Continental Launch All-New Gravity Tire Range

If you've been in the market for a new set of tires for your trail, enduro or DH bike in the last few years, you could be forgiven for overlooking Continental. While other brands like Maxxis and Schwalbe have a big presence on the race scene and bring out new tread patterns, compounds and casings regularly, we haven't seen nearly so much from Conti. More to the point, many of their gravity tires have suffered from overly-stiff casings, which in some cases could create harshness on small bumps, making a fresh fork feel like it was long overdue a service.


That all looks set to change. Today Continental are launching a whole set of gravity tires for trail, enduro and DH that have been in development for four years. Continental's engineers weren't shy about the fact that their previous tires were lacking in some areas. But by working closely with the Athertons for real-world feedback and combining this with lab tests, they first benchmarked competitors' tires then sought to improve their own over multiple iterations. You may have spotted the new tires (or earlier versions of them) being raced on the World Cup circuit throughout the 2021 season. In 2022, the new tires will be raced by Continental Atherton Racing, Pivot Factory Racing, Continental Nukeproof, Team 31, and more.

The range includes four tread patterns for hardpack, mixed, loose and muddy terrain - the mixed conditions tire (the Kryptotal) has a front and rear-specific tread, so technically there are five patterns. They are available with three new casings for downhill, enduro and trail, all of which have been designed with an emphasis on suppleness to address the weakness of the casings they replace. All are available in 2.4" widths, and some are available in 2.6" as well. Finally, Continental cooked up three new rubber compounds they unambiguously call supersoft, soft, and endurance.


Math nerds will have worked out that all those patterns, casings, widths and compounds could add up to 72 combinations for each wheel size, but fortunately for stockists, not every combination is available. You can't get the mud tire in the hardest compound, for example. Above is a matrix showing which combinations are available. There's a total of twenty options per wheel size at launch, though Continental hinted that more combinations may get made in the future. For example, you can't currently get the supersoft compound with an enduro casing, but that may change at some point.


Tread Patterns

Below are Continental's explanations of the design and intended use of the four new patterns. The mixed-conditions Kryptotal, which is the one I've been testing, is the most versatile option and likely to be the most popular. Continental say they started off with a single pattern for mixed conditions but discovered during development they could improve performance by differentiating between front- and rear-specific variants. Of course, there's nothing to stop you from using two of the same, for example, a pair of "rear" tires for faster rolling.


Xynotal - for hardpack and dry conditions

"Optimised for the most demanding dry and/or rocky trails, Xynotal’s tread pattern features angled in-line shoulder studs for predictable cornering. Combining a pronounced positive profile with a large number of contact areas, it maximises grip on both hard and slightly loose surfaces when moisture is not a factor. Pronounced ramps in the direction of rotation ensure low rolling resistance without compromising traction under load."

- Size options: 27.5x2.4, 29x2.4
- Casing options: downhill, enduro, trail
- Compound options: supersoft, soft, endurance



Kryptotal F & R - for mixed terrain

"Kryptotal’s tread pattern features a balance of positive profile and open areas designed for the best performance in complex terrains or trails that feature multiple surfaces. The use of steep and shallow ramps offer riders a sweet spot of grip, self-cleaning and low rolling resistance. Whilst the tread pattern for Kryptotal Fr is optimised for front-end grip and cornering stability, Kryptotal Re is optimised for the rear wheel demands of braking and rear-end stability."



Argotal - for loose terrain

"Supported in-line shoulder studs and a highly supportive structure result in Argotal offering maximum mechanical grip and cornering stability on loose dirt. The open tread pattern design and pronounced studs with steep ramps generate the best possible interaction with a loose surface whilst supporting self-cleaning, to inspire confidence at every stage of the trail."

- Size options: 27.5x2.4, 27.5x2.6, 29x2.4, 29x2.6
- Casing options: downhill, enduro, or trail
- Compound options: supersoft, soft, endurance


Hydrotal - for wet and muddy conditions

"Tapered and supported stud elements paired with an open tread pattern design supports maximum grip on wet and muddy terrain. With a self-cleaning capability critical to riding in the sloppiest conditions, in-line shoulder studs and an optimised support structure ensure grip when cornering aggressively in low grip situations."

