MTB Tire Test: Continental Dubnital Race Rapid

The Continental Dubnital is a brand new tire that will replace the Race King as Conti's fastest mountain bike tire. The Race King is a highly popular tire on our website, as it has been one of the fastest mountain bike tires for at least a decade. Although the Race King received some new versions and upgrades over those years, a decade is a long time when it comes to bicycle tires.

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The Dubnital features a brand-new tread pattern that retains some elements of the old Race King (read our review), but it's great to see a newly designed tread pattern that builds on the latest research. We still see a closely spaced center tread that should roll nicely on asphalt. The transition knobs are spaced more evenly and offer a better contact patch. The edge knobs are significantly larger and spaced farther apart, which should help provide a better bite while cornering.

Also important is that the tread is made wider than the old Race King by approximately 10%. The tread width is a crucial aspect of the redesign, as we've seen a trend towards wider rims over the past decade. When using these tires on wide rims, the contact patch will be significantly better than the old Race King, which was designed for the smaller rims we used in the past. The tread width and casing width are not published here; however, if you're interested in this data, you can access it through Pro View.

The casing is also a new design, and according to Continental's specifications, it's now a 3/330 TPI casing instead of the 3/180 TPI casing on the Race King. 3/330 means Continental uses three layers of 110 TPI fabric, and it appears that Continental is now utilizing the same casing type they use for their top-end road bike tires. We see three layers under the tread, plus an anti-puncture strip. The sidewalls are also made with three layers of fabric, making them strong and airtight enough for tubeless use.

What's also new is that the Dubnital gives you a choice of a Race casing and a Trail casing. We dived into the specifications and details of the Race and Trail casings, and the differences are smaller than we initially expected. Both casings are essentially the same, but the Trail casing features a wider anti-puncture strip under the center tread, and the rest of the tire is always at least three layers thick. The Race casing has a small area between the center tread and edge knobs that consists of only two layers, and that's the weakest link in that casing.

You also get the choice of two different compounds, marking the end of the Black Chili compound that has been Conti's choice for their high-end mountain bike tires over the past 10 years. You can choose between the Rapid compound and the Grip compound, and with names like that, we're sure you don't need us to explain the differences.

All versions are now also available in the 29x2.40 size, and that will be a welcome upgrade for most of you as well. We've tested the Dubnital with the Race casing and Rapid compound in the 29x2.40 size, providing our first look at Continental's latest mountain bike tire.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Continental
Model	Dubnital Race Rapid
Year	2025
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	01020370000
EAN	4019238402629
TPI	3/330
Compound	Rapid Compound
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	60-622
Size Inch	29"
Width Inch	2.40
Specified Weight	645 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	50
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	29x2.40 29x2.20

Continental Dubnital Race Rapid Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	645 grams
Measured Weight	635 grams
Measured Width Carcass	56 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	58 mm
Measured Height	55 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	2.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	4.2 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	2.4 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.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	None (40 ml sealant)
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	18.0 Watts CRR: 0.00540
Rolling Resistance 25 PSI / 1.7 Bar	20.0 Watts CRR: 0.00600
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.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	40 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness	2.4 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	70 Points
Wet Grip Center	Members Only
Wet Grip Edge	Members Only
Measured Knob Height Center	2.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	4.2 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

When examining the overall performance of the Continental Dubnital Race Rapid, it's extremely strong and one of the most complete XC mountain bike tires. We must admit that when it comes to rolling resistance, we expected more from the new Dubnital with Race casing and Rapid compound, as we did not expect the fastest Dubnital to be slower than the 2024 Race King Protection (read our review), which was already slower than the 2020 Race King Protection (read our review).

We do see a big jump in the wet grip tests where the Dubnital scores an excellent 70 points, which is again something we did not expect from the version with Rapid compound. The knob height also increased, and the tread pattern is definitely more aggressive than the Race King it replaces.

We also observe a significant increase in tread puncture resistance, which we attribute to the anti-puncture strip located under the center of the tread. We're not sure if a puncture strip like that belongs on a tire with a "Race" casing, and we're sure many of you prefer to save a couple of watts (and grams) and take the higher risk of punctures for granted. We expect the Trail casing, with its wider strip and full 3-layer casing, to be very close to the Rapid version.

As we mentioned earlier, the Dubnital Race Rapid is now one of the best-performing mountain bike tires in terms of overall performance. Still, we're unsure if it's a suitable replacement for the Race King.

Compare the Continental Dubnital Race Rapid and Continental Race King Protection on our comparison section.

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RATING: 5.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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