[Closed] Conti Black Chili ... worth the extra over standard rubber?

If you are using Conti, thou shalt use Black Chilli versions.

Them's the rules.

(Yes, they are better. Much, much better)

Yeah... To the point where I wouldn't bother with any non black chili conti tyre.

That ?

It's been a while since I last ran Conti Rubber Queens but i once tried a cheap non-BC on the rear as replacement for a BC one and couldn't believe how little grip it had. After one ride I ordered a BC version.

BC only.

Worth it over other conti tyres? Oh yes.

Worth it over other brands tyres. Er, no.

I've never used conti tyres, but it sounds a bit like Shwalbe tyres, thou shalt get the evo compound, not the performance compound! Or thoust might come a cropper when thoust least expects it!

OE non-black chilli Conti's are a ****ing liability, the best thing about them is that they offer so little grip they don't clog up wheelie bins.

Find the BC tyres I'm using now the least draggy of any MTB tyres I've ridden. Really noticeable on tarmac. Also seem to be lasting well.

Any other Continental tyres I try will definitely be the BC vesions

BC is awesome, cant say i felt the same about 2.4 MK2 though.

@nobeer, whats not to like? Crazy fast rolling, grippy and reasonably long lasting on the XC range.

they offer so little grip they don't clog up wheelie bins.

A thousand times yes.

Fifeandy - I went through a couple of pairs quick smart riding rocky lakes trails, side walls not up to much, and at the time they were pretty expensive too. I have no idea if that's the case now, to be fair, as I haven't looked at them since.

BC as a compound is great. However, while the UST was a robust carcass, the protection/apex has been a crashing disappointment.

Yeah, i heard from the folks in biketreks that conti's dont fare well on the rocky trails there. Still expensive, but most other brands are catching them up on price now.

Looks like that's a yes for the Black Chili then.
I've ran the standard mountain kings for a good few year in the Lakes, I gashed a side wall but stitched that up and its lasted a good 18 month, run them at 20 / 22 psi (tubed) and honestly don't have a bad thing to say about them ... looking forward to getting some Black Chili ones on.

Cheers Guys

Black chilli protection 2.2 Trail Kings are the best tyre I've ever used. Nicely predictable when cornering and plenty of traction when climbing. I get on with them very well and, despite the high price, would recommend them highly.

@Woodentop, i needed similar pressure(tubed) to get them to grip on hard surfaces, but at that pressure they are horribly slow. Conti's own application chart suggests they are more of a soft/loose condition tyre.

Might give them a go tubeless on a very wide rim which should square up the profile a bit.

A few comments here seem to relate to sidewall durability - not entirely relevant as Black Chilli refers to the tread material, doesn't it ?

You can get Black Chilli in super light form (e.g. Race King RaceSport) with paper thin sidewalls (I have a pair and wince every time I go through rocks/roots).

But it also in Mountain King Protection, which has tough sidewalls, and I guess some of the heavier BC tyres are even stronger, hence I don't think the fact it's a BC version determines its durability.

It's a shame that Conti don't seem to do many Tubeless/UST versions in Black Chilli, at least that's what I noticed when buying my Mountain Kings last year.

Love the fact the top BC tyres are made in Germany.

Yes, BC is worth the money. But I also love Schwalbe Super Gravity and the choice of either Pace/Trail/Vert compound.

@DiskJockey, theres a significant number of people that don't think the protection casing isn't up to the job. I've never had a problem with them, but then i don't ride aggressively on rocky trails. Logically, its to be expected that they arent really that tough, since all conti do is add an additional layer of their normal casing material (4 layers instead of 3).

You are however correct that its at a bit of a tangent to discussing BC compound.

TBH usually I'd say yes, get the black chili, every non-BC Conti I've ever used was absolutely shit, like refugees from the 80s. But since you were getting on fine with the other ones, maybe not.

Black Chili definitely. I have always run UST which have plenty tough sidewalks too!

Fragile and expensive who want's that?

Continental should just drop the none BC tyres, they are dog shit BSO fodder.

BC is worth it if you're going for Conti tyres. Used to run UST Trail Kings with only one out of five suffering a twist (warrantied). Great levels of grip in most conditions.

The ProTection they replaced it with though started wobbling almost on the first ride and there were threads showing after three. The shop warrantied that one but the replacement did the same. Tried a TK/MKmkII combo on my other bike as choice was limited at the time for winter tyres (650B) and booth of those suffered the same fate, slight wobbles and threads showing. I now use Maxxis EXO tyres instead.

