Given that there doesn't seem to be too much info out there on the newer Conti DH tires, I thought I'd throw up a brief review of the Rain Kings that I got recently.
I went from Minion DHF 3Cs to a Specialized Chunder SX out back and a Clutch SX up front. After moving up to Seattle from the SF Bay area for school, I found that the Specialized tires were packing up a bit easily. Once they were worn enough to justify replacing, I used an Amazon giftcard I had sitting around to buy a set of Rain Kings.
The tires were a breeze to mount up on 721s and initial impressions of the quality are very good. They just seems really well made and solid.The tire is light for the size and apparent thickness of the casing, which I'm assuming is due to a high thread count. They're a high volume tire with a pretty open tread design, but I don't know that I'd use them as a mud tire for sloppy conditions. The tire simply wouldn't measure up to a Wet Scream or something similar for the really nasty stuff.
The riding I've been doing since getting the tire hasn't been particularly crazy, but it has given me a decent idea of what the tire is capable of. The open tread doesn't roll fast despite the ramped front edge of the center knobs, but it clears incredibly well. The mold release that Conti uses is a little slick, and I was a little concerned as I was pedaling to the trailhead as the tire was slipping around a bit excessively on roots. Once I got moving, the benefits of the tire really started to show. The compound is insanely soft, and I've never ridden a tire that sticks to roots and slick rocks like this thing does. I took it easy at first, but I was hitting wet corners harder than I ever have after a few runs. The constant grip instills confidence in all situations, and no matter how gooey the mud got I couldn't get the tire to pack up. It doesn't dig in like a true mud tread would, but for Washington riding and wet rather than truly muddy conditions, it seems perfect so far. Hardpack is a little rough because of the slower rolling nature of the tread, but on everything from intermediate to wet I haven't been able to find fault in the tire yet. I've had a few sharp rocks and trail debris bounce off the sidewall with no noticeable damage, and the tread is wearing much better than my Minion 3Cs did.
If you can justify the price (which is really not that much more than Maxxis anymore), these tires are rad. I'm thinking I might try the Kaiser once things start drying out more.
I went from Minion DHF 3Cs to a Specialized Chunder SX out back and a Clutch SX up front. After moving up to Seattle from the SF Bay area for school, I found that the Specialized tires were packing up a bit easily. Once they were worn enough to justify replacing, I used an Amazon giftcard I had sitting around to buy a set of Rain Kings.
The tires were a breeze to mount up on 721s and initial impressions of the quality are very good. They just seems really well made and solid.The tire is light for the size and apparent thickness of the casing, which I'm assuming is due to a high thread count. They're a high volume tire with a pretty open tread design, but I don't know that I'd use them as a mud tire for sloppy conditions. The tire simply wouldn't measure up to a Wet Scream or something similar for the really nasty stuff.
The riding I've been doing since getting the tire hasn't been particularly crazy, but it has given me a decent idea of what the tire is capable of. The open tread doesn't roll fast despite the ramped front edge of the center knobs, but it clears incredibly well. The mold release that Conti uses is a little slick, and I was a little concerned as I was pedaling to the trailhead as the tire was slipping around a bit excessively on roots. Once I got moving, the benefits of the tire really started to show. The compound is insanely soft, and I've never ridden a tire that sticks to roots and slick rocks like this thing does. I took it easy at first, but I was hitting wet corners harder than I ever have after a few runs. The constant grip instills confidence in all situations, and no matter how gooey the mud got I couldn't get the tire to pack up. It doesn't dig in like a true mud tread would, but for Washington riding and wet rather than truly muddy conditions, it seems perfect so far. Hardpack is a little rough because of the slower rolling nature of the tread, but on everything from intermediate to wet I haven't been able to find fault in the tire yet. I've had a few sharp rocks and trail debris bounce off the sidewall with no noticeable damage, and the tread is wearing much better than my Minion 3Cs did.
If you can justify the price (which is really not that much more than Maxxis anymore), these tires are rad. I'm thinking I might try the Kaiser once things start drying out more.
