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Home | Product Reviews | Tire | Continental Speed King | ||||
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Submitted by
Sven Jacobsen
a Cross Country Rider
from BW, Germany
Date Reviewed: 4/18/2008 12:58:50 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Strengths: | Great grip, fast, light, durable, good allrounder. |
| Weaknesses: | None, really. |
| Similar Products Tried: | A lot. |
| Bike Setup: | Hardtail. |
| Bottom Line: | This is an update. I am using this tire for almost 5 months. In my opinion it´s the best tire on my bike so far. You can´t go wrong with it. The wire version in 2.3 is amazing and so cheap for training purposes. The Speed King 2008, 2.3 Protection (foldable), is my personal non-plus-ultra-tire for XC and marathon. The weight is 580gr - no complaints for a safe tire. I´m still wondering, how fast and secure I can ride (gave me some extra motivation). Well done, Conti! |
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Submitted by
scott
a Racer
from dalton, ga, usa
Date Reviewed: 4/9/2008 8:28:43 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | pinhoti |
| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | lbs |
| Strengths: | very good in the mud, lite weight, low rolling res. |
| Weaknesses: | none really |
| Similar Products Tried: | lots of different tires |
| Bike Setup: | turner nitrous, full xtr, king wheel, rs reba world cup |
| Bottom Line: | excellent tire in wet conditions. |
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Submitted by
Sven Jacobsen
a Cross Country Rider
from BW, Germany
Date Reviewed: 1/17/2008 11:04:52 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | hard to say |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | Fast, light, reliable and definitely thought-out. |
| Weaknesses: | Tread unfortunately not designed for eternity. |
| Similar Products Tried: | A lot. |
| Bike Setup: | Hardtail. |
| Bottom Line: | Ask yourself, for what purposes you use your tires. This one is designed for marathon racing and not for the Transalp Challenge or a suicide downhill. For marathon and even xc it´s splendid! I use the wire version in 2.3 for training(supercheap, a pair for 20,- Euro). This 2.3 wire version is light, offers grip and warp-speed on the trails and is surprisingly tough enough when the terrain gets heavy. Fun factor! For this 2.3 wire version: Five Flamin´ Chilis without any doubts. |
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Submitted by
Marc Monet
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxford, England
Date Reviewed: 12/21/2007 5:19:40 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Alps |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $90 |
| Strengths: | weight |
| Weaknesses: | price, grip, puncture protection |
| Bottom Line: | Even though the tire is known as Speed King there are actually a number of different versions, which differ dimension, weight, and protection wise, but share the same “spikey, open” tread. The tire is advertised as a xc tire, specifically for marathon racing. I used the 2.1 supersonic version for racing and see little point in purchasing any of the other versions; if you want an all round or freeride tire why buy this one. Given that the tire was designed for marathon racing I did find (a) traction not very predictable (especially on gravel roads and in wet conditions it was far cry from being “grippy”) and (b) it to be extremely puncture prone. I am therefore inclined to echo some of the feedback below. Yes, the tire is “made in Deutschland” (which generally is a comforting sign) but so what!? The facts are that this tire, it has to be said, was designed for racing but fails to live up to the high expectations one should have given the proclaimed characteristics and indeed the price. |
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Racer
from Winnipeg, MB Canada
Date Reviewed: 12/5/2007 8:58:14 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Birch |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $70 |
| Purchased At: | Bikes & Beyond |
| Strengths: | SS version is light weight, low rolling resistance, decent traction in wet conditions |
| Weaknesses: | thin sidewalls, VERY fast wearing is SS version |
| Similar Products Tried: | conti explorers, nokian nbx |
| Bottom Line: | good all rounder for racing, but would choose something less expensive and flat prone for trail riding. |
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Submitted by
ron jeremy
a Cross Country Rider
from las vegas, nv
Date Reviewed: 11/20/2007 3:57:54 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | vicodin valley |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | lbs |
| Strengths: | tread pattern, rubber compound, sheds mud well |
| Weaknesses: | pricey (but actually made in Deutschland) |
| Similar Products Tried: | all |
| Bike Setup: | xc hardtail |
| Bottom Line: | I picked up the 2.3 folding version with the Protection sidewalls about six months back and have been very pleased. Dry traction is great, wet traction is not bad, and haven't flatted yet. Note from above...I did my homework and bought the Protection version with the heavier duty sidewalls. If you're a weight weenie and pick up the SuperSonic version (bare minimum construction, race-day only), don't be surprised when you flat out...duh. Of course, a decent shop will point you in the right direction. 5 flamin' turds overall and disregard folks who have no clue about what they're purchasing/installing. |
