This a really great mid-end tire. The rolling is very fast with a great amount of cornering traction. For thirty dollars, this is about as good as it gets in this price range.
im not sure if some of the other reviewers had the "Protektion" models? If they did then they must have been riding over razor sharp rocks. This is a great tire, lots of grip and low rolling resistance. X-Kings grip like a mud tire but roll like a slick. I have a mountain king in the front, recommended this set up by my lbs so happy I listened to him. The store told me if I get a sidewall puncture, rip,tear whatever they will replace it at no cost to me. That showed me there confidence in these tires.
Pros Sidewall "Protektion"
Grippy
Low rolling resistance
I love this tire it is fast yet still has substantial grip with the Black Chili compound. I replaced a S-Works Fast Track with this for very little weight penalty, little to no rolling resistance impact, yet substantially more grip. Would have given 5 stars if they would have measured correctly, performance wise they are a 5 star performer.
Pros Light, Rolls Fast, tons of grip for XC style tire, clears mid well for an XC tire
Cons A little more difficult to set tubeless, as others have said a 2.2 actually measures closer to 2.0
Can be good as a xc racing tire. Otherwise, for normal use for trail riding-- I really can't recommend it. Before we set up this tire tubeless it got a lot of flats and this is from normal use on the trail. Granted that we have a lot of goat heads in the CO front range, it's still not a reason to be going thru tubes and patching them on a weekly basis! Got so annoyed just set it up tubeless. Works fine now but we had to replace it within 1 season of riding. It wears out so quickly and with the money you spend to get it it just does not seem like a good deal. Buy it if you need a nice and light race tire-otherwise-avoid it!
Pros Light & fast.
Cons Wears out quickly, gets punctures sooo easily with small goatheads, expensive.
If you live in the desert avoid this tire and other Continentals. Desert single track and slick rock seem to take a toll on Continental tires. I have tried a few different varieties besides the X-King, including the Mountain King and Race King. All seem to wear out faster than other brands with two of my Continentals having catastrophic failures. On both of those the knobs simply ripped off leaving a gaping hole that no amount of tire sealant will fill. Continentals may work well in other environments, but not here in the desert. I have switched to Schwalbe tires and have had favorable results thus far.
Pros Easy to mount up tubeless
Cons In desert environments they do not hold up well.
I like the tire as I have not used tons of tires I've gone through 2 of these in a month. Both due to side wall slashes. Maybe it's the gnarly trails with their sharp rocks.
Pros Fast spinning tire
Looks good
Cons Got a side wall slash first time out with them
I don't like how they feel on wet or sharp turns"put a mountain king on the front"
Great, fast rolling tire for the price. Go with the 2.4 over the 2.2.
Pros
Fast rolling, great sidewall protection, fair price point.
Cons
| ThankNothing so far, 130 miles on the tire with no issues.
Great tire for trails with little to no roots, rocks or drops. Good on intermediate to easy trails.ProsPriceConsShort tread life
| ThankWeak sidewalls
This a really great mid-end tire. The rolling is very fast with a great amount of cornering traction. For thirty dollars, this is about as good as it gets in this price range.
| Thankim not sure if some of the other reviewers had the "Protektion" models? If they did then they must have been riding over razor sharp rocks. This is a great tire, lots of grip and low rolling resistance. X-Kings grip like a mud tire but roll like a slick. I have a mountain king in the front, recommended this set up by my lbs so happy I listened to him. The store told me if I get a sidewall puncture, rip,tear whatever they will replace it at no cost to me. That showed me there confidence in these tires.
Pros
Sidewall "Protektion"
Grippy
Low rolling resistance
Cons
| ThankPrice$
I love this tire it is fast yet still has substantial grip with the Black Chili compound. I replaced a S-Works Fast Track with this for very little weight penalty, little to no rolling resistance impact, yet substantially more grip. Would have given 5 stars if they would have measured correctly, performance wise they are a 5 star performer.
Pros
Light, Rolls Fast, tons of grip for XC style tire, clears mid well for an XC tire
Cons
| ThankA little more difficult to set tubeless, as others have said a 2.2 actually measures closer to 2.0
If your looking for a 2.2 diameter tire, get the 2.4. The 2.4 is close to a 2.2 Ardent. Other than the size running small, I have no complaints.
Pros
Mounts up tubeless easily. I used a floor pump and was able to seat the bead. Good traction
Cons
| ThankRuns small. The 2.4 is more like a 2.2.
Can be good as a xc racing tire. Otherwise, for normal use for trail riding-- I really can't recommend it. Before we set up this tire tubeless it got a lot of flats and this is from normal use on the trail. Granted that we have a lot of goat heads in the CO front range, it's still not a reason to be going thru tubes and patching them on a weekly basis! Got so annoyed just set it up tubeless. Works fine now but we had to replace it within 1 season of riding. It wears out so quickly and with the money you spend to get it it just does not seem like a good deal. Buy it if you need a nice and light race tire-otherwise-avoid it!
Pros
Light & fast.
Cons
| ThankWears out quickly, gets punctures sooo easily with small goatheads, expensive.
If you live in the desert avoid this tire and other Continentals. Desert single track and slick rock seem to take a toll on Continental tires. I have tried a few different varieties besides the X-King, including the Mountain King and Race King. All seem to wear out faster than other brands with two of my Continentals having catastrophic failures. On both of those the knobs simply ripped off leaving a gaping hole that no amount of tire sealant will fill. Continentals may work well in other environments, but not here in the desert. I have switched to Schwalbe tires and have had favorable results thus far.
Pros
Easy to mount up tubeless
Cons
| ThankIn desert environments they do not hold up well.
Prosdurable as can be, look cool, grippy, fairly lightConsneed to be more like 2.35 instead of 2.2...otherwise, good stuff
| ThankI like the tire as I have not used tons of tires I've gone through 2 of these in a month. Both due to side wall slashes. Maybe it's the gnarly trails with their sharp rocks.
Pros
Fast spinning tire
Looks good
Cons
| ThankGot a side wall slash first time out with them
I don't like how they feel on wet or sharp turns"put a mountain king on the front"