Continental Rubber Queen Mountain Bike Tire - 2009

This review is for the single ply (non ust) version.

These tires perform well - good rolling resistance, descent corering, great grip on slickrock.

I was happy with the tire for 3 rides. But on the 4th ride, while pedaling very slowly through gravel, the sidewall of the rear tire ripped. An clean one inch gash. There were no perticularly shrp rocks around.

At $75 per tire, plus shipping, this tire cost me $25 PER RIDE!

The front has survived 6 or 7 rides now, so we'll see...

Normally tires have to make a lot of compromises, this one is unique. It's not light, but nowhere near dual ply heavy. It rolls fast, but has great grip. It has soft, compliant rubber... almost as grippy as a Maxxis ST, but it wears better than a Maxxis 60a tire. Sidewalls are plenty durable too. I've tried LOTS of other tires and ride dh useing Maxxis Minion 3C 2.5s. I think this tire is actually worth the price. It will last 2x as long as most other tires, and outperforms any other single ply.

Issues are weight (~800g) and size. It probably won't fit on some bikes. For that reason, I only use it as a front tire, and run a smaller tire on the rear end, like a 2.35 Highroller or 2.2 Ardent. It fits fine on my Lyric fork.