The Mountain King is the all-rounder in Continental’s impressive new new tyre royalty. It exhibits excellent grip and speed, and good lifespan balance for most conditions. Like most Contis it's slightly small for a given size, and its price reflects handmade German quality.
Even with a ripstop ‘Protection’ sidewall, weight is very low, which means an extremely responsive character. There’s a slightly ‘growly’ wide-spaced tread, but they’ve got a really nice, lively rolling feel. The wide open tread means excellent bite in mixed conditions.
The new extra-fine carbon granule ‘Black Chili’ compound also adds excellent rock and irregular trail adhesion without the slow, tacky feel of a simpler soft-compound mix. They do come out smaller than most tyres (although not as small as they used to), and the lighter weight means the larger 2.4in carcass is a bit unstable.
Puncture resistance has proved okay so far, and these 2.2-inchers are a good all-round dimension. While the price is high, so is the performance. In short, this all-conditions tyre is fast feeling and grippy. It's worth the price.