So my main question is is the Black chili compound all it’s cracked up to be? As Continental are now making the Rubber queen 2.2 UST with it I was thinking about trying them.

I would be swapping from 2.1 lust advantages which I like but I just wanted more a tyre with more volume and hopefully the same cornering grip as the Advantage’s.

IMO / IME it is noticeably more grippy but it wears very quickly

Thats interesting TJ, since its quoted as having better wear resistance.

By a strange twist of fate I’ve been using rubber queens on my commute for the last 3 months, and they are wearing far better than I would expect for a tyre with the grip it has off road.

What pressure are you lot running them at? It says 50 plus on the sidewall!

Isn’t it tyre/carcass specific, rather than what the tread is made out of? 😀

40 ish psi – maybe a bit more in the rear. They seem to actually grip better at higher pressures – maybe the knobs fold over at lower pressures?

science officer – I have to ride a good few miles on tarmac to reach the trails and although I haven’t actually recorded distances within a few months the rear tread has almost disappeared in the centre. seems quick to me

Cheers TJ, I’ll try that (first time out on them today). 🙂

I run 2.4 rubber queens in black chilli on my alpine for most of the year (But they definitely come off for November – March)

I can’t understand how they did it, but to me the black chilli is black magic. Every conti tire I have used that wasnt black chilli was rubbish. Would lose grip without warning and seemingly random times. They were very unpredictable. The Black Chilli rubber queens for me have had a solid years use on the trails and are showing very very little wear at all. And most importantly they are fantastic tires and predictable.

A friend has 2.2 RQ’s and is also a bit perplexed at the wear rate. No noticable wear on his at all in slightly longer than I have had mine.

The black chilli compound is indeed fantastic, the continental hand made in Germany tyres without the black chilli compound are pretty good, the cheap continental tyres made in the far east with no natural rubber content are crap.

It does confuse the feedback you get on continental tyres.

I would echo what TJ said I think continental tyres tend to suit high pressures.

It’s good. Very grippy I think.

I had a pair of the original Mountain Kings in it and they did wear quick initially, but then I was dragging my brakes a lot down steep rocky hillsides in Spain the first week I had them. After that they didn’t seem to wear much at all.

Also got the RQ 2.4s in BC and like Barry’s above, they’ve hardly worn much at all.

I use much lower pressures too, around 25psi maybe.

Yes. I owe Black Chilli a couple of very steep climbs I’ve never cleared before or since.

I hate to sound gullible, but I’d swear the bike felt like it was rolling quicker as well.

The only black chilli I have at the moment is on the road bike, where it also seems to excel.

Black Chilli 2.2″ Rubber Queens eh? I’ll have a set of those I think…

I have black chilli compound tyres on my road bike and one of my mountain bikes (RQ 2.4’s) and wear rate is no worse than any other tyre I’ve used (and better than many). Tend to run around 35psi on the MTB and they’re fine.

my 2p

I’ve used 2.4 Mountain King Supersonic Black Chili’s for a couple of years now. Avoiding discussing their merits as an all-round tyre, they’ve lasted about a year each before the rear wore down enough that the knobs had haled in height. Hardly ‘worn out’ but I was also getting throughs ealant quickly due to the thin sidewalls. Basically, 2 pairs of the tyres were only just outlived by drivechain.

I used Rubebr queens for a week in Spain with Switch-Backs on my 456. 2.4 UST BC on the front, 2.2 UST non BC on the rear. After a week riding the front still had lots of the little injection moulding spikes left. The rear was more worn, difficult to say if it was proportionally more worn considering the usual wear differences. Wasn’t particularly impressed with the grip of either tyre TBH, I think I was expecting far too much and I was running too low pressures to compensate!

13th fl monk – you can currently get 2.2 RQ’s with Black Chili, only they’re normal (paper) sidewall instead of UST. Pretty sure I had one.

As per some of the comments above I have 2.4 MK in black chilli, have found them great. Friend purchased non chilli versions and they were terrible.

Very interested in the new MK and X king in chilli.

Shredder, thanks, I actually had some, but they didn’t work very well ghetto tubeless so I got rid.

I meant to say ‘Black Chilli 2.2″ UST Rubber Queens, eh?’

Yeah, the Rubber Queens are now available in the previously non existent 2.2/UST?BC combo.

I’m also interested in the new Mountain Kings, maybe a RQ up front and MK on the rear would be a killer combo?

Black Chilli seems to roll noticably better than any other brand I’ve tried. Small block 8’s Maxis exeption cromarks/ aspens racing ralphs evo’s still dont feel as fast as 2.3 speed kings with chilli. They have to be run hard, 50 psi but to be a fair comparison I tried them all at that as well. Grip at least as well as all the others if not better as well. Cant run speed kings soft though as you can with the others unless your built like a twig! Even 2.2 ruber queens with chilli suprized me how well they roll even on tarmac. They feel quicker than the 2.4 small block 8’s And as above, they dont seem to wear!

Anyone tried BC verticals? i’ve a vert fan for years and fancy trying them

awesome stuff, particularly the rubber queen black chilli on wet rocks and roots. i’ve used BC and non BC and i’d say wear was not noticably different (but hard to gaugue across 3 bikes and different uses), but grip was definately better.

Jon T, at least your rear didn’t look as worn as mine did by Saturday!

Next year I won’t be on supertaky for the back, not unless I suffer some severe brain trauma and develop a halucination that I actualy enjoyed climbing with them! Might try some of the new maxxis freeride tyers, supposed to have the tear and pinch resistance of dual ply but only marginaly heavier than single ply.

Thanks for the replies. I’ll give them ago when they are available.

Interesting others experience with wear. Perhaps its the tarmac that has worn mine out?

Wonder when they’ll get round to doing a black chilli CX tyre…

About 1.3 nanoseconds after the heat death of the universe.

Maybe a bit uncharitable but I don’t think it’s all that special… Yes it’s miles better than non-chili Contis, but then that’s because they’re terrible. Conti seem to need the clever, expensive rubber just to make a tyre that’s competitive. My chili Mountain Kings were still pretty poor, the Rubber Queens were OK but still pretty hit and miss, went back to my 2.35 stick-eNevegals which are a little slower but grippier, lighter and more consistent. Oh and exactly half the price.