Strengths: Good all-around tire.
Works very well on wet rocks and roots (Black Chili, yeah!).
Seems to wear slowly, especially given its grip on roots.
High volume.
Round profile, so it's very consistent.
Relatively light.
Set up tubeless with little hassle.
Weaknesses: Round profile, so it doesn't grab in the corners like some other tires.
Didn't fit in my frame...
Expensive, but given the wear and tear, not a bad value.
Bottom Line:
This has been a fantastic tire over the winter here in WNC. It is predictable, cushy, and somewhat light given its size. I have it set up tubeless on a Stan's Flow rim, and I haven't had any issues in 5 months. I highly recommend this tire unless you appreciate the cornering edge of a Maxxis DHF, High Roller, etc. I really like this tire, but I miss the cornering bite of a more square-profiled tire.
Similar Products Used: Specialized Chunder 2.2 (discontinued, but a really good tire)
Specialized Eskar 2.3
Specialized Purgatory 2.2 (inconsistent traction)
Kenda Telonix 2.4 Stick-E (good grip, but heavy!)
Kenda Nevegal 2.1 Stick-E (felt somewhat comparable to the Trail King)
WTB Wolverine 2.2 (not good over wet roots & rocks)
WTB Prowler XT, MX, SS (2.3's)
Bike Setup: 2005 Santa Cruz Heckler
Rockshox Lyrik coil fork
Stan's Flow rim, set up tubeless with yellow tape
WTB Wolverine UST in back matches well when it's dry, but can't keep up when it's wet.
Strengths: Grip
Rolls much faster than you'd think it would roll when you look at it
Loves low pressures
Absorbs bumps in the trails like a shock
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
This is a great do everything tire. If you're into winning races and are going to be on a non-technical course, this tire would not be your choice. But, in every other cross country and all mountain riding scenario when you want a tire that you can confidently tackle foreign trails or rip through trails you know, this is the tire. It even rolls okay on pavement for those that ride to the trail head. I have over 2,000 miles on my current front tire and it barely looks worn. My rear is at 1,000 miles and it looks no more than 70% worn. Very impressive tire.
Strengths: Great traction, holds well when leaned over, good durability.
Weaknesses: Not as sticky as some when things get wet, and can pack up with mud due to spacing.
Bottom Line:
I'm running the 2.2's in black chili, non-ust and love them. I've had them for a full year now, and just bought another for the rear. I ride in the northeast, with lots of tech. They roll faster than others with this amount of traction, and the weight is reasonable. They corner well and can hold a line. This is sometimes a challenge when I want to wash the back out in a corner, but that has more to do with my limited skills than the tire (which is doing what it is supposed to do). I run them tubeless with Flow's and they are holding very well. I will switch them out to a faster tire when I head for more flowy riding areas, but otherwise they are staying on.
Strengths: This tire grips really well in all conditions
Weaknesses: It is a little on the heavy side
Bottom Line:
So far I have had the chance to try these tires in snow, mud, loose rocks and gravel, hard pack, and wet rooty trails (spring in Montana). These tires grip very well, I have the 2.4 with black chili up front and a regular 2.2 on the back. This tire is very predictable and even sheds mud and snow much better than other tires that I have used. I love these tires.
Strengths: Lean predictability, high volume, snug rim fit=tubeless with a floor pump. Quality rubber compound. Light!
Weaknesses: Depending on your rim, get ready for a wrestling match.
Bottom Line:
This tire offers an excellent balance between the comfort and predictability of a round tire (exiwolf, etc) with the confidence-inspiring big footprint of a 2.5 square DH tire. Killer traction in loam, sheds well in muck. Not the fastest rolling tire out there. For $60-70, the rubber compound/weight/volume is a good deal.
If you are racing cross-country, this may not be the fastest option. If you want a capable, predictable, light, comfy high-volume tire for trail shredding, this is your ticket to ride. Comparable to some of the high-volume lightweight Schwalbe tires out there.
Similar Products Used: 2.3" exiwolf, 2.0 captain (ew).
Bike Setup: 6" trail bike set up for a 115lb rider.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Techspec360
a All Mountain Rider
from Portland, OR
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2012
Strengths: Superb wet traction! Roots, rocks, and mud it does it all.
Weaknesses: None!
Bottom Line:
Giving credit where credit is due. I am impressed with the Trail King's. Swapped in a 2.4 on the front to replace my 2.35 60a High Roller. Unbelievable difference (at least in the wet NW). It regained cornering confidence with it's ability to stay put during hard cornering and resistance to "wash out'. It also has superb traction on wet roots and rocks. I had to purhase a 2.2 trail king to replace the High Roller on the rear as well. I had the Mountain King (new style) in hand and really wanted to try it but couldn't pass on the already proven Trail's.
This tire sucks. After only 3 rides, the sidewall blew out. I'm primarily a downhiller and ride my big bike the most, but I also enjoy ripping around the XC trails on my Altitude. I'm a very aggressive rider, but this still shouldn't have happened.
I rock Maxxis on both my bikes, but got a really sick deal on the 2.2 version of this tire, so I thought I would check it out. 3 rides later, it's in the trash and I'm buying another Maxxis. Never again...
