#Cycling
Taste success with BlackChili
Tyre Compound Technology has never been hotter
Hearing about Black Chili for the first time, you might think that we have gone into the food business. But this isn’t grandma’s secret recipe for a nourishing bowl of chilli; this is a revolutionary tyre tread compound, highly prized by cyclists and motorists alike. That’s because our patented Black Chili compound has unbeatable grip, speed and durability, equating to a road performance that’s not only dependable but also… rather spicy.
The Black Chili compound is exclusively manufactured at our factory in Korbach, Germany, combining the very latest polymers with specially developed carbon black particles and filler materials. Both cars and bikes benefit from this technology. Fitted to a bicycle, tyres with Black Chili give you supreme confidence whether you’re tumbling downhill on a mountain bike or time-trialling on a road bike. Fitted to a car, you can expect maximum grip during acceleration, cornering and braking on wet or dry roads.
The improvement is dramatic. But don’t just take our word for it. The professional cycling elite has long relied on this exceptional tyre compound. Geraint Thomas and Team Ineos (Team Sky) have won the world’s biggest bike race, the Tour de France, using Competition Pro LTD tyres made from BlackChili. And for this year’s edition of Tour de France, six out of the 23 teams taking part in the three-week race around France are using BlackChili compound in their hand-made tyres.
It's all about how you mix it
So how did this legendary compound come into being? At our R&D labs in Korbach, our heroic team of engineers grapple with one of the fundamental problems of tyre construction. Essentially, the running properties of a rubber compound of a tyre are determined by three co-dependent factors:
- Grip
- Rolling Resistance
- Mileage
The challenge is that when you make improvements in one area, there’s a performance penalty in at least one other area. A compound which offers maximum levels of grip, for example, will wear out faster and roll slower. Conversely, a compound optimised for higher speeds or greater durability has a reduced ability to grip.
Our Black Chili compound is different because it takes advantage of the latest innovations in polymer and other raw material research. For the first step, we refine proven natural rubber with special synthetic rubbers into a high-performance tread mixture. Next, the mixture is combined with special nanometric carbon soot particles. Finally, the surface and shape properties are optimised for the best use case of the tyre.
The result is the Black Chili compound provides a truly unprecedented level of performance. Compared to Activated Silica Compound – our previous best performer – Black Chili tyres have 30% higher grip, 26% less rolling resistance, and a 5% increase in mileage. The speed and grip advantages are readily apparent, applied to either a bike or a car tyre.
Furthermore, the science behind our Black Chili is in constant development. We can adjust the formulation of the compound to match individual requirements of new tyres rolling out of our factory in Korbach. In other words, it’s possible to tailor the tyre to the specific needs of the vehicle. Our compound technology is so sensitive and complex that Black Chili cannot be manufactured anywhere else in the world.
Maximum grip for cyclists and motorists
You can personally experience the innovations of Black Chili on either two wheels or four, as high-performance tyres for both bicycles and cars. Here’s a sample of the custom formulations available in our premium tyres.
Car / SportContact™ 7
Our SportContact™ 7 redefines tyre performance and provides unrivalled driving confidence. Our Black Chili³ compound facilitates ultra-high performance driving coupled with increased mileage. Tailor-made for every vehicle class, each tyre provides the same legendary SportContact™ feel and performance in both wet and dry conditions.
Bike / Continental Grand Prix 5000S TR
In the autumn of 2021, our GP5000S TR was the winning tyre at both the men's Paris-Roubaix and World Time Trial Championships, showing its versatility across these very different races with their very different demands on equipment. Our Black Chili compound provides the perfect balance of grip and rolling resistance, whilst our patented carcass construction means these tyres can be used both tubleless or with an innertube. In addition our Lazer Grip keeps you at one with the road, plus the inclusion a Vectran™ Breaker insert provides puncture protection without adversely effecting rolling resistance.
Car / WinterContact TS 860
Our Cool Chili compound is a variation of Black Chili specially made for our WinterContact TS 860. Our Maximum Traction Silica Compound ensures excellent grip and significantly improves braking performance. In addition our WinterContact TS 860 retains its flexibility whatever the weather and safely transfers braking forces onto wet, icy and snow-covered roads.
Bike / Mountain King
With superior grip and fast rolling, our Mountain King is the perfect companion for exploring trails and hilly terrain. The continuous central tread and grippy outer lugs are made with Black Chili, and our ProTection technology – three plies in the sidewalls and four under the tread – ensure the tyre has greater resilience and is less vulnerable to damage.
