If you regularly ride trails on a 4-5" travel bike, you know tire selection and set-up can truly determine how aggressively and successfully you ride in various conditions. The Mountain King ProTection Tire from Continental has both the guts and manners to handle most trail riding situations. Think: a little more civilized than the Trail King, but more versatile than the Race King. More speed, but better control. What makes the Mountain King such a great tire is the complementary nature of its design and technologies. This is the nexus of expertise for Continental. Rubber compound meets protective casing, meets tread development.

Continental's BlackChili compound ensures that the Mountain King has exceptionally low rolling resistance, yet offers phenomenal grip in wet or dry circumstances. With proprietary synthetic and natural rubber compounds, the secret to the properties of BlackChili comes from special nanometric carbon soot particles, which are optimized in shape and surface properties for each tire it is used in. When matching this specific compound with the all-round 3-ply ProTection casing, a puncture protection layer that is durable, yet light and supple enough to keep the tire weight manageable, Continental delivers an exceptional performance tire. The patterned ProTection sidewall design gives away the casing, but that protection runs throughout the tire, not just the sidewalls. ProTection level tires now all feature the Revolution Tubeless Ready Bead, which makes tubeless set-up quick and easy, and having the ability to run the open tread pattern tubeless at slightly lower pressures, along with the BlackChili grip is what allows the Mountain King II to be so effective in so many conditions.

The self-cleaning, open tread design is aggressive enough to give outstanding grip all around, as well as under braking, but also roll very fast. A center diamond pattern of alternating two-tight, two gapped, blocks keep the speed up, but allows for fast clearance and maximum traction in loose stuff or needed room for roots and rocks. The outer knobs frame the center combinations; with straight knobs on the two-tight combo, and angled knobs on the two-gap combo. This configuration gives you great confidence while cornering, even on loose stuff over hardpack. While not a terrific mud tire, the Mountain King can certainly handle it because it self cleans easily and allows the tread knobs to do the job. On virtually any other surface, it can be exceptional depending on your riding style and pressure preferences.