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Ardent, Maxxis High Roller, Maxxis Minion
Bike Setup: Custom Rocky Mountain Alititude
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chalkpaw
a Cross Country Rider
from Flag, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2011
Strengths: Excellent traction, cornering, knob durability, and the ability to swap front and rear tires. The best performing trail riding tire I've ever used.
Weaknesses: After 2 months of riding (3-4x/week), the sidewalls are leaking Stans on a regular basis. Some difficulty on keeping a seal on a ghetto tubeless setup.
Bottom Line:
This is the Trail King 2.2 kevlar bead, non UST tire. Single Ply. There is three tire choices, the steel bead, the kevlar bead and the UST tire. There are some differences in where the tire was produced. The ones that are made in Germany have the chilli compound that is pretty good. The UST tires have a better sidewall than the other models. Difficult to find the UST tires.
Now the whole casing on both tires are weakening. Punctures on rocks now. Where before, the tire held fine, I've had a couple of 3mm punctures while riding on slower, easier sections of terrain. I've patched these holes with plugs, so the tire is surviving. The tread is fine, but the sidewall is failing after maybe two months. Of course, Stans is not as good as it was in the past. It dries out fairly quickly, the sidewall seep, and so maintenance is needed. Overall, I hoped that the tire would have lasted another 2 months.
Similar Products Used: Maxius Minion 2.35, Nevgals.
Bike Setup: Mojo HD
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
monkies
a Cross Country Rider
from san fran
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2011
Strengths: fast, and grippy (2.2 version)
Weaknesses: price?
Bottom Line:
I ride aggressive all mountain, but wanted a quicker tire in the rear where I could still jump. I was so skeptical of these after going thru Schwalbe tires (which absolutely suck, I don't get why people rave about them...$$$, knobs tear off, pinch flats, crap grip). I usually run Kenda Nevegals which I love. Wanted a faster tire in the rear and originally tried Maxxis High Rollers...were fine but eh. Tried Schwalbe and def no. Tried these, and super impressed. I thought with the tread look these would be like the Schwalbe and suck, but they grip great, and have gone thru abuse galore with no problems whatsoever. I have the Kaisers on my freeride bike and LOVE those as well...I'm a Conti fanboy now along with Nevegals.
Submitted by
mykrbykr
a Cross Country Rider
from asheville nc usa
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2011
Strengths: Grabs everywhere, rolls easy, seems pretty light for as big as it is
Weaknesses: Mounting it ghetto tubeless was a nightmare but all good finally
Bottom Line:
This is for a 2.2 Protection model. Has sealed perfectly after a week of frustration, Stan's couldn't plug tiny sidewall leaks for what seemed forever. This tire measures right at 2.2" on a 26mm wide rim(outside). Knobs are basically flush to the sidewalls unlike a Nevegal. Riding at 25lbs and feels great.
Submitted by
jumper780
a Cross Country Rider
from San Antonio, Texas
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2011
Strengths: This is for the 2.2 version
-Great quality
-Casing is more of a 2.3 than a 2.2
-Weight
-Durability
Weaknesses: -Price
Bottom Line:
This tire bites! Literally. I can rail corners like I never have before. This tire really shines in aggressive trail riding. It does ok on smooth single track but that's not what this is meant for. It likes to be pushed. It also likes to run low pressures. I'm running 27R/22F. Its rolls well on rough terrain. It does well in light mud and doesn't pack up. If it does, it cleans out quickly. Warning: As the reviewer said earlier, watch out for wet off camber rocks. This tire is like ice skating on that stuff. Other than that, she just grabs and grabs, bites and bites, and wants to be pushed hard. They should have left the name "Rubber Queen". LOL
This is one beefy big arse tire...a bona fide 2.4. I have a custom Dean frame with wider than standard chainstays and this is the first tire that's filled it up. I'm running 2.4's on front and back since I have no suspension, but if you are tight back there size down the rear to the 2.2, seriously.
Grip is very good on the rocky, rooty trails I ride, I don't do much wet mud riding. With a rigid you can air these down and have plenty of capacity to take up some hefty bumps. No flatting yet with about 200 miles on them. Wear very well so far. I was always a Schwalbe guy but these were cheaper so I took the plunge. So far I am very happy with them and they are well built; very round and true.
Strengths: super fast rolling, pretty much the fastest tire I've tried on this bike to date!
good traction in wet and dry.
Weaknesses: not quite the same cornering traction as a 42a minion DHF.
Bottom Line:
Running them front and back, very fast rolling tire, maybe that's why it felt like it had less traction, you are just going so much faster with less effort that I was hitting corners much quicker than normal.
Performed very well in the wet until it got a bit sticky muddy where the lower profile tread met its match. Thats not what this tire is made for though, its made to rip in dry to intermediate conditions and that it does well.
Going to leave them on for a bit longer, at this point I think its an awesome aggressive trail tire and as a rear for DH. But I think for lift or shuttle DH I want more corner traction, going to try the "der kaiser" on the front with this on the back soon.
Side wall protection seems to work, felt some rim hits that should have been a flat and weren't. One I even stopped expecting my tire to be flat immediately, but nope lol.
I didn't see any wear marks after 3 solid days lift riding riding, however one 3hr rip on the local granite infested trails and the rear is showing signs of wear. The tire gobbling granite combined with the soft compound, lower tread profile and the much harder braking due to the free speed means a fairly short life expectancy on local trails sadly.
