Lightweight "British" summer tyres

The secret rider

So the weather seems to be improving now and although the

Conti trail kings (2.2 protection 26") that are on the bike are not that old I would like to try something lighter and less draggy

Mostly trail centre riding Cannock, Gisburn etc with some larger trips to wales planned

I will be running them tubless and would still like them to have good grip when lent over and ideally a good protection to puncture system.

Any recommendations chaps

Clank

The secret rider wrote:

Conti trail kings (2.2 protection 26") that are on the bike are not that old

I'd use these^^

buddy_club

X Kings? I ran them last summer and loved them, fast rolling and in Black Chili ProTection flavour they're grippy and puncture resistant.

Cqc

Trail king Race sport

The secret rider

Clank wrote:

The secret rider wrote:

Conti trail kings (2.2 protection 26") that are on the bike are not that old

I'd use these^^

I like them but for the places I ride now although I am aggressive I just find them too much the grip is amazing but they are heavy also at 790g each so a chance to save considerable weight.

buddy_club wrote:

X Kings? I ran them last summer and loved them, fast rolling and in Black Chili ProTection flavour they're grippy and puncture resistant.

Good shout mate to be fair... I've been looking at these not a bas weight at 570g in the protection versions and super light at race sport 470g. How did you find the grip in the dry and also the wet ? Any feedback really appreciated.

Cqc wrote:

Trail king Race sport

Good shout ... Interested to see if anyone has any experiences of running these and there susceptibility to punctures but they are perfect other than this worry and pending feedback as they are >500g's

buddy_club

The secret rider wrote:

Good shout mate to be fair... I've been looking at these not a bas weight at 570g in the protection versions and super light at race sport 470g. How did you find the grip in the dry and also the wet ? Any feedback really appreciated.

Grip in the dry was excellent, i also rode alot at Cannock and at FoD and alot of natural trails locally last summer and i don't recall ever getting a puncture. Grip in the dry was excellent tbf, especially on dusty trails like Cannock where the ground is very hard. In the wet it was all a bit 'meh' but you could feel the tire begin to give though, and i soon got a feel for how far i could go with them. I was only using the pauper folding versions though, so i can only presume they would be even better in the other varieties.

Dandy Dan 69

Got a x-king on the rear at the moment. Pretty decent.

In the past I've used kenda small block 8s in the summer and really liked them.

russyh

I run spesh butcher up front and purgatory on rear both of the control 2bliss flavour. Just awesome tyre combo across the whole range of condition. I may swap onto something faster rolling on rear in the driest months but would happily stock with that combo year long. Spesh are really really underrated when it comes to tyres

The secret rider

Really useful feedback thank you especially on the racesport x king ...

Can anyone tell me doe they come up wide ? Example the trail kings I run now and there older brothers the rubber queens 2.2 were large volume and blew to close to 2.3 2.4 size does anyone know if the 2.2 is a large volume tyre ? Would not mind a slightly larger up front perhaps ?

njee20

Thunder Burt or Racing Ralph Snakeskin, or one of each.

The secret rider

njee20 wrote:

Thunder Burt or Racing Ralph Snakeskin, or one of each.

RR's seem to be popular

njee20

And are far more capable than most folk give them credit for IMO.

jmillen

I run a pair of Conti Trail King Race Sports (2.2 black chili).

I had 2.2 Barons before which I found to be pretty much bomb proof, but they were quite draggy when climbing (alot of hills where I live). I've found the Trail King Race Sports to be alot lighter feeling, but the side walls are very thin. I ride some very rocky trails so I'm now left feeling paranoid about ripping the side walls, I can already see some big scuffs down the sides of them...

May try some Nobbys or Hans Dampf's next to try and find that fabled "perfect tyre"....problem is it just doesn't exist :evil:

The secret rider

I have to admit I wish I had tried the racesport a before or got these trail kings in racesport versions

There are not even two weeks old

Still they will keep till the winter I guess

The secret rider

Spoke to conti today they advised going for the protection versions for UK riding which kind of makes the weight loss much less significant so now in two minds :-0

miceden

Conti Mountain Kings?

mcnultycop

I've just put some Maxxis Beavers on my HT and had three rides on them. I bought them as they are essentially mud tyres, and the HT is the bike I break out for local muddy rides, but I will keep these on until they wear out. They shed mud for fun, but they have eaten up standard XC type stuff I've used them on, including a steep wet cobble climb all my previous tyres have struggled on. It's been predominantly dry though on the last two rides, and they give me loads if confidence. They are nice and light too. I've got the 2" on front and back.

plasma_man

I have maxxis ignitors on now, check out the reviews, they could be what you are after.

The secret rider

Plasma_man wrote:

I have maxxis ignitors on now, check out the reviews, they could be what you are after.

Thanks I took a lol but at 785g it's too heavy. To similar to the trail kings I currently run.

njee20

The secret rider wrote:

Spoke to conti today they advised going for the protection versions for UK riding which kind of makes the weight loss much less significant so now in two minds :-0

Light tyres (of any ilk) are less durable. The Race Sports will be fine, but will wear quicker and you'll get more punctures. As long as you know and accept this you'll be fine. I used to use Explorer and Speed King Supersonics (the predecessor to the Race Sport variant) and found durability and protection absolutely fine. Now use Schwalbe tyres and find the same frankly, yeah they show signs of wear quicker than some, but they're not that bad.

The secret rider

njee20 wrote:

The secret rider wrote:

Spoke to conti today they advised going for the protection versions for UK riding which kind of makes the weight loss much less significant so now in two minds :-0

Light tyres (of any ilk) are less durable. The Race Sports will be fine, but will wear quicker and you'll get more punctures. As long as you know and accept this you'll be fine. I used to use Explorer and Speed King Supersonics (the predecessor to the Race Sport variant) and found durability and protection absolutely fine. Now use Schwalbe tyres and find the same frankly, yeah they show signs of wear quicker than some, but they're not that bad.

Thanks for the feedback mate always nice to hear from someone who has run these tyres.

njee20

FWIW I've got Rocket Rons on my Superfly, I've done 339 miles on it, according to Veloviewer, 90% off road, and the rear is showing very slight signs of wear, front is perfect.