Review: Continental's New Kryptotal DH Tires

Working with the Athertons, over the last four years they aimed to develop tires capable of winning World Cups and prizing customers, OEMs and even journalists away from the big two brands. Continental say they worked especially hard to increase suppleness compared to the old tires. Has it worked? I've been riding Continental's mixed-conditions tires, the Kryptotal Front and Kryptotal Rear, to find out.




Details

The Kryptotal is the mixed-conditions tire in the range. It sits between the Xynotal, designed for dry, hardpack conditions, and the Argotal, which is aimed at loose terrain. There's also the Hydrotal which is a dedicated mud tire. That makes the Kryptotal comparable to a Minion or an Assegai from Maxxis. I tested them in their DH casing, but there are also lighter versions for enduro and trail. At around 1,300 g, they're comparable in weight to some brands' enduro tires, and Continental say most of their enduro racers are using the DH casing too.

Continental decided during development to split their mixed-conditions tire into two: one for the rear and one for the front. The rear has more emphasis on rolling speed and braking grip, with alternating pairs of ramped central tread blocks, much like you'd find on a Maxxis DHR2, or many other rear-biased tires dating back to the Michelin DH 16. These are paired with identical (not alternating) shoulder blocks with generous, even spacing between them.

The front has a similar shoulder tread to the rear tire, but the central blocks have alternating groups of two then three blocks, and the groups of two alternate between lateral and longitudinal sipes to help with braking and cornering grip on hardpack surfaces. The profile of the front tire is slightly rounder than the rear, presumably to help provide a more predictable turn-in. By my measurements, the front is slightly wider too - 2.39" vs 2.34", both on a 30 mm rim at 30 psi. That's very similar to a 2.5" Maxxis Assegai. Both measure about 2.42" across the widest part of the tread. While we've got the callipers out, the centre tread averages about 4.5 mm (0.177") deep, which is similar to an Assegai, but a Schwalbe Magic Mary measures nearer 5.5 mm.


At a glance, the Kryptotal front bears a strong resemblance to a Maxxis Assegai, but on closer inspection, there are several differences. The Assegai has only longitudinal siping in its paired central tread blocks; it has less of a gap between the centre and shoulder tread, the shoulder blocks are alternating (not identical), and the profile is more rounded. I'll get onto how they compare on the trail later.


Under the surface, Continental use 110 tpi (threads per inch) fabric in a bid to increase suppleness compared to lower thread counts more typical of downhill tires- the higher the thread count, the thinner the nylon threads that make up the carcass, so the more flexible the sidewall. Continental say they tried several casing constructions but found 110 tpi offered the right balance of suppleness and support.


Ride Impressions

I first rode the tires at Dyfi bike park (where the Athertons did much of their testing and where the tires were launched). I've ridden there once before on Continental's older tires, but it was clear straight away that the new tires had a very supple yet damped feel over the hardpack surface, full of small stones and braking bumps. I was surprised that Continental recommended I start with 28 psi in the rear and 26 psi in the front; that seemed a touch firm for a DH tire, but I gave it a go and the ride feel was impressive, with very little harshness and none of the "wooden" feeling you can get from an overly stiff carcass.

Does that mean the tires are too flimsy and unsupportive? I tried dropping the pressures down to 25/22 psi (which is on the low side for bike park terrain at my weight), and while I did feel the rear tire fold slightly, causing a subtle rear-wheel-steering sensation in the berms with the highest cornering forces, they were by no means squirmy or unstable. I had no burping or sidewall marking and I never felt the tire was being pushed around (which is often accompanied by a pinging sound) when riding through pinball rocks. So despite remaining relatively comfortable at higher pressures, they offer good stability at lower pressures too, making the window of usable pressure very wide.

There were times when the tires slipped on the wet rocks that make up the more technical tracks (e.g. "Race track") at Dyfi, but having ridden here before I know how slippy these rocks can be.

While I was down south I also rode in the Forest of Dean, which has lots of limestone rock. With pressures at 24/21 psi, the grip was impressive on off-camber rocky tracks which I've ridden many times before. There was no pinging or squirming here either.

After Dyfi, the rest of my rides on the Kryptotals involved earning my turns, including plenty of familiar tarmac, singletrack and fire road climbs, plus a few miles of road riding to reach the trailhead on a couple of occasions. This was less punishing than I had expected for a DH tire. They're noticeably draggier than any trail tires, but it doesn't feel like it's sapping the life out of you. Of course, rolling resistance is impossible to measure without proper scientific tests, but I'd say they're far from the worst as far as downhill tires go, and they wouldn't be a bad choice on an enduro bike for someone who prioritises technical descending.

Back home in the Tweed Valley, I rode more muddy, rooty and rocky descents, including a day of testing against a Maxxis Assegai (Maxxgrip) and a Schwalbe Magic Mary (Ultra Soft) on the same greasy track and on the same bike. Even in a back-to-back test, it's difficult to say too much about how grip compares because the difference between sliding and surviving can sometimes be a centimetre difference in line choice or subtle changes in body position. With that said, I would say the Magic Mary offers a little more bite in muddy corners and slid less often when things got really soft and loose. This isn't exactly surprising as the Magic Mary is more biased towards loose conditions, and Continental's Argotal is probably a fairer comparison. Compared to the Assegai, I honestly can't tell much between them out on the trail. I'm tempted to say that the Kryptotal offers more cornering bite, but in a blind test, I doubt I could tell the difference. Given the success of the Assegai, I suppose that's high praise for Continental.

It's too soon to say much about durability, but Continental claim this is something they've kept in mind even for the softest compound downhill version. I'll update this review when I've put more time into them.

---

---

Pinkbike's Take

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Reviews Tires Continental Continental Kryptotal