- Size options: 27.5x2.4, 29x2.4
- Casing: downhill
- Compound: supersoft


Casing options

Perhaps the most important move from a performance standpoint is that Continental has switched to 110 TPI (threads per inch) fabric for their Enduro and Downhill casing tires. This means each of the nylon threads which criss-cross the tire casing is 1/120 of an inch (0.2mm) in diameter. A higher thread count (TPI) makes for a suppler tire sidewall, but less puncture resistance, because the threads are thinner. 110 TPI is a higher thread count than many downhill tires use - for example, Michelin use 55 TPI in their DH tires - which should make for relatively supple tires.

But there's more to a tire than that. The nylon fabric is layered to increase strength where it's needed most. In the Trail casing, there are two fabric layers under the sidewall, with three under the tread. This is achieved by one layer going from bead to bead, with two more that only overlap under the tread. The Enduro casing is similar but adds an extra protective layer, which Continental call Apex, in the lower part of the sidewall for increased snakebite resistance and support. The DH casing doubles up on the carcass layers, giving it four in the sidewall and six under the tread, in addition to the Apex layer.


It's clear that suppleness was high on the list of priorities. One Continental spokesperson said they can measure suppleness in the lab, and that while their previous DH tires were measurably less supple than the Maxxis equivalent, the new ones are measurably more supple. Make of that what you will, but Continental's lead engineer, Alexander Hänke, also mentioned in another conversation that their lab tests put the puncture-resistance of the DH casing in between the SuperGravity and SuperDownhill casings from Schwalbe (despite the weight being in line with the SuperGravity version), so it's not like they're claiming they're the best in every possible way.

Weight

Conti haven't gone down the route of building ever burlier tires, even for the DH version. While Michelin's Wild Enduro Racing Line tires weigh 1,459 g for the front, Continental has kept the weight more reasonable. I have a set of 29", DH-casing Argotal tires to test, but I wasn't able to weigh them properly as they arrived installed with sealant. They weigh about 1,320 g each with some sealant residue, which roughly agrees with the numbers in the chart below. For context, a 29 x 2.4" Schwalbe Magic Mary in the SuperGravity (not DH) casing weighs 1,324g (dry) on my scales.


Compounds

Continental were tight-lipped about what goes into the compounds they make and what makes them different to prior tires. Of course, they don't want to give away their recipe and I doubt if I'd be able to make any sense of it if they did. I did talk to Hänke about the Shore durometer scale used by some manufacturers to measure compound hardness (e.g. 42a or 60a compounds). I have a Shore durometer gauge but I soon found that the reading you get depends on exactly how you take the measurement. Hänke confirmed that hardness is something you can only measure with a solid ball of rubber, not a tire tread, and that softer does not always mean stickier - there's a lot more to rubber than softness. This is why they don't put a number on the compound they use.

The knobs are made up of a harder base compound (for support) with a softer cap above this for grip. The same two compounds are used in the shoulder and centre tread blocks.

Continental describe the compounds they offer like this:

- Supersoft - softest and grippiest option, especially for downhill and enduro with a descending-focus
- Soft - balanced between grip and rolling for gravity-focussed riding
- Endurance - focus on balance between endurance/durability and rolling resistance

Interestingly, Hänke said that even the supersoft compound was developed with an eye toward longevity and rolling resistance, to make it a more usable tire for everyday riders and to reduce the environmental impact. Apparently, most Continental enduro racers are using the Supersoft DH version for enduro too. This seemed at odds with something Bernard Kerr mentioned in passing at the launch, to the effect that most World Cup riders are just looking for as much grip as possible these days. I asked Hänke whether there might be an even softer, no-holds-barred compound for certain World Cup races where grip is the only priority. He said that that's always an option.

Pricing and availability

Pricing starts at 59.95 EUR and the range is available from today.

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Reviews and Tech First Looks Tires Continental Contintental Kryptotal