I've used the X-King (front) and Race King (rear) combo on my 26". I can say with confidence that the race king is not suitable for a front tire unless for asphalt or pavement riding.


Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk

 

Thanks Shadow4eva. Do you find the combo is a good one in terms of speed and grip?

 

The speed is definitely there, but the grip is lacking, especially if you have loosepack in your trail.


Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk

 

I would second the comment to not use Race King on the front unless you want to learn the art of the unplanned washout. It is an awesome rear tire, however. I use a cross king up front and the washouts immediately stopped.

I had a mud race a year ago and the race king rear surprisingly proved awesome in the mud! It had great grip running the psi a bit lower and shed the mud really well.

 

I would suggest not buying tires for next summer now. The rubber will oxidize and you will lose a noticeable amount of grip before you even get to ride them!

Race Kings have good grip on hard pack, and are perfectly suitable in the front on hard pack. The looser and deeper the dirt gets the more the x-king comes into play.

Both x kings and race kings are very good tires but the rolling resistance penalty of the x king over the race king is minimal. Like 3w. Due to the added versatility of the x king I would recommend just that front and rear in a 2.4. However when you are buying you may be better off with the new 2.3 that came out. I haven’t ridden the new 2.3 yet but it is available.

I have been riding race king and x king in their various incarnations since they came out like 5 years ago.

 

My 64 year old wife can tear up a pair of X-Kings (Snake Skin Black Chili) in about two rides in Utah...in fact, she has. This was last summer. Years before, I had tried them and tore them up as well. Neither of us was able to get in more than a ride or two without losing knobs. If you're riding in loamy conditions, maybe you'll have more luck.
A similar tire is the Rocket Ron, but I've only ridden it in a 27.5x2.6". In the process, I've gotten a dozen PR's this summer and they're still intact. She even managed a Moab trip this summer without damaging them.

 

I've run Race King RaceSport front and rear for a few years now and for summer use they suit my riding style and local trails nicely. I recently switched to Race King ProTection on the rear because I wanted to make the tyre last a whole season without having to keep running at 37 psi, and moved to an X King RaceSport on the front because I gashed a sidewall on the Race King and all my suppliers ran out of stock of that, so X King it was. I'm quite liking the X King - it's got a nice rounded profile, which I like on the front, is only a little heavier than the Race King, and does hook up on the loose stuff better. The rolling resistance figure of the X King isn't as good as the Race King, but this isn't very noticeable when mounted on the front.

I never had any issues with a front-mounted Race King washing out, but I don't mind a bit of drift and the trails round here are mostly flat and firm. Plenty of really loose stuff courtesy of the beach and occasional big storms, but then everything drifts on that and if the Race Kings drift a little more then it's still predictable and controllable. Not much good in the deep mud though, and that point at the end of the season where the bike spits me off unexpectedly is my cue to switch over to winter tyres, which currently is Mountain King 2 on the rear and X King on the front.

 

Thanks for the replies; much appreciated.