The benchmark in bicycle tyre compound technology Combining the best properties of grip, speed and duirability in one compound Created by Continental technicians, continually developed by professional athletes

BlackChili compound - It's all about how you mix it!

BlackChili compound is exclusively manufactured at the Continental 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 BlackChili give riders supreme confidence whether they’re tumbling downhill on a mountain bike or time-trialling on a road bike. Fitted to a car, drivers can expect maximum grip during acceleration, cornering and braking on wet or dry roads.

So how did this legendary compound come into being? At the Continental 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:

1) Static Friction (grip). 2) Rolling Resistance. 3) 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.

The BlackChili 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 that BlackChili compound provides a truly unprecedented level of performance. Compared to Activated Silica Compound – our previous best performer – BlackChili tyres have 30% higher grip, 26% less rolling resistance, and 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 BlackChili is in constant development; we can adjust the formulation of the compound to match individual requirements of new Continental tyres rolling out of the factory in Korbach. In other words, it’s possible to tailor the tyre to the specific needs of the vehicle. The compound technology is so sensitive and complex, however, that BlackChili cannot be manufactured anywhere else in the world.