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Speed kings/mountain kings
are they any good ?
Not very. IMO of course but even with the black chili rubber they're not all that grippy. I can never decide whether they're too draggy considering their level of grip, or not grippy enough considering their level of drag, but it's one of the 2. Race Kings are decent though.
Mountain Kings bring a certain excitement to your riding, like you just don't know which way your bike is going to go next.
A little vague to say the least.
Love mine MK 2.4 folding 40psi no problems at all used em all winter and back on them now having tried some others I didn't like,
Grip well, roll fine.
I've got some 2.4 mountain kings on at the moment, and think i may be the only person that quite likes them! Work fine at hardpacked places like thetford and also the shiney stones of cannock were good. They do slide a bit sometimes, but no worse than anything else i've used, and they are cheap!
Love my Conti 2.3 Vertical Pro's.
I used the Vertical Pros for a couple of years and really liked them
Have a couple friends who tried the Mountain Kings and thought they were a bit unpredictable
I've put massive bulges in two Race Kings.
Both caused by rock strikes and, to be fair, if I wasn't running tubeless they probably would have pinch flatted, but I seem to have damaged the cords without actually bursting the tyre or damaging the rim.
Shame, because I liked them. Light and fast, but obviously not suitable for the mountain biker with the fuller figure.
I like my verticals and they cost **** all. I think they were £10 each. Plus the spiderwebs on the tread look cool. 🙂
I love my 2.2 mountain kings! I always hated contis but these came on my Genesis and I thought i may aswell try them. I haven't been to a trail centre with them, but they are excellent for [i]proper[/i] mountain biking 🙄 I use the rain kings too, and they are tremendous!
2.3 Speed Kings suit the South Downs and rooty woodland singletrack very well, plenty of grip and speed. 2.1s are too small and thus prone to pinch flats. They're quite pressure sensitive, seems best to run rear in the high 30s, front at mid 30s when it's dry, slightly lower in the wet (HT bike, camelbak and I weigh ~205lbs)
If I were up in t'rocky north I'd definitely look at Rubber Queens instead.
On the road bike, contis are kings
Cant beat conti 4000s (black chilli)
2.4 Mountain Kings here black chilli love them, light, tough sidewalls no more sketchy than anything else when pushed hard.
Also love the Survival Pro's which are no longer made great as a winter or general burly tyre. I may have some of these for sale should anyone be intrested 😉
I switched back to the MK's from the Verticals, used the verticals for a couple of months when it was really wet and muddy and they grip like shit on a blanket now it's dusty I find them a bit draggy. The 2.4 MKs are just brilliant, I ride hard over rooty, peaty stuff round Surrey and the South and they are ideal even on wet roots.
They work best for me at 40PSI and above below that the 2.4's are a bit squirmy but I'm around 110KG all up.
As said by yeti the 4000s are excellent. Their offroad range however is nothing special grip or durablity wise, schwalbe are far better in both those areas imo. Every conti i've used in the lakes lasted less than 10 rides, mountain kings only six(very weak carcass on the ust versions), there just not up to it on rocky terrain. Will never buy another offroad tyre from conti but road wise conti every time.
I did much of my winter riding on 2.1 Speed King Supersonics and found them an excellent general purpose tyre - you need to use the recommended 50psi to avoid pinch flats though.
Did an off-road variant of my commute this morning for the first time with 1.9" Twister Supersonics fitted, using the recommended 65psi. They're fast on the tarmac bits but the rear appeared to have just about zero grip on the off-road bits.
i've run conti gravity for the last number of years . only ever had 1 puncture, and never really felt i've been missing out on traction, nor that they are too draggy.
Definietly get them again.
I hated them.
I tried 2.2 & 2.4 Mountain kings.
Absolutley loving my Vert ProTection in black chilli
shit to a blanket!
I love verticals & lamp
If your style suits them. I've hated every conti tyre I've ever tried, road or mtb.
Even the el cheapo city contact on my commuter was terrible on the front, so got switched onto the back.
Rubber Queens are the daddy.
My hardtail needed a bit of cushion on the back and the sheer volume of the 2.4's meant I didnt have to resort to 2 ply high rollers to run less than about 50 psi!
I have rubber queen on the front vertical ProTection on the back. a little draggy but stick to almost anything. the Verts are £13.99 on CRC ATM I think
And if you're a cheap tyre person, I can't tell any difference in compound, carcass or tread pattern between the steel and kevlar bead non-black chilli Speed Kings.
Thought the RQ was a bit disappointing myself, miles better than Mountain Kings, but the lack of cornering grip was... Surprising, let's say. Decent enough tyre but people get so excited about them, they might be the best Contis ever but they're still not as good as a DTC Nevegal, that's been around for ages, weighs less and costs half as much.
I have rubber queen on the front vertical ProTection on the back
Same combination as me and I found it works really well, the 2.4 on the front is like having an extra inch of travel - only paid £23 for mine so it was pretty cheap for a black chili version. I might try another RQ on the rear at some point to see if the extra cusioning makes much of a difference.
2.2 moutain kings are shite in my experience, pinch flat prone, crap grip in general and at any pressure, and quick wearing