Continental Trials Specific Range.

[Mark W]

These are braaaand new - the new Trial Queen and Trial King from Continental.

The Trial Queen is created using the same carcass of the Rubber Queen 2.2", with the Apex inserts of the 2.4" version, with the compound of the Der Kaiser/Rain Kings. It's essentially a hybrid of those three, taking all the best aspects of them to create one of the best tyres available. Weight: 848g

The Trial King is created using the carcass of the Mountain King 2.2", again with the Apex inserts and again also using the Der Kaiser/Rain King compound. Weight: 648g

Compound feels awesome on these tyres - they almost feel sticky to the touch!

[cai]

The Trial Queen sounds awsome. I've been trying to decide between a Rain King or a Der Kaiser for a while now, guess I'll be getting this

How thick are the sidewalls, are the comparable to the RK/DK or the RQ?

Also whats the expected price going to be, under £60?

EDIT: Checked on Tarty - £45, sweet!

Edited July 16, 2010 by cai

[ben_travis]

but the rubber queen has AWFUL puncture protection.

i still think i would take a der kaiser over that!!! still looks oreet though.

who tested it? anyone at TB?

[casualjoe]

Yay, they're finally here Great to see Continental recognising trials and its particular needs.

[Alex Dark]

big respect to Conti

[Matt Vandart]

LOL this ALLWAYS happens, I just put a RK on the back and a MK supersonic on the front of mine

It's like someone is waiting for me to buy stuff then bringing out better stuff.

Have to say the RK is proper Bo though, nay punctures today on the rocks I regularly get punctures on with a Maxis.

Tell us more of these 'Apex inserts'

Edited July 16, 2010 by Matt Vandart

[3dd]

So the side walls are still thin but are alot stiffer?

[Krisboats]

Tell us more of these 'Apex inserts'

It's basically a pinch protection function, though if you would like a much better and much cooler description look here...

I was lucky enough to be invited to take a tour of the Continental tyre factory in the small town of Korbach, which is bang in the centre of Germany, about 20 minutes from the Willengen World Cup DH course. When I say that the Continental factory is in the town of Korbach, it more or less is the town of Korbach.

A massive operation housing all of the bicycle tyre operation, along with some of the company’s motorcycle and auto production. There are an amazing 6000 bike tyres per day produced here.

Continental tyres have been rolling out of here since 1907

A simplified version of how I thought a tyre is produced was basically, weave a casing, then injection-mould some rubber onto it. How wrong could I be?

The first stage is stretching of the pre-woven casing, this takes place through a 20m long machine that would look more at home in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, this is then rubberised by having rubber mechanically pushed into the fabric. The raw casing is then cut into strips at a specific 45deg angle to obtain the correct casing strength.

Massive sheets of tyre casing ready for cutting to size

The pre-cut casing then goes through a hand operated process where it is joined into a single hoop through heat and then pressure rolling. The casing is then wrapped around the bead which produces a two-ply side wall and three-ply centre.

A ‘breaker’ is then applied. This is basically an extra protective strip under the tread for puncture and cut resistance, and is either made from nylon or Vectran material, which is the same stuff car air bags are made from. Following this the rubber strip which will later form the tread is applied, along with an additional strip of protective fabric at the bead, to stop damage from the wheel rim.

Blank rubber tread being applied by hand to the casing

The blank, unshaped hoops are then placed into a steam press for up to 5 minutes where the high pressure and heat of the steam forces the tyre outwards into a mould to form the tyre shape and tread. The excess material is forced out through tiny holes in the mould, and that is what the tiny rubber ‘hairs’ are on your new tyres.

Before and after the steam moulding process.

Banks of pressure moulding machines and a very German dude

The production process takes place over three floors of the factory, and although machines are used, it is by no way an automated process, with German hands involved in the entire construction of every tyre.

This was an eye opener, and an education into why a tyre costs you £30+. When you buy a ‘Handmade In Germany’ Continental tyre, it is that intricate and exacting process in its construction which is costing the money.

Look out for a test in MBUK very soon on the new and very exciting, if slightly dubiously named, Rubber Queen tyre. This is aimed squarely as a tyre for the modern All Mountain rider, with a large volume casing and tacky compound, reasonable weight, low rolling resistance, durable wear characteristics and great puncture protection. Big claims indeed.

Here’s a sneak preview of the tyre, featuring Apex sidewalls with a special pinch resisting and supporting inter-casing rubber insert, a completely new tread pattern and Continentals new Black Chilli rubber compound.

Black Queen sees a tread pattern departure for Continental

Apex protection sandwiched in the casing

http://www.bikeradar.com/blogs/article/-opening-up-the-world-of-tyre-production-14595

[Matt Burrows]

Wow, didn't expect these! They sound spot on, nice one Conti . May have to start counting the pennies

How thick are the sidewalls, are the comparable to the RK/DK or the RQ?

It will be the same thickness as the RQ 2.4", but hopefully will be a bit more stable due to the smaller carcass.

Tell us more of these 'Apex inserts'

If your RQ is a 2.4" then it already will have the apex inserts

[cai]

The excess material is forced out through tiny holes in the mould, and that is what the tiny rubber ‘hairs’ are on your new tyres.

Ah, i've always wondered why those hairs were there!

[casualjoe]

I assume it says Trial King and Trial Queen on the sides of the tyres?

[monolithical]

It's basically a pinch protection function, though if you would like a much better and much cooler description look here...

http://www.bikeradar.com/blogs/article/-opening-up-the-world-of-tyre-production-14595

Wow, i'd never known how tyres were made. Thanks for sharing that. The new tyres look ace!

