MTB Tire Test: Continental Race King Protection (E-25)
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 18.2 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 30 Points
- Static Wet Grip: 57 Points
- Conclusion: 4.8 / 5 Highly Recommended
- Comments
- Continental Race King Protection (E-25)
The Continental Race King is available in several different versions, but if you want the fastest rolling Race King, the Protection is the one you need. Since we started testing bicycle tires back in 2014, the Race King has consistently proven to be one of the fastest-rolling mountain bike tires, and that's why it's been one of the most popular mountain bike tires on our website for nearly ten years.
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Continental has silently been updating most of its tires with an E-25 (E-Bike ready up to 25 km/h) rating, and the Race King Protection now also comes with an E-25 rating. Due to the new rating, many of our Pro Members were interested, and maybe a bit worried too much was changed, in a retest of the Race King Protection. That's why we'll take another look at this tire and compare it to the non-E-25 sample we tested in 2020 (read our review) to make sure the Race King Protection is still one of the fastest-rolling mountain bike tires today.
When examining both samples of the Race King Protection, we can't spot any differences between the E-25 rated and non-E-25 rated samples except for the addition of the E-25 label on the newest one. Something that also indicates that's the only thing that's been changed, is found in the part numbers and EAN codes that are still the same for the new sample that we bought in 2024 and the old sample from 2020.
As we already mentioned, Continental has been updating their tires silently, and we can't find much information on their website that might indicate they made an actual change to the tire. We're quite sure nothing has changed to the tire construction or compound mix, as that should have resulted in a new part number, at least for their internal identification of these tires.
Let's roll on to our test results, which will instantly tell if anything has changed.
Manufacturer Specifications
| Manufacturer Specs | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Continental |
| Model | Race King Protection (E-25) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Supplied By | Bought in store |
| New or Used | New |
| Mileage | 0 km |
| Price Range | High |
| Buy At | Ad Amazon.com |
| Manufacturer part number | 0101473 |
| EAN | 4019238798128 |
| TPI | 3/180 |
| Compound | Black Chili |
| Bead | Folding |
| ETRTO | 55-622 |
| Size Inch | 28" |
| Width Inch | 2.20 |
| Specified Weight | 605 grams |
| Max Air Pressure (psi) | 58 |
| Made In | Members Only |
| Available Sizes |
26x2.20 27.5x2.20 29x2.20 |
Continental Race King Protection (E-25) Test Results
Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
| Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Specified Weight | 605 grams |
| Measured Weight | 586 grams |
| Measured Width Carcass | 54 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Width Tread | 52 mm |
| Measured Height | 52 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Knob Height Center | 2.7 mm |
| Measured Knob Height Edge | 3.1 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. | |
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 |
16.5 Watts CRR: 0.00495 |
| Rolling Resistance 25 PSI / 1.7 Bar |
18.2 Watts CRR: 0.00546 |
| 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 | 30 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 | 1.7 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 | 57 Points |
| Wet Grip Center | Members Only |
| Wet Grip Edge | Members Only |
| Measured Knob Height Center | 2.7 mm |
| Measured Knob Height Edge | 3.1 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
- Continental Race King Protection (E-25)
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)
Our 2024 E-25 rated sample of the Race King Protection rolls a bit slower than our 2020 non-E-25 rated sample (compare), which rolled extremely fast. Even though the latest sample rolls roughly 15% slower, we're sure Continental did not make any changes, as all the other tests show identical results (within the margin of error of the tests). If Continental updated the compound to make it more grippy for E-bikes, that should have been visible in our wet grip test.
Given the results come in this close, we attribute the differences in the rolling resistance tests to manufacturing tolerances, compound mix tolerances, the margin of error of our tests, and a test protocol change we made in 2023 that affects mountain bike tires.
Yes, the Race King Protection has become slower in 2024, but when you compare it to the competition, it's still the fastest mountain bike tire with an all-round knobby tread you can buy today.
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RATING:
4.8
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Highly Recommended