Across the inner-web-o-sphere there has been some talk of how the Continental Mountain king has not “measured up” size-wize, and also how it stretches after mounting. Some of the claims may be a bit on the “generous” side, shall we say, but here I offer up for your approval what i have found in my case.
When I first mounted up the Continentals I mounted them on two different rims sans tubes and took some measurements. To keep this in perspective, I will only mention my results from the Stan’s Flow rim. Initially the casing measured 52.6mm. After running the tires in Texas I noticed that they looked bigger to my naked eye. So recently I took another measurement. (The picture above shows the results) The 2.7mm increase in girth is certainly enough to be noticed. I also took some other tread width measurements and at the end of the test period I will update any changes I notice there, although it is my opinion that the tire has probably stabilized at it’s current size.
To be clear, these tires have not been removed or doctored up in any way since my initial installation with Stan’s sealant on the Flow rims. I have not experienced any flats or other discouraging occurances at all. In the next update I will comment on the Mountain Kings dry hardpack performance. Stay tuned!
I have noticed a big difference in the size of my king when I mixed the stans with a little viagra and let it set for 30 minutes.