Looking at changing my Butcher/Purgatory tyres for something grippier especially in the wet. Do a bit of riding in the lakes and had some interesting (terrifying) moments on wet rock. I do of course realise that my sub par bike handling skills my be partially to blame but started looking at conti black chili tyres after lots of recommendations.
Thinking trail king/rubber queen front and mountain king back – is anyone running this combination or maybe tk all round?
Also a bit confused by the variations, using tubeless so am I limited to just the ust versions or is it possible with the lighter race sport or protections? bike discount have rubber queen race sport discounted to £20 which seems tempting.
Also open to any recommendations for other manufacturers not at all up to date with whats out there.

Rubber Queen (not used the new version) in black chilli is grippy as a grippy thing on wet rocks. Had em front and rear. The only thing is the sidewalls are rather fragile,I had the UST version. The cords in the sides were showing after a few weeks. The RaceSport versions have Very thin sidewalls, had some X-Kings and they lasted one ride and were a mare to set up tubeless. Even the UST version had lodsa pin holes in the sidewalls. You can get any version to seal but it takes time and you need to clean the release agent off the inside with a suitable solvent,I used brake cleaner.

The black chili rubber is quite a bit better on wet rock than the hard specialized rubber in the control versions. If I was you, I might go with a rubber queen front and switch your butcher to the rear, it’s too hard for the front imo but I love it on the back. (I really need to sell my Purgatory so I probably shouldn’t slag it, but what the hell, it’s a totally pointless tyre, not fast nor grippy)

Though be warned, the 2.4 RQ can be appalling in mud- it’s bit so it floats, and the tread is cloggy.

Basically, if Conti would licence their magic rubber to CST, there’d be no point in anyone else making tyres ever again.

Protection versions are tubeless ready, as are the new more budget orientated PureGrip versions (wee brothers to the Black Chilli options).

I wouldn’t ride Race Sport in the Lakes. Protection version as a minimum, plus i read somewhere that the Apex version will be availavle in a 2.2″ Trail King soon and not just limited to the 2.4″, Black Chilli is hoodoo voodoo stickyness & longer life, so go for that. Look at the German online shops as they’ll be around £30 as oppossed to £50 each in the UK.

ust tyre with leaky sidewalls. send em back

Protection versions go up tubeless ok but in my experience the sidewall is too thin for use as a rear if you ride anywhere rocky (I ripped two in the space of a few weeks) so protection front and UST rear would be my choice, or try Northwinds suggestion.

I use trail king UST black chilli front and rear 2.4f 2.2r fantastic grip great tyre but as others have said inconstant quality, I’ve had terrible sealer leaks in brand new tyres and buckles that rubbed the frame in others… But still stick with them bacause of how they feel. Next day tyres or bike discount

I was running TK’s Protection front and rear all summer/autumn and they are pretty good in dry conditions, however they struggle for grip on anything remotely wet, what I found was they just let go so unexpectedly. I could deal with that as a rear but as a front had a couple of brown pants moments on fast techy downhill bits recently so they had to go.

I’ve just switched to a Magic Mary upfront and a High Roller 2 rear (3C) which so far is a good combo in the wet/damp conditions I’ve ridden them in but given most trails are rock solid with icy patches at the moment I’ve not had much riding with them on the bike, but so far a better combo than the TK’s were.

I’ve got a black chilli Trail King on the front and a regular Baron on the back. I find the TK grips well on wet and muddy steep stuff and the baron, although more likely to let go is great on the back, rolls well and lets go predictably.

I found that even the protection side wall conti’s were as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike in T’Lakes. They just rip. Pity as the Baron’s are sensational all rounders and silly grippy on just about every type of terrain including snow.

For the Lakes and just about everywhere else in winter the new Maxxis shorty EXO front and HRII EXO rear is a superb combination of brilliant grip, sidewall strength and reasonable weight.

Trail king black chilli on the rear. Nightmare to get on the rim, needs a compressor to inflate, uses
loads of sealant to seal. Good grip on the wet rocks of Sweden.

Thanks all much to consider.
Overall the Black chili TK sounding good for wet rocks which is where the specialized tyres are really struggling. Shame they possibly seem a bit delicate although I am generally easy on my tyres being both light and slow!
Any point trying anything less draggy and lighter out back or are the TK quick enough?
Will look at Maxxis and Schwalbe options too although everything is very spendy compared to Spesh.

I was running TK’s Protection front and rear all summer/autumn and they are pretty good in dry conditions, however they struggle for grip on anything remotely wet, what I found was they just let go so unexpectedly.

Absolute opposite of my experience, running Rubber Queens and Trail Kings for the last two years in all weathers – and I’m definitely not a fair weather rider! Oh well, we’re all different… If you run them too hard and/or don’t lean the bike enough in corners then they seem sketchy when it isn’t dry but with the pressure and lean right I’ve yet to come across anything else that’s as predictable. There are definitely tyres out there with more ultimate edge grip but I find the RQ/TKs let me really ride them to (and beyond) their limits.

I’m not sure about the sidewalls as I don’t ride enough mileage on rock but they’re fine for me – Protection seems tougher than UST (though it looks more worn sooner). Sadly there’s never been a Protection or UST Baron, only the flimsier casing but with apex at the bead – loving it as a front this winter with a Rubber Queen out back.

Any point trying anything less draggy and lighter out back or are the TK quick enough?

