| “This
is definitely old school rubber, but seeing how Conti sells over a
thousand a year in the UK, we felt we had to include it in the test. The
reason mountain bikers are still handing over £25 for the (foldable) XC
is that it's a predictable and reliable mud plugger and it's also
super-lightweight.
The narrow width is the
tyre's strong point and, unlike fatter tyres which float on the surface,
the thin profile cuts through the mud to the hard crust
underneath.
The chevron-shaped
pattern is a steady performer in most types of gloop and gets rid of the
clag quickly, not as quickly as a grid pattern but better than most
other designs. We encountered a few problems with rocks and bigger roots
because the XC doesn't like to be leaned hard into rough turns and can
step out suddenly if pushed too far. It doesn't offer too much
resistance against snakebites, so if you're heavy, stick with a
2.1" tyre such as Conti's Survival Pro.
Overall the XC is a
specialist tool more than an all-rounder, but it's ideal for flat, boggy
grassland trails or on bikes with frame clearance problems. A
featherweight at 475g due to a kevlar bead but pricey for a tyre with
this much rubber content." (Conti
comment - a cheaper wire bead version has since become available since
this test was conducted)
 |
Value -
4/5, Performance - 4/5. |
|