Continental X King

Currently running 2.2 Trail Kings front and rear and considering something a bit faster rolling on the rear without losing too much grip. The Mountain Kings look too similar so was wondering if anyone was running a X King rear with Trail King up front and if so how do they size up? Riding is on and around Dartmoor so plenty of rocks and roots to cope with.
Cheers

Got one of each mounted sat next to me – both measure 2″, both on approx 26mm wide wheels.

I’m a big fan of both tyres, Trail king/rubber queen fantastic tyres especially when it gets a bit loamier. XKing 2.2 would make a nice back tyre if you want something a bit quicker without losing much grip. They do struggle when the going gets softer though compared to the TK/RQ both descending and climbing off road. Mountain king I hated either end!

Thanks Nick, sounds good.

2.4 X-King is the same size as the 2.2 Trail King, whilst the 2.2 XK is really rather skinny. Get the Protection carcass, it’s much tougher.

Xking 2.2 is a pretty small tyre. The 2.4 is just a shade larger than 2.2 tk/rq.
For a fast, all day but still burly setup that you can happily xc race on or throw yourself down machine built trails, look at mk2 2.4 front, x-king 2.4 rear.

Pretty unimpressed by how undersized my 2.2 29er is, just flat out fibs tbh (why is it we accept that, but we wouldn’t accept them saying it’s 200 grams lighter than it is? Anyway…) but it’s still a good tyre. Could do with a bit more edge imo.

Thanks for all the replies. So size wide would the 2.4 X King rear be a good match for the 2.2 TK that I already have up front?

Yup. Good tyre for everything bar the real slop.

I use a ProT X-king 2.2 on the back of my FS bike – run it at ~21psi, not lost grip on wet roots/10cm deep mud (Delamere) – rolling resistance is quite high however as a result and can get a little squirrely when leant over past 45 deg.

didn’t like the combo myself in retrospect – the profiles and handling of 2.2 RQ/TK and 2.4 XK (rear) seem to conflict. Possibly because the XK is pretty round with no real edge.

In the right conditions sure it’s fine – but for mixed and some wet, the MK2 TK pairing felt so much better. Surprised me after general MK2 comments often seen here! I don’t think an MK2 on front would be so great though.

MK2 R + TK 2.2 F (HT 26’er). I run tubeless lowish at 18-22 psi if makes a difference..

edit must be BC though!

Run 2.2 XKs on my singlespeed during the summer (the ss is used mainly for smooth, singletrack, woodsey stuff) and they’re good. Really fast as people have said but rubbish up front as soon as it gets a bit damp…

Bgd – I ride Dartmoor almost exclusively and opted for the combo the other way around as a year-round solution.

X king 2.4 front, Rubber Queen 2.2 rear – both protections, both tubeless. Reminds me of the old Dart 2.1/Smoke 1.9 combo and I find it makes the bike (a Five) very confident. Plenty of volume in both in those sizes too.

It worked great over winter – with the RQ giving lots of traction for climbing and the XK giving plenty enough grip on the grass/mud and better still – rocks (I can only imagine the lack of massive square edged knobbles helps somehow but can’t translate it to a techy argument!).

On Dartmoor tomorrow morn with RQ front and wtb mutato raptor rear on the 5 spot. Will let you know how I get on. It’s pretty dry up there ATM