List of tyres tested this year:

Schwalbe Nobby Nic Trail Star SnakeSkin 2.35
Schwalbe Magic Mary Trail Star SnakeSkin 2.35
Schwalbe Hans Dampf Trail Star SnakeSkin 2.35
Maxxis DHR2 3C TR EXO 2.3
Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Gravity Trail Star SnakeSkin 2.35
Schwalbe Hans Dampf Super Gravity Trail Star SnakeSkin 2.35
Continental Mountain King II 2.4 ProTection BlackChili
Continental X King 2.4 ProTection BlackChili

I've tried combinations of all those since I had a puncture at a race! In fairness the Continental MK2 on the rear has been bullet proof with a Magic Mary up front I raced it and it was great.

I then tried the MK2 up front with an MK2 or X King out back and in the dry it was the fastest setup I've ever ridden. Then the rain came back. Oh My! BlackChili does NOT STICK to roots and rocks at all. It wipes out every time. That's ok on the back but not on the front.

I've then put the Nic up front and an MK2 out back. The Nic sticks... the MK2 out back slides about.
I tried a DHR2 3C up front with the X King out back last night in the Thunderstorm rain over roots and rocks and the DHR2 sticks like glue but the X King wipes out (manageable though and has great traction everywhere else).

Basically for me a Trail Star compound up front (is the best) or a 3C up front is great everywhere (except Ice). Pick your tread for the track you're going on but stick to those stickier compounds up front. The Continentals should stay out back where the ProTection can do it's work and you're not so bothered about sliding around. A technical rocky / rooty climb can become a push though. If you want to get up one of those (which I do, but I never race them) then the DHR2 3C or a Hans Dampf TrailStar is the king.

BlackChili does not like wet roots and rocks. I can't make it work anyway. Where as the other top level compounds do stick very well. The contrast last night was unreal 3C front / BC out back. Whereas BC / BC the time before on the same wet trail was unridable... it added 4 minutes to the same climb.

All tubeless. All at the lowest PSI I can get away with without pinching for the trail condition I'm riding. Add a couple PSI for a race day.

The best of the best of the best are the SuperGravity TrailStars... run at 15/21 PSI down Antur Stiniog in the wet on Sunday.... amazeballs tyres. Can't pedal them though. 1kg each 🙁

Yep, I've gone through the side walls of every Conti tyre I've ever owned and gone back to Maxxis, which is a shame because they do have a great rolling-v-grip sweetspot.

This was before they made the protection ones though.

My Maxxis Ardent rear isn't much better though, paper-thin, too many pinch flats and two dented rims in 6 weeks, they're going in the shed for light days.

roots and rocks. I can't make it work anyway. Where as the other top level compounds do stick very well. The contrast last night was unreal 3C front / BC out back. Whereas BC / BC the time before on the same wet trail was unridable... it added 4 minutes to the same climb.

Black chili is not actually a compound, it's an additive. There are at least four different compounds with black chili additive in Continental MTB tyres. The XK one is the fastest and least grippy and the MK2 one is a bit slower and grippier. The black chili compound in the old Baron is the stickiest non-DH compound I've ever used, grippier than both Trailstar and 3C Max Terra, with it being particularly impressive on wet roots. In comparison the X-King's black chili is about as grippy as Teflon...

Black chili is worth it, but the casings lag behind some of the others imo. Protection is similar in weight to snakeskin, but is less supple and less durable. Probably on a par with a control casing - so fine, but don't expect it to be anything other than a light xc casing.

Black chili is not actually a compound, it's an additive. There are at least four different compounds with black chili additive in Continental MTB tyres. The XK one is the fastest and least grippy and the MK2 one is a bit slower and grippier. The black chili compound in the old Baron is the stickiest non-DH compound I've ever used, grippier than both Trailstar and 3C Max Terra, with it being particularly impressive on wet roots. In comparison the X-King's black chili is about as grippy as Teflon...

Thanks for that information I did not know that. I thought that they were the same stickiness just different casings for the XC, Trail, DH jobs.

I'm looking for trail / enduro race tyres out back that don't puncture so easily in the tread area. The ProTection has been doing well at this so far. I had to try them out front but they're no good for me there at all. I can live with them out back I think (hope) with a sticky front on.

