Goodyear Connector gravel bike tire review 700x35

Goodyear Connector  Gravel Bike Tire 700x35 

• https://goodyearbike.com/tires/connector/

Goodyear Connector 

Welcome to my review on a gravel tire from Goodyear called the Connector, the size I have is 700x35, various sizes are available, I purchased these through a website called Pro Bike Kit, very good fast delivery, and customer service seems to be very good. 

On my previous blogs you will see I’ve been after the Holy Grail of the Gravel Bike Tire, I narrowed it down to two possible contenders with the Goodyear Connector being one of them, not a easy list to make with so many tires out there, but the Goodyear Connector ticked my box for the Holy Grail.. price for a pair set me back £65.00 as I managed to find a online discount voucher to apply at the Pro Bike checkout.

The Connecter come in either the classic black side wall or the popular tan wall, on this one I’ve gone for the tan.

The Connecter caught my eye on the Goodyear website by the way the layers were shown on the photo above (used with permission from Goodyear) Goodyear state that there is a multi compound material layer that is added to the tire case, this allows for improved air retention while providing additional puncture and cut protection with minimum weight. Goodyear use a finer thread fabric, the 120 tpi casing uses less rubber, this makes the tire more supple and faster rolling, with improved traction, that’s what’s it telling you on there website, now don’t be alarmed by the “Less Rubber” statement, the 120 tpi is the clue, a mountain bike tire could use a 60 tpi casing, and a road bike tire a 120 tpi so you get a smaller thread, which makes for higher tpi and less rubber between the threads, that makes the tire lighter, more supple on the road, if anyone from Goodyear are reading this and can add more, then feel free to comment on the Comments box at the bottom of the review. 

Sounds and looks impressive, that’s what I was thinking, I have found what I’m looking for, the “Holy Grail” of the Gravel Bike Tire! This is it, The One. The Ultimate Gravel Bike Tire....  Let’s get it on the bike and try it out, easy thing to do, off with the old tire, on with the new. 

The Goodyear Connector Ultimate is a foldable tire, handy if you ever go bike packing for days and want to take along a spare just in case.

Finely spaced together centre knobs combine with the more aggressive side knobs make the connector a fast rolling tire on the road, with sure grip off road, I will be finding this out.  

700x35 on review here. 

 

The Goodyear Connector gravel bike tires are now both fitted on the gravel bike, I had them on for a couple of weeks now, the new larger pair have now arrived, so I’ll swap the smaller ones over, the 700x35 are great on the road, plenty of speed and good corner handling made the Connectors a good choice if your going mainly on the road with the odd venture off road, but I’m here to take it further, a lot further, I needed to find out just how good they are and ventured a bit further to find some good gravel tracks with bits of Oozing mud thrown in! 

Good grip off road in the muddy sections. 

Tread patten seemed to hold the mud, but found this quick to clear once back out off the muddy sections and on to the gravel path. 

Pattern clears quick enough. 

The Connectors handle all I put them through, no mishaps, punctures seem to be a thing long forgotten about, but could it be down to the Yogurt Tire Sealant from TY Bike Products.

Vibration from the Goodyear Connector gravel bike tire seem to be minimal, must admit I should have gone for the next size up as the replacement for the ones which were letting air out through the side wall, hopefully the 700 x50 size I have bought will not do the same… fingers crossed. 

Air bubbles coming out from the side wall of the connector tires. 

The Goodyear Connector is a easy tire to seat on the rim, I found no real issues with either front or the rear wheel accepting the Connector gravel tires, the tubeless tire sealant is by TY Bike Products called Yogurt, (see my tire sealant review ) with the replacement set of tires I bought, the pressure in the tires I put at around 40psi, ideal for the road ride, or that was my thinking… both tires held the pressure with no loss over night on the first fitting. 

The great thing about the gravel bike is one moment you can be a road cyclists, and the next a off road adventure cyclist, with mountain biking in between, and that is where the Connector sits, capable of getting you “PB’s” on Strava segments one moment, then tackle any off road segments you fancy from mud to hard packed gravel, the tread pattern features tightly spaced centre knobs which gives you the fast speed on the road, and spreading out to the wider spaced side knobs to give you the grip on the gravel and mud. 

As you can see from the photos I have been out testing the Goodyear Connector gravel bike tire and the tire sealant, Next ride I do I’ll be lowering the tire pressure to find out how well they cope with the road buzz and grip off road, 

My Verdict so far.. 

I like them, they feel fast and sure footed both on and off road, plenty of grip, I’ve still got more do with the Goodyear yet, but I need to change over to the larger 700x50 so I know that they are ok with no more air leaking from the side walls, something that I was very disappointed in seeing, a replacement set was found and they were ok, but having bought a new set of a larger size,  I will need to try them out before the return date is passed! 

Watch this space, Pro-Bike, Paligap, Goodyear. 

UPDATE 10/11/2021

Awesome set of Gravel Tires! 

A quick blast around the Harlow MTB Course at Rundel's Woods, the trail was a bit over grown, not surprising really as its had a year to grow back as nature intended! 

Impressed with the tires, good grip on the real muddy sections that even a MTB bike would struggle with, the Yogurt Tubeless tire sealant is far superior  to anything else I've tested! 

Highly recommend the Connector  in the 700x35 size.. 

UPDATE: 29/01/2022.

Really happy with the Non visits from the Puncture Fairy, is it down to the added TY Bike Products Yogurt in the Tires, either way, if that's the case its a great set up, not even had to add any more TY Bike Products Yogurt, It is "Honestly The Best Tubeless Tire Sealant I've Have done a Review on" 

If you want trouble Free Tubeless Cycling check out the TY Bike Products Website, they also do brilliant Rim Tape and more.. 

https://www.tybikeproducts.com/

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