When it comes to tyres there is so much choice out there that it can be really tricky to pick a pair. Finding a winning combination is extremely hard, especially if you ride on a range of terrain.
When it comes to Continental mountain bike tyres I’ve found that its Black Chili or bust. Without this compound, the tyres are weak, the sidewalls are flimsy and they’ll fold over just when you need them most. Pay the extra, you won’t regret it.
Continental Rubber Queen Black Chili
To the tire itself, the Rubber Queen (now known as the Trail King) is a stunning tire. It holds well in the corners and has plenty of straight line grip for braking. I’ve used this tire throughout the summer and now into the start of the winter months, this has allowed me to try it out on hardpack, dusty surfaces and, of course, in the mud.
According to Continental themselves, the Rubber Queen is designed for everything from hardpack to loose, but they don’t list it for a mud tire. Over the last few months I’ve been using this tire on nearly every ride and the only places I can honestly say I’ve lost any traction is on wet rocks and roots – which, I’ve yet to see a tire master.
I had a few breaking in issues to start, as I was used to running a much lower pressure in my old tyres. This resulted in several snakebite punctures which was rather annoying, however simply setting a higher pressure stopped this. I also found that the higher pressure made it much firmer and more responsive in the corners as well has having good straight line speed.
Overall
If you need a decent tire that works well across a wide range of terrains, doesn’t slow you down too much on the straights and can hold its own in the corners then definitely check out the Rubber Queen/ Trail King. I’m not 100% convinced its going to be the best tire in muddy Wales over the winter but time will tell and I’ll be sure to let you know!