My best combo for trail / enduro had been Mary Trail / DHR2 3C. I just wanted something a little lighter / faster for summer races. But I may end up going back to that setup as it seems it was just bad luck I flatted the DHR2 out back. Better sealant might have done the trick.

Protection is similar in weight to snakeskin, but is less supple and less durable. Probably on a par with a control casing - so fine, but don't expect it to be anything other than a light xc casing.

Agree the weight. But Disagree about the casing - the ProTection runs under the tread area so it's better than SnakeSkin which only runs around the sidewalls. PT is less supple though.

Schwalbe Snakeskin and Maxxis EXO leave the tread area exposed to cuts and that's what I've had when they're on the rear - tread area issues not sidewalls. So far ProTection on the rear hasn't suffered the same although I'm sure it can. The Conti's I've got have been less grippy though. It's ok out back to a point. Wouldn't do DH on them. XC Trail ok.

Tyres is a minefield. I've beefed up my sealant to Stans Race and hope I can jump over the worst pointy rocks. Reckon a dose of luck is involved with any tyre.

I punctured the tread area on the SuperGravity rear. It sealed up immediately though but still... I wasn't expecting that on the second ride on them in a loamy wood too no rocks in sight.

ProTection runs under the tread area

Ah, didn't know that. Or more to the point, it's torn sidewalls that do them in for me, not issues in the tread area, but that's the same for most tyres for me.

Until recently I last had a Conti protection tyre when the rubber queens were quite new out - some time around 2009 I guess. I retired them early because although they were black chilli and a nice size, the protection casing was a joke, and no where near the roughness required for what the rest of the tyre was capable of.

A few months ago I bought and APEXprotection trail king because of its pinch flat insert without the weight of a supergravity, and I was pleased to see that there's now a new, tougher version of protection. It's now comparable to snakeskin in toughness, and has already been said above, it runs under the tread area too.

I've had two trail king 2.4x650b BC protection apex tyres fail on the side wall in as many months. Never had that with the 26x2.2 and 2.4" were much tougher.

Scienceofficer, what's this "tougher" protection layer you speak of? How do I tell which my 650b trail kings had?

What I'm saying is that they've completely revised their protection casing. The old one was some kind of German in-house joke. The new version actually seems to be capable of providing some actual protection.

I've not had any bulging sidewalls so far, but it's early days.

See, mine were recent tyres, apex and protection yet two have gone, both on pretty tame man made stuff. I'm certainly not confident enough to take them smashing rocks in the peak (which my old ust rubber queens and trail kings have stood up perfectly well to).

Hmmm. It seems you're connecting the integrity of the carcass with its puncture protection.

I understood they were different things. The actual carcass that gives the tyre it's shape and structure is formed under the protection layers it is not?

It seems to me that if the carcass fails it will bulge through the protection layer?

Either way, I'll keep an eye on mine now.

I thought the protection layer was to protect the carcass from cuts and tears. The apex is there to support the sidewalls to stop it rolling about and suffering snakebites.

Either way, protection sidewalls don't seem to be as good in the Peak as the older ust sidewalls.

I've actually had to replace 26" usr versions because of tread wear. I've not managed to wear the moulding pipsvoff a 650b protection yet.

Construction of RaceSport, Protection and Apex casing
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I have used both. I bought non black chilli MK II's initially to prove the tread design. Got on OK but thought I would try the black chilli as I felt there were obvious shortfalls in the cheaper tyres compound.
I ran the Black Chilli version for about a month before I went and bought Maxxis again. It was like coming home.

I used to like BC's but I had a couple of ruptured side walls so switched to maxxis and schwalbe - no similar issues.

...but yeah BC's are a world better for grip than the non-BC versions.

I have never had problems with conti tyres, but there does seem to be a common theme of problems.

I think the problem is actually the hand made in Germany gives inconsistent results. They should either automate the German production or let the eastern factory use the BC compound.

@MSP, if you check out the recent factory tour video, theres not a whole lot of handmade in the handmade part.

I rather think that its acutally us riders that are inconsistent.

Personally, i think Conti err towards the side of making tyres for winning races on, whereas other brands maybe lean towards a tyre average Joe can enjoy even when battering the most clumsy line possible through a rock garden after a heavy winter training regime of beer and curry. Just a feeling i get from the way products are marketed etc.

Nothing wrong with either approach, and i think the truth is that if you buy a top of the range version, its pretty hard to buy a bad tyre from any of the major manufacturers. Just some will suit some riders more than others.