Conti X-King 29" Protection 'Tubeless Ready'

[IronTree]

I see the 2012 Conti X-King 29" Protection is Tubleless Ready ?

 

How ready is 'Tubeless Ready' ?

 

Was thinking of going Maxis Crossmark UST, but the lighter Conti Protection is appealing...

Have ready some reports that the Protection still leaks a bit in a Tubeless setup ..??

 

Any experience or comments on these 2 ?

 

Thanks

Edited June 13, 2012 by Pinetree

[splat]

Just to be pedantic: It's either 'UST' or 'Tubeless Ready'

[IronTree]

Just to be pedantic: It's either 'UST' or 'Tubeless Ready'

 

Duly noted...

Thanks

[Jakkals.]

Man I battled with my x king 26" protection. But I promise you running it as a front wheel is the best you can do. After 3 days its not leaking any air. Good tyre and good weight.

[Smolly]

Man I battled with my x king 26" protection. But I promise you running it as a front wheel is the best you can do. After 3 days its not leaking any air. Good tyre and good weight.

All good until the tread starts peeling off!

[akneethling]

Try the Specialized Fast Trak Control 2bliss. Lightweight, tubeless, good balance between grip and rolling resistance, and they are only R380

[MTBcrazy]

Try the Specialized Fast Trak Control 2bliss. Lightweight, tubeless, good balance between grip and rolling resistance, and they are only R380

 

if you can find any to buy!!! - I'm running the tubeless ready race kings on my 29'er. you need to bomb them on to get them to inflate, but once sealed they hold air fine.

Edited June 13, 2012 by MTBcrazy

[Dubber88]

Good question.

 

 

Where can one buy Spez Tires?

[TheV]

Good question.

 

 

Where can one buy Spez Tires?

 

In Spaz land?

[PYGA1]

I asked a similar question at my LBS and this is what I was told: All tyre maufacturers pay royalties to Mavic for using the UST system which Mavic own and is patented. Conti have developed their own "UST" system but cannot call it UST due to the trademark, they clearly got gatvol of paying royalties.

 

So their 29er puncture protection is equivalent to their 26inch UST tyres in terms of robustness and mounting, I don't think you can compare the 29er puncture protection to their 26inch puncture protection.

 

As I said this is what I have been told however I cannot vouch for it being 100% correct, having said that I have no reason to doubt it either.

Edited June 13, 2012 by GT1

[NotSoBigBen]

Don't know about X-kings but I have tossed my race king 29r's in the bin (and they had loads of tread) - Now have Captains on my one bike and Maxxis Ikon's on the other. Way better so far!

 

Dangle says the 'Ikons' are the best tyre he has ever ridden and I trust him in these matters!

[akneethling]

Good question.

 

 

Where can one buy Spez Tires?

My LBS has Tons of stock......... 29" and 26"....... But any store that stocks Specialized goods should have. If you have trouble, you can ask my LBS to send to you. But I'm sure you'll get it in Jozi

[Mackie]

I must be honest, I have battled to get an X-King to seat properly on a set of 29er American Classics, the front tyre was fine though. 2,4 front and 2,2 rear...

[akneethling]

I asked a similar question at my LBS and this is what I was told: All tyre maufacturers pay royalties to Mavic for using the UST system which Mavic own and is patented. Conti have developed their own "UST" system but cannot call it UST due to the trademark, they clearly got gatvol of paying royalties.

 

So their 29er puncture protection is equivalent to their 26inch UST tyres in terms of robustness and mounting, I don't think you can compare the 29er puncture protection to their 26inch puncture protection.

 

As I said this is what I have been told however I cannot vouch for it being 100% correct, having said that I have no reason to doubt it either.

 

Conti, Spez, Kenda, etc. has thir own branded tubeless tyres because of the royalties.

 

I use a Floor pump to inflate my Spez 2bliss tyres. Sometimes i need to pump it up once or twice, but after that, they're pretty solid.

[covie]

Man I battled with my x king 26" protection. But I promise you running it as a front wheel is the best you can do. After 3 days its not leaking any air. Good tyre and good weight.

 

Tubless ready refers to the bead of the tyre, that is shaped like a proper UST tyre so it will "lock" into place, the sidewalls on Tubless ready tyres are generally not reinforced to the extent of a proper UST version. Hence UST tyres are normally heavier but offer more sidewall protection, Tubeless ready tyres have a bead that will lock into place on UST rims, but the sidewalls are not as fortified, hence you get a lighter tyre but more risk on sidewall tears.

 

The reason they do this now is becuase people try and take rubber with a normal bead convert them to tubless and then they are suprised when the tyre creeps of the rim under heavy cornering.

[BrianMTB]

I put a X-King on the front and a Race King on the back after being told by my LBS that they were "UST" tyres - after they kept going flat I did a little research to find that they're "tubeless ready". After enough Stans to plug the Titanic they seem to have sealed up, but I'm not liking the performance too much. The front washes very easily on the loose stuff even at the lowest possible pressure.

 

Doing the Tour de Tuli later this year and will probably bin them for a set of Maxxis Ikons.