MTB Tire Test: Continental Speed King II RaceSport

The Continental Speed King II RaceSport 29 x 2.2 is Continentals fastest mountain bike tire. Although the Speed King II is a newer version of the original Speed King, it's an entirely different tire, and the only thing they have in common is the name. While the original Speed King did have some decent knobs, the Speed King II is pretty much a semi-slick with a knob height of 0.5 mm at the center of the tire and 1.5 mm at the edge of the tire.

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While most other Continental mountain bike tires are available as Protection, RaceSport, Performance, and Sport versions, the Speed King is only available as a RaceSport version. The RaceSport versions are the fastest and lightest tires produced by Continental. The RaceSport version comes with an 180 TPI casing, Black Chili Compound and is handmade in Germany. Being only available as a RaceSport version further indicates this tire is designed with only one thing in mind: Speed.

I wouldn't dare use this tire as a front tire but would consider it as a rear tire in dry conditions. It could also be a good fit when riding over very soft sand or as an asphalt tire. If you're expecting even a single drop of rain, grab something else. This is the first semi-slick mountain bike tire I'm testing so this should give some interesting data about how much big knobs slow you down.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Continental
Model	Speed King II RaceSport
Year	2015
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	0100933
TPI	3/180
Compound	Black Chili
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	55-622
Size Inch	29"
Width Inch	2.20
Specified Weight	465 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	65
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	29x2.20 27.5x2.20 26x2.20

Continental Speed King II RaceSport Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	465 grams
Measured Weight	467 grams
Measured Width Carcass	54 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	49 mm
Measured Height	53 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	0.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	1.5 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	1.7 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 35 psi / 2.4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

I've measured this sample of the Speed King 29 x 2.2 at 467 grams while the specified weight by Continental is 465 grams. Width and height of the casing are 54 and 53 mm respectively. As noted previously, "knob" height at the center of the tire is 0.5 mm, which is virtually non-existent. The small knobs at the edge of the tire have a height of 1.5 mm.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	Conti MTB 29 (225 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance 55 PSI / 3.8 Bar	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 45 PSI / 3.1 Bar	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 35 PSI / 2.4 Bar	16.6 Watts CRR: 0.00498
Rolling Resistance 25 PSI / 1.7 Bar	19.1 Watts CRR: 0.00573
All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Yes! Rolling resistance is very very low. Much lower than all other mountain bike tires tested to date. At an air pressure of 25 psi, rolling resistance is 19.1 watts. This is 3.2 watts less than the Schwalbe Thunder Burt (read review) which was the previous record holder. Compared to the Continental Race King (read review), rolling resistance is 3.3 watts lower. At higher pressures, the advantage increases to 3.5 - 4.0 watts. This tire will fly on asphalt.

What's interesting is that if you use the Speed King in a tubeless configuration (read tubeless comparison), rolling resistance at 55 psi will be close to 12.0 watts. 12.0 watts means it would have less rolling resistance than a Continental Grand Prix 4000S II road bike tire (read review) at 120 psi.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	29 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	7 Points
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness	1.7 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

In the puncture resistance test, the Speed King scores an average score of 7 points. This is just as good (or bad) as the Race King and slightly worse than the Thunder Burt.

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	No Data
Wet Grip Center	No Data
Wet Grip Edge	No Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	1.5 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 MTB grip test rim width = 30.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

I can't conclude anything else than that the Continental Speed King II is a very very fast semi-slick mountain bike tire. Of course, it doesn't give you a lot of grip, but if the conditions suit this tire, you should be flying. It might be best to use the Speed King as a rear tire with a Race King (read review) or X-King (or any other tire) on the front, but this should be totally dependent on the conditions.

Highly recommended as a dry weather rear tire or maybe even as a front tire if conditions allow. I'm almost 100% certain you won't find a faster mountain bike sized tire anywhere. If you think otherwise, please let me know.

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RATING: 5.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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