I wouldn’t, it’s an amazing rear tyre. Not really sure why the Mountain King II 2.4 exists – it’s like a Trail King 2.2 with less wet grip, less braking/driving grip, similar cornering grip and similar rolling resistance on dirt but a bit less on tarmac. MK2 2.2 tiny volume in comparison. XK hilariously drifty and fast but much less tough.

everything is very spendy compared to Spesh.

Speak tyres are cheap, you’ll have to be prepared to spend a bit more for something which is possibly better.

Trail King on the rear has been a revelation for me. Rolling speed to grip ratio is miles better than anything else I’ve tried and I’m enjoying the big volume in the 2.2. Combined with a Baron up front they handle everything. I thought I’d found my perfect winter combo but just upgraded to 27.5 and discovered Conti are yet to do the same with the Baron. I’m grudgingly going to try a Magic Mary up front next.

@arogers- try the shorty instead I reckon. Early days yet but so far it’s just better at everything, for me.

I run 2.4 mk2 year round with x-king 2.4 rear for xc racing to further reduce rolling resistance.
Mk2 2.4 is lighter than 2.2 tk and higher volume and lower rolling resistance than tk.
Mk2 makes a lot of sense as a rear tyre ime/ imo.
Baron projekt is coming in 2.3 27.5.

I wouldn’t, it’s an amazing rear tyre. Not really sure why the Mountain King II 2.4 exists – it’s like a Trail King 2.2 with less wet grip, less braking/driving grip, similar cornering grip and similar rolling resistance on dirt but a bit less on tarmac. MK2 2.2 tiny volume in comparison. XK hilariously drifty and fast but much less tough

Cheers for that, suspicions confirmed.

Speak tyres are cheap, you’ll have to be prepared to spend a bit more for something which is possibly better.

True enough. Although theres plenty to like with the Spesh tyres (easy tubeless, fine in dry) just not the right tools for soggy, slimy lakeland rock.

I’ve run RQ’s for several years front and rear, I’ve yet to come across a tyre that is so predictable.

I run UST because I did find that the sidewalls were a bit flimsy, but I am a bit of a hooligan/clumsy with tyres.

Keep them tubeless and the pressure lowish to get the best out of them.

Just bought a pair of Trailking 2.2 Protection £56 posted from actionsports.de Not looking forward to potential tubeless faff but seemed rude not to at that price 🙂

When u sell them on the classifieds here put the funds towards some magic Marys or hans dampfs, I.e. Proper tyres.

Just bought a pair of Trailking 2.2 Protection £56 posted from actionsports.de Not looking forward to potential tubeless faff but seemed rude not to at that price

Clean the inside thoroughly to remove the mould release agent (IPA is quickest but soap and water works fine), and seat them overnight with tubes in and only remove one bead to get the tube out and they should go up fine. Pump them up in a warm house, not a cold garage, as it makes it much easier to get the bead to seal. I wouldn’t add the sealant until you’ve got them seated tubeless, then let them down, unseat a couple of inches of bead, pour it in and pump them back up.

That’s a great price!

Just about to replace my rear Rubber queen with the front one when my new trail Kings get here.
When I’ve worn half the logo off, I think the side walls are adequate.

These are a year old now.

Thanks Northwind. I think I tried the Baron after reading one of your posts a while ago so will give the Shorty a try next.

I recently put on Trail King 2.2 racesport front and Mountain king 2.4 racesport rear (virtually the same width). Experience so far has been mixed, couldn’t get the bead to seat without using an inner tube and leaving it over night. The racesport sidewalls are a bit porous spent a couple of nights with them laying on their side alternating each night.

However having done all that they hold pressure better than my Smart Sam which had snake bite sidewalls. Rolling resistance is better than the schwalbe’s, I’m at the point of tweaking the pressures to get the most grip out of them 35-38psi feels a bit too hard and lacks grip 30 seems to be better for my setup / weight.

Clean the inside thoroughly to remove the mould release agent (IPA is quickest but soap and water works fine), and seat them overnight with tubes in and only remove one bead to get the tube out and they should go up fine. Pump them up in a warm house, not a cold garage, as it makes it much easier to get the bead to seal. I wouldn’t add the sealant until you’ve got them seated tubeless, then let them down, unseat a couple of inches of bead, pour it in and pump them back up.

Good advice thanks.
Hoping the protections will be a sensible trade off between weight/toughness.
Going to be a few more days before new tyres arrive and im out in the lakes tomorrow – must not die!

Protections are a good sidewall and set up tubeless fine. Race sport are not tubeless ready and like the original 2.3 baron will be porous sidewall wise.
As above, IPA the release agent.
My install is: bead the tyre with the compressor at your local garage, add sealant down valve stem, reinflate at the auto pump and reinstall valve core without loosing all the pressure. Swill the sealant around and let it do its thing. You may find that riding around in the dry before leaving it overnight is all that’s needed for a reliable install.
Petrol station tyre pump fits onto a presta valve stem perfectly with the valve core removed.

2.2 tk and 2.4 mk2 are within an 1/8″ width but mk2 has more tyre volume (height)

I run 2.2 TK’s Black Chilli UST on my Five and rate them highly for all conditions. I also run an RQ 2.2 BC front with a MK2 BC rear on my hard tail and find this combo near perfect for my riding. They roll and grip well. The MK rear is excellent in mud whilst the volume of the RQ gives good cushioning on the front. Both inspire confidence in all conditions.
I’m certainly not the most aggressive or skilled rider I will admit so the tread wear is very good. I understand that tubeless setup can be a pain though with certain rims.
If you do a lot of off piste riding think about the Baron – grippy and much tougher than the others.