The Kryptotal and Argotal are two gravity-focused tyres in Continental’s range. Both offer a wide range of casings and compounds and are well suited to aggressive trail and downhill use. It’s worth noting that the Kryptotal is available in front and rear versions. For the purposes of this comparison I’ll be using their Downhill casings and Soft compound for both tyres. Tyre pressures were also kept at 24 psi which is my “sweet spot” although I could probably get away with dropping a few psi in the softer conditions.
I’ve been running the Kryptotal tyres front and rear for about two years now and have been extremely happy with them. Coming from years of riding Maxxis tyres I found the Continentals to offer similar levels of grip but the side knobs of the tyre are much better supported meaning they last significantly longer and offer more consistent performance throughout the life of the tyre.
Recently with the weather turning and the trails becoming wetter I’ve been noticing the front end wandering in the mud so I decided to give the Argotal a shot to see whether the more open tread pattern would help. I’ve been riding the Argotal for around a month now and it got me thinking – which is the better tyre? Specifically I’ll be testing these two on the front of the bike.
As mentioned earlier the Argotal has a more open tread pattern. This helps to prevent thick mud from packing into the tread and also helps the tyre dig in to softer dirt and loose terrain. The drawback? The more open tread pattern does increase rolling resistance slightly, while the larger gaps between the knobs mean less rubber in contact with smooth, hard surfaces. As a result, the tyre can be a little less predictable in certain circumstances. A prime example would be off-camber corners on open granite that’s common up here in the North East of Scotland where I found the tyre letting go a little more readily than I would have expected. On the majority of trails I didn’t really notice the increased rolling resistance. Certainly, if Strava times are anything to go by, there’s no significant difference. In fact, on my first few rides I even managed a handful of PRs on some fairly fast trails where I might have expected the Argotal to be noticeably slower.
The Kryptotal on the other hand has a tighter tread pattern and so excels on these harder surfaces. That doesn’t mean though that it’s not a good tyre on loose surfaces and I’ve found it particularly good on steeper rooty sections of trail where front wheel placement is critical. The predictability of the Kryptotal makes it my tyre of choice for most conditions.
So which tyre is right for you? Well, this is a tricky one as both are excellent tyres and there’s quite a lot of overlap between the two. The Kryptotal is in my opinion the better all-rounder and works well in all conditions. Personally I’ll be running the Argotal up front over the winter months where I prefer the faster clearing more aggressive tread pattern but as soon as the trails start drying up in the spring I’ll be switching back to the Kryptotal.
Pick the Kryptotal if you’re looking for a dependable all-round tyre that performs well across a wide range of conditions, particularly on harder surfaces, rocks and roots. If you’re regularly riding softer, muddier or loose terrain where maximum grip is the priority, the Argotal is probably the better choice.
