Life In The Saddle

Road bike tyres are getting bigger, and better. The new 30c Eagle All-Season Tubeless Tyres from Goodyear Bicycle Tires are a superb endurance riding option. I have been testing them out over the last month, here is my review... I remember being one of the first riders in Team Wiggle (back in 2013) to make the switch from 23c to 25c tyres. The added comfort and grip was an obvious benefit, and has very little penalty in terms of added weight; as well as even some suggestions of lower rolling resistance from the larger diameter tyre [ read this past post for some insights ]. In the following years I switched from 25c to 28c on my road bike and moved from 33c up to 40c diameter tyres on my gravel bike. The benefits of larger volume tyres when riding long hours on mixed surface terrain are huge, and far outweigh the downsides (in my opinion). With this progression in mind, I was keen to test out the 30c diameter road-focussed Eagle tyres from Goodyear; an even larger volume of road...

I have been searching for the perfect tyre for mixed surface touring for some time; something that offers low rolling resistance on asphalt, but a good degree of grip and puncture resistance on gravel roads and bike paths. The new Goodyear County 35c tubeless tyres looked to tick many of the sought-after boxes, so I fitted them to the Kona Rove to test them out… Last year, I reviewed the Goodyear Connector Tyres ; those are 40c tubeless tyres aimed at the gravel rider—with a fine tread pattern offering impressive grip on off-road trails, but still with a fast rolling speed on asphalt. The Connector's remained on my cyclocross bike for the whole of the winter, and were impressive in their durability, and versatility. With that in mind, I was interested to see what the Goodyear brand could offer in the more road-focussed touring tyre category. The County is a 35c diameter tubeless tyre, designed to be used on the road and on light off-road paths. Previously I have used 30c tyr...

A gravel biking tyre is distinctly different from a mountain bike or a cyclocross tyre – it should be at least 40c in volume and have a tread pattern that is capable of handling both rock strewn trails as well as gravel and sand. The new Goodyear Connector Tubeless Tyres are a great example. I fitted the Goodyear Connector Tyres to my 3T Exploro – set up tubeless on a set of Stan's NoTubes S1 Crest wheels. They were quick to mount up and felt robust and well made from first inspection. The tread pattern on the Connectors is a fine 'micro-diamond' design, and not as aggressive as some gravel tyres that I have tested, such as the Vee Tire T-CX, or the WTB Nano. The clear virtue of this is that the tyres are notably faster rolling and better for asphalt and light gravel sections than many, though predictably it does mean traction is slightly lower on slippery and loose surfaces compared to more aggressively knobbly competition. The added volume in a gravel tyre means it ...