Black Chilli vs Trail/Pacestar and Non Black Chilli vs DC Performance.

Whats best?

As you can’t get the same tyre in both compounds it’s a moot point…

eh?

Surely some have a preference for MK2 over Nobby Nic, or X-King over Ralphs?

Do you not think that could be about factors other than the compound though?

I prefer Schwalbe, but I’ve not extensively tested recent Contis.

There is no ‘best’ with tyres.

Compound alone, black chili is superior I reckon. Longlived and grippy but faster rolling than equivalently sticky rubber, in general. Schwalbe sticky rubber wears faster than anything else I’ve used. But schwalbe seem to be better at treads etc for XC.

TBH most contis seem pretty flawed, it’s a shame they don’t just licence out their rubber or get CST to design their treads

I’m moving over to Continental from Schwalbe mainly because their puncture protection is a bit stouter.

Their biggest issue is the crazy sizing.

X king is close to a Ron. The 2.2 is a 2.1. The 2.4 measures 2.25 in the packaging but I’ve not mounted one yet.

Mountain king is close to a nobby nick with the centre knobs a bit closer together. Again a 2.2 is a 2.1 – The 2.4 measures 2.25 in the packaging but I’ve not mounted one yet.

Trail king is a monster of a tyre – way better than a nobby nic IMHO so probably not for racing though I do with it as a front and love it. 2.2 is a 2.2. The carcass is pretty substantial so you can run it very low.

Hmm. Not worth experimenting with a wholesale change from Schwalbe then, especially considering I’d go to X Kings.

I’ve not been impressed with my riding buddies Schwalbes, he tore two sidewalls that wouldn’t seal in about 4-5 rides. Since he swapped to a bonty on the back he’s had no issue.

I’ve used a lot of contis in he past and never had an issue.

I avoid Conti MTB tyres (road ones are great)

Do the conti’s have enough sidewall to go up tubeless? Will they rip when they see a rock?
Ikon/Ardent Race?

Protection ‘rtr’ tyres will inflate tubeless no problem.
I’ve not torn a sidewall on a protection tyre and run them throughout Squamish and Whistler.
As an xc setup, my favourite combo is 2.4 mk2 front, 2.4 xking rear. Tubeless.
I use this on marathon distance xc races, sprint distance tech xc/am races and tech trail riding.
I’ll go to mk2 2.4 rear once the trails get super dusty in the summer and gloopy muddy in the autumn…but for a do everything combo, its very good.
I’m a believer in high volume low pressure for xc/am racing and certainly for everyday tech trail riding. So I’ll only run as small as 2.2 in the trail king. Mk2 and xking are too small imo in 2.2 sizes