Continental CycloXKing Cyclocross Tyres

by John · 25/10/2013

Continental CycloXKing Cross Tyres

25th October 2013

In a similar way to other manufacturers, Continental are waking up to the boom in cyclocross and want a slice of the action. Rather than reinvent the wheel, they have taken the most successful of their mountain bike treads and reapplied them to cross tyres. First up we have a pair of their Continental CycloXKing cyclocross tyres in for review.

Continental CycloXKing

This particular set are the RS (Racesport) version which are the racer’s choice, coming in at that all important UCI legal 32mm. They do make wider options for recreational and training use, which may be appropriate as Continental bill the CycloXKing as ‘a fast all-rounder’.

CycloXKing has Conti’s famous Black Chilli compound

The RS version is handmade in Germany and uses their fabled Black Chili compound. The tyre’s casing has an interesting construction with a higher 180 TPI (threads per inch) count of in the middle of the tyre, directly under the tread to make it more supple for smooth rolling, and then a lower 120 TPI count in the sidewalls for added strength, protection and stiffness.

CycloXKing has tighter packed knobs than Mountain King

Taken from their MTB XC tyres, the CycloXKing tread pattern is supposedly ‘studded enough to work well in muddy conditions, yet roll like a semi slick in a straight line’. It has tall lugs made from the Black Chili soft compound to provide cornering grip no matter what the conditions are.

CycloXKing Tread

The Black Chili rubber compound apparently also helps when the tyre deforms under impact, by absorbing some of the shock and propelling the bike forward. Continental claim that it is ‘fast, grippy and it lasts as long as a harder compound tyre, giving you great value for money’. Gauntlet thrown down to our test team there then.