Goodyear has broken out of the draft of the tubeless ready tire pack and sprinted out into the wind all alone with their new line of tubeless “complete” tires.
Now whether they are going to raise their hands in victory and spray champagne all over their competitors remains to be seen, but with a handful of tubeless tires in the lineup, Goodyear is committed to tubeless, complete or otherwise, when it is still confusing whether the industry wants us to ditch the tubes or not.
The nice people are Goodyear gifted us a pair of their Vector 4Seasons 28mm Tubeless Complete tires and although it pained me to peel my beloved Vittoria Corsa treads off my Pinarello I was pretty excited to ease my concern over getting flats, considering the type of riding I have been doing during this dreaded pandemic.
In other words, as much as I Iove the suppleness and grip of a Corsa rubber, switching to a “all-season” tire while I ride through the rough streets of Oakland seems like a pretty smart move.
And though, having recently installed QuadCore on my mtb, I am probably never going to complain about installing tires ever again, the install of the Vector 4Seasons would have made great social media video. I was like a “Karen” screaming at my tire levers like they (didn’t even) care or understand (not understood) my frustration.
Once I finished stretching the new tires I reread the “media kit” and kitted up for a ride. It is always interesting trying to review new tires because so much of my love or hate of a tire is based on luck. Because I have had “bad” luck with a particular tire can partially just be based on how many flats I have had or “close calls” while doing sketchy descending.
But part of the fault can be put broadly on the manufacturers as they promise the world when they launch new rubber. Goodyear promises the Vector has improved ride quality, anti-puncture technology, improved grip, anti-cut technology, longer wear and lower rotational weight. That is a lot to ask from an all-season tire, but anything short and the tire has failed to deliver what it promised.
So it is with all of this rolling around in my head I rolled out for a couple of initial rides on the new Vector tires. Unfortunately, for those of you who are wondering, I have no idea if Goodyear’s claim of better grip in the rain is true, but I can attest to they are tough, fast, smooth and appear like they will appear to be a good choice in an everyday tire. And if you are still holding out on the tubeless thing, a conventional tubed version is also offered.
It is too early to tell if they will replace our Continental Gatorskins as our all-season tire, but Goodyear believe their new line of tires are not just ready, but they are completely ready for prime time.
