Conti Black Chili - Actually any good?

bails87

As per the title....

Is Continental's Black Chili compound any better/different to their (or other brands) usual rubber?

I'm after a tyre that doesn't break away so suddenly for the front of my 456C. Currently got a 2.25" Nobby Nic, in the old Triple Nano flavour and I'm tempted by the Black Chili Rubber Queen in a 2.2".

Is the Black Chili, or the Rubber Queen as a whole going to be any better than the Nic? Or what about Schwalbe's new TripleStar tyres, something like a Hans Dampf or Fat Albert* on the front and leave the Nic on the back? Is the TripleStar essentially doing a similar job to the Black Chili, by trying to have a hard wearing layer matched with a grippy layer/section? Or how about a Triple Star Nic? Has anyone changed from the old to new Nics and noticed a significant difference?

Ta very muchly!

*Tartiness means that I could mix and match models within the same brand of tyre between the front and back, but couldn't have different brands on the front and back.

benpinnick

I have Evo Triple Nics which I find quite scary due to their lack of grip, vs. Hans Dampf in Trail star which are far better (but heavier). I would probably go MKII 2.4 in Racesport if I were doing it all again. Very similar pattern to the NNs but I prefer the Black Chilli as it grips better in all conditions IMHO.

lawman

some where on one of the german sites, I found Jared Graves signature 4cross nobby nic, super sticky shoulder compound, which apparently is way softer than the trailstar compound, but still has fast rolling centre the nic is known for. Will be getting one in a few weeks probably, ready for the summer, but it seems like the perfect tyre for me atleast, and we ride pretty similar stuff Not noticed a huge difference in grip terms between old and new nobby's, only complaint I have is I have to run higher pressures to stop them folding over as I'm running them tubeless.

bails87

Lawman: just found those, http://www.bike24.com/p225409.html at €40.90 they're not cheap, but not mad money.

I'm just not sure I'd trust them, even with the softer shoulders. And that's the annoying thing, even if they don't actually 'go', I'm wary of them, so don't quite enjoy my riding as much.

kenan

I'v got the 2.2 Rubber queen on the front of my C456. Not found it laking in grip and seems to roll well. Is about the same size as a 2.4 Nobby Nic, its quiet a tall tyre.

Tried the C456 with a spare pair on single ply Minions and didn't find much more grip but the drag, didn't think it would be that bad.

lawman

Could always try hans dampfs, they seem to get good reviews, I like how the nics ride personally as you know, they do seem inconsistent, at whinlatter they were very, very good, but other times they don't seem great, but as an all-ronder they are a good tyre, hopefully the 4cross's are even better

Stevo_666

Bails,

The RQ Black Chilli 2.2's (UST) are standard issue on my Spicy and are pretty good all rounders; no problems with sudden letting go and they are quite grippy and predictable. Also seem to take a beating pretty well (done FoD and Cwmcarn no problem). I've got no idea how good they are compared to the non-chilli stuff as I haven't tried any of those. As mentioned they do come up big but you should be OK unless you're going for a 2.4.

I have the NN 2.1's on my other bike, so I don't have not a direct/like for like comparison but overall I think the RQ's are a bit grippier. Though like I said a while back I've not had a problem with sudden breakaway (as I did on a pair of Racing Ralphs a while back). Think somebody said that the newer NN's are improved in that respect?

Northwind

Black Chili's very good- not good enough to make the older Contis competitive but it works really well with the new ones. The Baron's a fantastic tyre in chili, and a pretty ordinary tyre without, frinstance. Rubber queen is just about competitive with chili. It's a great compound.

But the trouble is, Conti seem to need the expensive rubber to get the same results that Maxxis, Kenda and Specialized can get with cheaper construction. My stick-e Nevegal 2.35s are a little slower but a ****-ton grippier than a 2.4 Rubber Queen, almost as big, 2/3ds the weight and half the price, frinstance.

bails87

Well after all that praise for the Black Chili....

I went for the Hans Dampf pair from bike-discount.de

Works out at under £30 per tyre, vs £46 each from nextdaytyres.

lawman

bails87 wrote:

Well after all that praise for the Black Chili....

I went for the Hans Dampf pair from bike-discount.de

Works out at under £30 per tyre, vs £46 each from nextdaytyres.

let me know what you think mark, been looking at those again, they look alright might have to steal the 456 for a spin sometime :P

bails87

No worries. Just as long as you unseize the pedals on the mojo so we can swap!

lawman

I'll try, one thing about nano techs is they take an allen key, rather than a pedal spanner, bit of pain, plus its at home