twisters, just more tread depth and harder walled fro puncture resistance.

I keep thinking about getting some MK's but the reviews are confusing

some people love them, and some say they are the worst tyre ever

Yes – simply put non chilli ones are SHABBA

only ever had a pair of non chilli and they were terrible, had them on for one ride, and came crashing off into a bridge with an ohmighty thump, weak sidewalls and no grip in the wet
theres a reason why they are cheap i reckon.

used 2.2 mtn kings for last years transwales ust, they were ok but have moved the spec purgatorys. better price, better grip and better rolling. i found the mtn kings to be ok all rounders, but didn't really excel at anything. The purgatorys have great grip in the corners you can really push them hard

2 eskars for £40 have decided it for me

I've got Eskars on a couple of bikes and they're excellent.