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Submitted by
A 2 K
a Cross Country Rider
from Iowa
Date Reviewed: 10/8/2007 9:46:00 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $70 |
| Purchased At: | online |
| Strengths: | rolling resistance sheds mud well |
| Weaknesses: | does not inspire confidence in turns noisy the tire seems to have a mind of its own. the knobs on the side walls tend to make the tire shoot off on its own line, pulling you, the rider, off your chosen line. slimy singletrack causes the tire to slip when you want to really grab a corner at speed...no confidence at all |
| Similar Products Tried: | specialized roll-x (terrible) conti explorer pro conti twister supersonic |
| Bike Setup: | '07 stumpy comp, stock |
| Bottom Line: | I rolled with these tires for 150+ miles and just couldn't get the hang of the way that they grab their own line, especially while climbing. Also, I could not gain any confidence in my line while cornering with any sort of speed. The tire felt like it wouldn't hold ; like it was going to wash out any second. When I first started riding XC back in May of 2007, my bike had the Conti Explorer Pro 2.1 up front and Twister Pro 1.9 in the rear. I was happy with this setup. Being new to the sport, I wanted to try something different. The reviews for the speed king in this thread were great so I figured I would give them a go. The first thing I noticed during the initial climb was that they wanted to take off on their own, not where I pointed them. the same thing happened in the corners. I thought this was due to the fact that I wasn't used to them so I gave them their chance with 150+ miles of use. Well, 2 rides ago I switched back to the explorer/twister setup and WOW what a difference they have made. Now, some people will ride a trail somewhere, switch tires and go ride a different trail and make their judgments. I believe this doesn't give the rider a level playing field to make a comparison. So what i did was make the switch after a 10 mile ride on my local trail that I am intimately familiar with. HUGE difference! I was holding lines like never before, riding faster, and mastering corners that I always had difficulty with. so this could be a testament to the explorer/twister combo as well as a lackluster review on the speed kings. |
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Submitted by
Tom
a Racer
from Cambridge, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: 8/30/2007 2:54:44 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $100 |
| Purchased At: | Bike shop in Germany |
| Strengths: | Light, good tire clearance. |
| Weaknesses: | Extremely puncture prone, expensive, as front tire sketchy in wet conditions (as rear tire OK). |
| Similar Products Tried: | Not really similar, but I used Schwalbe's Nobby Nic 2.1 before. |
| Bike Setup: | Stevens Juke, Rock Shox SID World Cup, Shimano XTR, Magura Marta SL, Syntace (bars, stem, seatpost), Tune King/Kong wheels, Look 4x4. |
| Bottom Line: | Here is the whole tragedy: I am a vivid MTBer and race XC since several years. I purchased Continental's Speed King Supersonic (2.1) tires (rar and front) about a month ago, during vacations in Germany. As mentioned above, I used Schwalbe's Nobby Nic (rear and front) with latex tubes before, which worked great. However, due to the fact that two Speed King Supersonic tires (at 400 grams each) shave almost 200 grams from my wheels, compared to the Nobby Nics, and based on really positive reviews (also in this mtbr tread) I thought I would give it try. Unfortunately, the tires turned out to be a disappointment. On the plus side, they are really light and rolling resistance is great. One of my first rides was in really muddy terrain and tire clearance was excellent, even though I had several sketchy moments with the front tire (i.e. side grip is not really convincing and, in my opinion, hard to control if used as a front tire). After two rides, however, I had my first proper puncture. Given the sketchy characteristics of the Speed King as a front tire, I decided to re-mount an old Nobby Nic (as front tire only). This worked fine for about two rides. Back in Boston, my first ride took place in the Middlesex Fells, which is a local reservation with some sweet rocky single trail. During this ride a rock completely destroyed the sidewall of my remaining Speed King, which I could barely fix with the packaging of a Clif bar. In conclusion: I learned the hard way what I could perhaps have known before. While light tires tend to save weight and watts they are usually also very susceptible to punctures. Continental’s Speed King Supersonic is no exception, despite some enthusiastic reviews. I cannot really think of any situation where one might like to use this tire. As far as I am concerned the tire is too delicate for XC and it therefore becomes somewhat of a gamble to use them in a race; the seconds one might save are hopelessly lost if one punctures. (Needless to say that I decided to go back to my old tires, even thought they are 200 grams heavier.) |
