Continental

Cross King Performance Tire - 27.5in

The Continental Cross King Performance Tire is an all-round cross country and trail riding tire that maximizes your rolling speed without compromising cornering grip and braking traction on dry terrain. The tread pattern is one step more aggressive than the Race King, making it suitable for hardpack, mixed, and loose conditions with its low-profile center lugs that are spaced further out, paired with shoulder lugs that have been refined for better grip in corners. As the name implies, it's intended primarily for cross country riding and racing, but it also works great as a rear tire for many trail riding applications due to its fast-rolling attributes and ability to accelerate quickly out of corners. For these reasons many riders will pair it with a burlier Trail or Mountain King up front for a bit more traction and confidence in loose terrain.

Like Continental's other Performance-series tires, the Cross King Performance uses a compound called PureGrip, which is one step below their revered Black Chili compound when it comes to grip and rolling speed, but is claimed to have a longer wear life due to the firmer rubber, and comes with an impressively-low price tag. Despite lacking the heavy-duty Protection layer found on their top-tier tires, the dense 3-layer casing and honeycomb sidewall design do a good job fending off punctures and slices from jagged rocks. And of course, it's tubeless-ready, letting you run lower tire pressure for more traction and smoother damping, along with the reassurance of having self-sealing tubeless sealant inside.