[Rusevelt]

Not really a fan of either tread pattern as i figured the TrialQueen, would have the epic RainKing tread pattern, and the TrialKing would have the RubberQueen tread pattern. Other than that, both tyres should perform well.

[Mark W]

I assume it says Trial King and Trial Queen on the sides of the tyres?

No. I think Adam said that these are sort of a 'feeler' batch to see if there's much demand, so if there is the 'full' batch might have them.

Adam has a pair of these on his Hydroxx and when we rode the rocks at Blackburn yesterday they seemed pretty awesome. He had single ply Maxxis f+r before and these looked noticeably grippier. Was comedy seeing him ride the rocks with little loose gravel at the base 'cos the gravel just sticks to these tyres and then flicks off - pretty much took half of Blackburn with him...

[casualjoe]

So, do they have Rubber Queen and Mountain King on the sides then?

[Mark W]

No.

[Duncy H]

Without wanting to sound stupid, i guess the trial queen is more ideal for the rear due to its bigger size/volume? I may well order one if that is the case then due to me destroying my perfectly good high roller at bracken rocks today

Edit: just re-read it on tarty to notice that it is

Edited July 18, 2010 by Duncy H

[AdamR28]

Cross-posting from OTN where a few people were asking for first impressions:

Here's some photos for you... indoor cos it's weeing it down!

And for a comparison with a Try-All Stiky Lite 19" (which is the same compound as a Maxxis Super Tacky 42a, which also measure the same as the Try-All on our gauge):

First ride impressions:

Grip - easily as good as my Maxxis and definitely better than 2.4" Rubber Queen, but the release agent is still wearing off the tyres so it will improve in a couple of rides as usual. The compound is super soft (see above), you can 'smear' it all over the place and it will return to shape like some kind of slow gunge, crazy stuff. Will update on the wear (although should be good like the Rain King and Kaiser) and grip after more riding...

Stability - The rear is definitely more stable than a 2.4" Rubber Queen, and more stable than the 2.5" Maxxis Hi Roller Single Ply I had on before. The Apex insert is deeper (goes further up the sidewall of the tyre) and thicker/stiffer than the 2.4 RQ, it's kinda like a 50-60% thickness version of the sidewall insert in the Rain King and Der Kaiser. The overall tyre size is a bit smaller than the 2.4" RQ which seems to help with stability too. Landed a few gaps down onto angled pointy rocky things and expected the tyre to squirm over then 'ping' back but it didn't, which was suprising.

The front carcass is identical to a 2.2 Mountain King, except with a thicker sidewall. The insert on the front isn't quite as thick as the rear, maybe 75% the thickness/stiffness. I found that if you push the tyre pretty hard into stuff, it doesn't 'pop' and 'spring' back in an uncontrollable way like a super light tyre does. The extra damping can help to improve grip in certain situations I think, but as with anything you can learn to use it's strengths to your advantage.

Puncture resistance - I don't puncture all that often (apart from the front - ask Mark ) and didn't hit the rear rim at all on Saturday's ride, but I'm confident the puncture resistance will be better than a 2.4" RQ, simply because the sidewall is stiffer and thicker. It definitely won't be quite as good as a Kaiser/Rain King though!

I think that's about it really... any questions just shout. We sent out some of these today so hopefully there may be another review popping up soon

Adam

[modifiedridah2k9]

No. I think Adam said that these are sort of a 'feeler' batch to see if there's much demand, so if there is the 'full' batch might have them.

Adam has a pair of these on his Hydroxx and when we rode the rocks at Blackburn yesterday they seemed pretty awesome. He had single ply Maxxis f+r before and these looked noticeably grippier. Was comedy seeing him ride the rocks with little loose gravel at the base 'cos the gravel just sticks to these tyres and then flicks off - pretty much took half of Blackburn with him...

I thought a hydroxx was a mod...?

[Revolver]

It's both.

[3dd]

Although the real trials tyre in my opinion only would be rain king but 80% lighter. Just make it 1Kg. I know they claim it to be around 1kg, bloody liers! I know it's hard to make every single tyre exactly the same when it's hand made, but 100-200g is a lot of difference for a tyre! Something like that would be better than new Try-all range protection and grip wise. Got to love the black chilli compound

Actualy mine RK is about 1.09 after 3 months of use.

Edited July 19, 2010 by 3dd

[Mark W]

I thought a hydroxx was a mod...?

As the post above your's with the 26" bike with the load of Hydroxx stickers around the head tube might suggest, it's not just a mod

[Mark W]

Just re-measured one on Adam's bike and it seems to be 62mm wide and 58mm tall, which is obviously a bit more than we worked them out as being. Iiiiinteresting...

[laurent]

Just re-measured one on Adam's bike and it seems to be 62mm wide and 58mm tall, which is obviously a bit more than we worked them out as being. Iiiiinteresting...

Bigger than a rubber queen 2.4, it is a shame.

it is hard to fit rubber queen 2.4 in some frame already.

They should have keep the size of the original 2.2 for this particular reason. Moreover the tire could have been way lighter that way!

Or as someone said,, they should have take the original der kaiser and save weight somewhere...

Is this the ultimate version of these tires or are they open to suggestion, for some improvements?

Edited July 20, 2010 by laurent

[Mark W]

The only way you can really make it lighter is to make the carcass thinner, which would effectively end up with this tyre anyway (although with a slightly different looking tread).