# Mountain King II vs Ardent up front



## captnpenguin (Dec 2, 2011)

Ready for a new front tire (I a ride rigid Karate Monkey in the LA area) and I'm debating between the Continental Mountain King II 2.4 and Maxxis Ardent 2.4. I currently have a X-King 2.4 front and back and as a front tire I'm finding that i need a bit more grip up front especially on the rougher/looser stuff on the descents. Thoughts?


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## solo-x (Feb 16, 2010)

The Ardent 2.4 is probably a good bit bigger than the Conti. At least my experience with the 2.2 X-King suggests they run a bit on the small side. (my 2.2 X-King is 2.1" wide, and I've heard that the 2.4 X-King is about 2.25" wide. The Ardent 2.25 looks absolutely enormous by comparison IMO. 2.4 is even bigger.)


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## tooclosetosee (Aug 2, 2011)

The On-One chunky monkey is an option as well. I have intentions to get one to try out sometime after my Ardent wears out a bit more. It uses the Maxxis Ardent 2.4 casing. 

I really like my Ardent 2.4 and it is definitely big and ride it at 20PSI. I weigh 175 with a rigid bike. 

The only negative with the Ardent is the lack of transition knobs so you really have to lean the bike over to get the side knobs to dig in. Sometimes the wheel will slip and you will regain traction. Once you have confidence in the Ardent and rail the turns it is a lot of fun.


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

The Ardent is great. Also consider a Specialized Purgatory if you can find it in 2.4 (they have stopped making them in 2.4, opting for 2.3 now instead).


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## captnpenguin (Dec 2, 2011)

So no one has any experience with the MKII 2.4?


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## Johnnydrz (Jul 8, 2005)

captnpenguin said:


> So no one has any experience with the MKII 2.4?


I have a Mountain King 2.4 Protection as a front tire on my Evil Sovereign (X-King 2.4 at the back). It certainly does have more bite than a X-King, which is my front tire on my Cotic Soul (Race King at the back of this one). I find that I have to run a fairly low pressure to keep it from boucing too much (tubeless on a Easton Haven rim). But I'm only 130lbs. I find it's a fairly big tire...


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## captnpenguin (Dec 2, 2011)

Stopped by my shop yesterday and they were out of both my choices, but I ended up getting a Trailking 2.2. I compared sizes (on same rims as me) and the TK 2.2 is the same width/general size as the XK 2.4 I had up front. We'll see how it fairs in the race this weekend.


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## Sheepo5669 (May 14, 2010)

I liked the MK 2.4. I ran the non-protection version. It was very supple and had a ton of grip. Never ran it out front, so I cant directly compare it to an ardent. If its not 2.4 actual width, its gotta be fairly close.


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## Cotharyus (Jun 21, 2012)

I run the MKII 2.4 on the front of my full squish. It bites. By which I mean the only time that tire has given up on me traction wise is when I was just stupid fast blasting through a turn and got a little wide of my line and hit a root, then it slid. I've been liking it enough that I'm debating putting one on the front of my SS.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

are 29x2.4 MK's available in a "Protection" version now? I tried to buy one a few months ago and they only were making a 29x2.2 Protection tire.

apparently, non-protection tires do not work well as tubeless tires. because I could not get an uber-fat MK, I went with a 2.4 Ardent instead and it's been good to me.


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## Deerhill (Dec 21, 2009)

How tall is a 2.4 Ardent?


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

mack_turtle said:


> are 29x2.4 MK's available in a "Protection" version now? I tried to buy one a few months ago and they only were making a 29x2.2 Protection tire.
> 
> apparently, non-protection tires do not work well as tubeless tires. because I could not get an uber-fat MK, I went with a 2.4 Ardent instead and it's been good to me.


Yes, they are available in a protection version.


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## Flyin_W (Jun 17, 2007)

Deerhill said:


> How tall is a 2.4 Ardent?


Fat, fatter & fattest - of those I've run (Rampage, Ra-Ra, X-King)
for it's size weight it is both fast & grippy. Conti tire sizing is erratic at best.
Note: the 2.4 does have transition knobs, and on a P-35 it barely fits a Reba Team.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

awesome. our Highway 2 rep made it seem as if those would not be available until fall.


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