The X-King (pronounced “cross king”) tire spans the gap between Continental’s ultra-light Race King and their more aggressively knobbed Mountain King. The tire is designed for the needs of aggressive trail riding, but is still light enough to roll reasonably fast under race conditions.

Tech features: The X-King is available in a 26-inch version with a 2.0-, 2.2- or 2.4-inch casing. It's also available in a 29-inch version with a 2.2-inch casing. We tested the 26 by 2.4 Protection tire, which sports a four-ply construction, Black Chili rubber compound, and a UST-type tubeless-ready bead. One tire weighs 1.4 pounds and retails for $64.99. Continental USA can be contacted at (877) 395-8088.

Field test results: The X-King mounted on our Shimano XT test wheelset easily without a tire lever. The version we chose is tubeless ready, which can be run with or without tubes. We elected to run the first portion of the test with tubes. When inflated, the tire has a relatively round profile with consistent small knobs across the width of the casing. The tread and weight of the X-King give it a quick feel on the trail. Climbing is a strong suit for these tires, as they feel snappy with very low rolling resistance for a tire of this volume. The high volume of these tires gives them a supple ride. The center knobs, which assist with acceleration and climbing, also provide exceptional braking performance in all but the loosest of terrain. The side knobs are predictable when leaning into corners and provide fantastic traction on the hardpack, loose-over-hardpack and loamy conditions we tested them in. We ran them as front and rear tires during the test and loved the quick feel. Some riders may prefer to run this tire as a rear with a knobbier front, such as the Mountain King, if they ride mostly loose conditions.
OK, this tire sounds pretty perfect according to this test so far, right? Well, unfortunately, this isn’t a tire you can just pump up, forget about and go ride. Too little pressure and the lightweight sidewalls can squirm under hard cornering; too much pressure and they won’t even stick well to blacktop in 100-degree SoCal sun. So what’s the verdict? These are fantastic tires that perform perfect when set up well. Just be sure to use your pressure gauge before you ride them. We found the ideal pressure with tubes to be between 26 and 34 psi, depending on rider weight and trail conditions, but it may take a few rides to find your sweet spot.
We also tried running this tire on UST rims with sealant and no tubes. We were impressed when the bead snapped in with a floor pump and without the use of a compressor. We found that dropping the pressure to gain extra traction could cause the lightweight sidewall to squirm more. However, the small weight savings from going sans tubes made them feel even faster, and the ride quality became slightly more supple. Whether you will prefer to run these tubeless will depend greatly on rider weight, terrain, and rider style.

Reprinted from the September 2011 issue. Like us on Facebook