Putting the Goodyear Connector 40mm gravel tyre to the test.
— JESSICA VAREY —
PSI Cycling Graphic Design
As the Winter mornings get colder, I’m finding myself reaching for my gravel bike over my road or mountain bike. There’s something about getting off the beaten track and finding new routes as the tarmac gives way to slightly soggy gravel.
A couple of months ago, I discovered the well-loved tyres on my CAADX SE were in dire need of replacing, so I installed a pair of high-volume Goodyear Connector 40mm gravel tyres. My wheels are SRAM Roam 50 – a tubeless ready 29inch cross country carbon wheelset with a 25mm internal rim width. The Connectors slipped on and set up tubeless with ease. The clever people at Goodyear designed these tyres with a soft rubber lip along the bead that traps the air allowing the tyre to seat itself with nothing but a floor pump. Pop, pop, pop, add in a little bit of sealant and I was ready to roll.
Straight away, these tyres look the business! The tread pattern inspires confidence before you even swing your leg over the bike. It’s a tyre of two parts, really. There are tightly spaced knobs along the centre of the tyre, designed to minimise rolling resistance on hard packed dirt and tarmac. Then, along the outer edges of the tread there are these massive grippy, widely spaced side knobs that seem to grip and mould into the road surface as you’re cornering on tarmac.
On gravel and dirt, these aggressive side knobs have the structure to really dig in.
I found myself trusting the tyre more and more and I decided I’d really like to push these tyres to see what they could do – a friend and I rode to some trails that would have been better suited to a mountain bike. We flew along the flat blue trails – the tyres were SO fast. We then tried some red trails with whoop-di-dos and hard packed off camber corners covered with pretty sketchy pea gravel – the tyres offered just the right amount of skid before catching the trail surface and sending me through the corner without mishap. My smile was massive!
Then we hit the rock garden…
“The super grippy side knobs helped me hold my line when I ran out of talent.”
I thought I’d follow my friend down a sketchy line that consisted of some particularly sharp looking rocks. I misbalanced and snagged my front wheel. Another tyre would have ripped itself to shreds; with me walking home at best and at worst flinging me over the handlebars. But the tyre was fine. A small scrape to the logo paint (see the image above!) and absolutely no damage to the sidewall casing. I put this down to the Secure Sidewall technology – an anti-cut layer that Goodyear has built into the tyre for added sidewall protection.
This is as much a test of durability as it is a realisation of the point at which my talent runs out – and I dare say these tyres are as sure-footed as a mountain goat. My bike, the tyres and I live on to ride another day.
The 40mm tyre sat snuggly in the rim and gave me ample feedback through the tell-tale chitter chatter of tubeless tyres skimming over gravel. The tyres were fast in a straight line, but the ride quality over less than ideal surfaces was truely fantastic. The extra volume in the tyres allowed for the rubber to suck up more bumps and the tubeless arrangement meant that I could run at lower pressures than I normally would without the worry of pinch flats.
I have racked up a couple of hundred kms on these tyres and I am super impressed. They’re a consistent performer across mixed surfaces and have handled mud, gravel, and pavement with ease.
Key Specs and Technologies
700c / 40mm
PREMIUM
Balanced Weight and Durable Casing Fabric. Utilising a balanced, robust casing, our Premium construction combines exceptional ride quality with outstanding durability.
ULTIMATE
Lightweight Casing Fabric. Utilising a smaller thread fabric, this casing uses less rubber - making the tire more supple and faster rolling, with improved traction.TUBELESS COMPLETE
Next generation tubeless tire design incorporating tubeless specific bead and casings, allowing for easy installation and superior air retention.DYNAMIC: R/T
Rugged-Terrain compound specifically formulated to balance grip, wear and efficiency.DYNAMIC: PACE60
Developed for multi-surface and off-road usage, with a focus on grip.DYNAMIC: SILICA4
Formulated to maximise rolling efficiency while providing class leading grip in wet conditions.
