Confusing Tyre Discovery

XTC2009
XTC2009 Posts: 115
edited June 2012 in MTB general
Recently I got a set of Conti Mountain King MKII's in ProTection form and fitted them to my bike hoping to get out ti Cannock Chase and train for a Marathon later on in the year. The trip to the trails never happened in the end so I've been blasting around my local lanes on them to train instead.

Now in a few weeks I'm doing a 50 mile charity road ride and as my plans for a road bike have also fallen through I've stuck the slicks back on the MTB - Conti Sport Contacts. The thing is they just don't feel right. They actually seem sliwer than the MK's! This has left me ever so slightly confused. Is it because the Sport Contact's don't have Black Chilli?
Wobbly Cyclist

Comments

  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    How much pressure is in the slicks?

    Are they actually slower (GPS, bike computer?), or do they just feel slower?
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    feel or are?

    get a computer on it and check.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • YeehaaMcgee
    YeehaaMcgee Posts: 5,740
    Mountain King 2s are a very fast rolling tyre on tarmac, and I barely notice any more drag with them than with Halo Twinrails.
    However, they will wear out in no time, same as all nobbly tyres do, on the black stuff - so I use the twinrails for commuting, and keep the MKIIs for dirt.
    My photos
  • XTC2009
    XTC2009 Posts: 115
    My GPS app tracks me as 2 minutes faster on my regular short ride, and ten minutes faster on a longer ride I do (which does include a short stretch of loose gravelly tow path).

    I run the MK's at 60psi on the road, and the Sport Contact's at 80psi. I've not noticed any significant wear on the MK's, but obviously I didn't buy them for riding my local lanes and at that price I don't want to ruin them.

    Fact is, the bike feels alive with the MK's and I have the confidence to really push them into the corners on the tarmac, whereas the Sport Contact's which theoretically have more grip for the road just ruin the handling and make the steering feel nervous in comparison.

    So maybe it's a confidence thing, and not so much the tyres themselves.
    Wobbly Cyclist

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