New Kaiser and Baron Projekt tyres are designed for enduro racing, with the Baron better suited to wet and loose conditions

Continental’s new Kaiser Projekt started life as a 2.5in DH tyre but is now available in a 27.5 x 2.4in size for enduro use. Dropping down a size reduces the weight to around 900g per tyre and the pattern has developed too, now including a consistent row of edge knobs. The result looks similar to a Maxxis High Roller, albeit with a slightly rounder profile.

Also aimed the enduro segment is the new Continental Baron Projekt 27.5. It has similar edge knobs to the Kaiser but with a more open tread for better mud shedding and improved mechanical grip in loose and wet conditions.

To resist pinch flats both new tyres feature Apex anti-snake bite protection. This is an elastomer strip built into the sidewall. They also include a wear-resistant surface finish on the casing, a lightweight folding bead and are fully tubeless ready.

New consistent row of edge knobs boost grip for hard or aggressive riding

The two new tyres use Conti’s Black Chili compound but it doesn’t say anywhere on the tyre what this compound might be. There are actually four versions of Black Chili but the company told us it doesn’t want to communicate this to users because it feels it would be too confusing. We trust you better than that, because the four compounds are pretty easy to understand: the XC race rubber is the hardest and quickest rolling, the touring (ie trail) tyres have a hard/medium compound, medium/soft is used for enduro and the downhill tyres are the softest with the most grip.

The rubber used for the Kaiser Projekt is great but we’d like to see Continental mix it up a little bit, with maybe a quicker rolling rear tyre, and offer the Kaiser and Baron in slightly smaller sizes for trail riding.

No prices have been set but we’re expecting them to be similar to the 26in tyres, which are around £55 each. For more details go to conti-tyres.co.uk.