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Submitted by
Kevin
a Cross Country Rider
from Hastings, MN
Date Reviewed: 8/27/2007 5:10:53 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $49 |
| Purchased At: | The Route |
| Strengths: | All the traction I ever wanted in a tire, in many trail conditions, cornering, climbing, and braking. |
| Weaknesses: | none |
| Similar Products Tried: | Panaracer Cinder, IRC Mimbro, IRC Mythos |
| Bike Setup: | Giant NRS 2, suspension set up stiff, 50 psi tire pressure |
| Bottom Line: | Tried many tires over the years looking for that ultimate tire. This is it. Bought these two days before a 24 hour race cause just wasn't happy with the tires I was riding. Could not believe how well these hooked up. Had a hard time getting use to all the traction, but once I did, I was cornering, riding off camber, and through technical singletrack faster and with more confidence then ever. Highly recommend these tires. Bought the 2.1 duraskin version and they weighed in a 535 grams. |
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Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Ont Canada
Date Reviewed: 8/5/2007 7:17:24 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $70 |
| Strengths: | Weight, Grip, Fast rolling |
| Weaknesses: | That's a tiny case volume for a 2.1 tire. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Python tubeless, small block 8, fire xc pro,.... |
| Bike Setup: | Blur LT, Mavic, XTR, 200mm rotors. o/s bars.... big guy setup |
| Bottom Line: | My quest for a fast rolling tire with better grip in the turns has brought me here. I was pleasantly surprised when these tires hit the trail. They make the bike feel like it’s 10 pounds lighter. The steering is WAY faster. Pythons are just a fraction faster rolling but the speed kings make up for it 10 fold at the first corner. Acceleration is in a different league all together. They are just flat out fast out of corners. Cornering on hard packed, lose over hard packed, pine forest is great. The well-spaced side knobs hook hard in the turns. When you get way too aggressive they will let you know with a controlled slide. It's an impressive climbing tire as well. They fair well in the odd sand section and are sure footed over rocks. If you are looking for a fly weight (400g) race tire that is fast rolling, ultra quick feeling tire with plenty of corner grip for the technical section you owe it to yourself to try a set. They are on the high end of the price scale for a non tubeless tire so it gets 4 chilis for value. If you are a bit gravity challenged you may consider the 2.3 for the extra volume. |
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Submitted by
Yogi
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney Australia
Date Reviewed: 7/3/2007 7:47:52 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Purchased At: | Le Spit Cyclery |
| Strengths: | really good traction. Big Bag (2.3) |
| Weaknesses: | none yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | python, old style cheaper tyres like smoke dart combo. |
| Bike Setup: | XC race set up... high seat , rigid frame. |
| Bottom Line: | I felt these tyres with my thumb and nail and they felt super soft.. I was keen to ride on these... Fitting the tires on my rims was easy and tool-less (I do use tubes). I had a hard time seating the bead into the rim so I over inflated them till they went ping (approximately 80 psi)and deflated them to about 50 to 55 psi. prior to the over inflation they looked like a bucked wheel with a bulging tire on it. Once seated they ran straight and true. My first use of these tires was on the wrong surface.I was worried about the soft knobs being eaten by the tar but they all still had their great shape. ... at speed they sang like a choir then i hit a few stairs up and down. nooo problem. when riding directly into the bottom stair badly .. the corner of the stair sank about half way in to the rim... I watched the tire do this as it was a TEST. I'M happy to say the tire did better than my free ride ones. I was also impressed with the grip... however I was ever so careful not to skid. They did hold very well in turns and did not give the quivers at all. 2 weeks later I finally got them onto the dirt, or I should say the mud as it rained for a week when I decided to try them... firstly: they stick to everything... they roll fast and I was very impressed on the single track and the carving turns on the berms. Secondly,Uphill they are great, Light weight and good drive wheel traction... they don't feel heavy or twitchy on the front either. In fact I recommend them for any XC front tire without hesitation. Downhill i gave these tires a absolute whipping in the slippery clay , compacted sand and the mud and they where confident and a pleasure. Then In the rock garden they really did shine.. it was to blurry to watch but no single rock smaller than the height of my crank arm did slow me down nor puncture me and yeah I made a few mistakes... even on the mossy reverse camber wet rock the tire behaved really very well. I was really impressed by this set of tires. Definitely a good choice for the 24 hour racer, adventure racer or just the person who demands the best... Not good for loaning to the kids who skid. Unlike the above reviewer, I do not recommend using them below 50 psi on rough terrain... I noticed the cross hashing folding thing happening in the side wall... so would be ok on smooth dirt only.. So I do recommend the fast harder tire compared to the uber grippy soft tire. these tires are avaliable 2.1 and 2.3 and come in 4 types...2.1 / 2.3 TYPE : 2.1 / 2.3 ****************** wire: 560 g / 600g folding: 510g / 560g pro traction: 530g / 580g supersonic: 400g / 450g I used the 2.3 pro traction (thanks for the tires Matt, You asked me to test them out... and HEY, they are good.. cheers mate) |
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Submitted by
bill
a Weekend Warrior
from tucson,co
Date Reviewed: 7/1/2007 7:26:36 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Strengths: | It is hard to believe when you look at these tires that they are ~600 grams (2.3 protection). They offer big knobs as compared to other light weight tires (racing ralphs). |
| Similar Products Tried: | racing ralphs, kenda small block |
| Bottom Line: | I really liked racing ralphs, but decided to try the speed kings. They are cheaper $ and offer a more aggressive footprint. I am a convert. |
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Submitted by
trail boss
a Weekend Warrior
from bfe, nowheresville
Date Reviewed: 5/22/2007 9:07:36 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | mount jumpmore |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | shop |
| Strengths: | low rolling resistance but hi traction, sheds mud, light weight, german quality |
| Weaknesses: | none yet |
| Similar Products Tried: | velociraptors, nanoraptors, smokes, you name it... |
| Bike Setup: | rigid ss |
| Bottom Line: | I've been trail riding for 30 years (no, not a typo)and these are the best tires I've run yet. I was a bit skeptical at first due to the small, widely spaced knobs, but the traction is out of this world. It seems that this tread pattern sheds mud and gunk, and hooks up like crazy. This is essentially an all-around trail tire, but it is most happy on hardpack, where the low rolling resistance really shows. I'm running these on a single-speed, and about 50 psi to avoid pinch-flats, and this really works well with the sizing, tread pattern, etc. Even when climbing, though I've yet to slip a tire. As far as the sizing is concerned, Conti actually measures from tip-to-tip so you know exactly how much frame clearance you have. Some companies measure the casing, which means a fatter tire. However, it sucks when your $40 tires rub your chainstays. So, if you're running 2.1 WTBs or Kendas, then you may want to bump up to a 2.3 Conti. Then again, you may want to try the skinnier Conti-the better traction and lower rolling resistance are amazing. |
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Submitted by
Lennon
a Cross Country Rider
from Wakefield, RI
Date Reviewed: 2/1/2007 9:03:06 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Breakheart Trail, Arcadia Management Area |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $120 |
| Purchased At: | W.E. Stedman & Co...THE BEST LBS ANYWHERE!! |
| Strengths: | Super low rolling resistance, Very light (406g), substantial knobs, works well tubeless |
| Weaknesses: | None so far... |
| Similar Products Tried: | Maxxis MaxxLite 310's and just about everything else out there |
| Bike Setup: | 2002 S-Works FSR SS, FRM Integral Cranks, SID WC, Quad Ti Eggbeaters, Stans Olympic Disc Wheels, Ti Rotors, Avid BB7's, Extralite Levers and Seat Post, WTB Stealth V Team Saddle (I smushed my Becker Carbon), Easton EC90 SL Flat Bar, Syntace f99 Stem, Jagwire Gold Label housings Total: 19.8 lbs |
| Bottom Line: | Very fast rolling tire with a great tread. Riding a SS gives you pretty good traction skills anyways, but these tires rock. They set up tubeless pretty easily and after two or three rides were holding air with maybe a 10-15% loss over three days. That is good for a non tubeless tire with a thin sidewall. Expect to see pinholes in the sidewalls when you mount them, but the stan's will quickly fill those in. These tires are sticky, too. I am not going to complain about a 400 gram tire not having enough tread like some of these reviews do. What do you expect from a light tire?! My biggest fear with these tires is either a cut in the sidewall or blowing it off the rim. I cut my Maxxis Maxxlite after 10 rides and it was done, so I repleced them with the Conti's. I am running 35 psi and wouldn't run any more for fear of the blowoff. I would ride these down to 28 or 30 psi, but no less. The profile of these tires at 2.1 is more like a 1.9. I have had no problems in wet, mud and frozen conditions, so far. I am much more confident in the fast corners than with the MaxxLites, but that is not saying much. After I cut the MaxxLite, I put a Pair of Specialized Roll-X tires on and what slugs they were! I couldn't believe how slow they rode. From a serious weight weenie who actually rides his light bike, I have to say these tires are outstanding. They do not seem to be wearing out quickly (only 10 or so rides on them). Maybe the hand made element just puts them a notch up. I am getting ready to buy another pair for my spare bike. Fantastic. |
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