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review

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tubeless tyre

9
£52.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Excellent durable and puncture-resistant wet weather tyre with the performance of a summer one
Grippy compound that works well in the wet and dry
Holds pressure well
True sizing when fitted
Nothing really
Weight: 
324g

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The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Tubeless Complete tyre – as opposed to the Tube Type – is surprisingly quick and supple for something that is also robust enough to deal with all the grit and flint being washed out of the verges this time of year. Its new design makes it a step above the rest too when it comes to tubeless capability.

On the market, you'll find tubeless tyres that don't necessarily need a sealant to keep them inflated, although the majority are tubeless-ready (TLR or TR generally), which have more porous sidewalls that need a sealant to, er, seal them.

Goodyear has launched a range of tyres called 'Tubeless Complete' as a kind of middle ground. Using a multi-compound material layer to the inside of the casing means that they don't use up so much of the original input of sealant to plug any tiny gaps in the tyres' construction, and they maintain pressure for much longer.

2020 Goodyear Vector 4 Season tyre

Using the recommended 40ml of sealant for this tyre size before the initial inflation didn't see any bubbling through the sidewall, and the tyre had lost about 10% of the 80psi pressure the following morning.

Throughout testing, I was probably topping them up once a week, similar to a clincher with an inner tube.

Goodyear has also tweaked the bead design to create a Dual Angle Bead which means it is compatible with standard hooked rims and also the completely flush hookless rims that are starting to make their way through to road/gravel wheels.

Fitting the tyres was an easy affair, with them popping on both the Token DHuezz wheels and a set of hookless FFWD gravel wheels that had just arrived for testing.

These tyres have been created to work with a 19mm internal rim width which the majority of disc brake wheels are using these days. This means that when they are inflated, they measure up the same size as the sidewall states.

Many tyre widths are still based on 17mm rims, so tend to come up around 2mm wider when fitted to a modern rim, something to take into account if you have limited frame clearance.

A non-tubeless clincher version – the 'Tube Type' – is also available.

The Vector 4Seasons makes up part of Goodyear's Ultra High-Performance (UHP) line-up, which focuses on optimising low rolling resistance and weight, and, in the Vector's case, dealing with year-round road debris. It's quite a difficult balance to achieve but Goodyear has done a good job. (Neil was impressed with the new Eagle Sport, too.)

The tyres have been fitted for the majority of the testing period to my Kinesis T2 which, thanks to its mudguards, pretty much only ever goes out in the rain. The Vectors have proved themselves to be highly durable in all sorts of horrible conditions, and punctures haven't been an issue.

The Dynamic:Silica4 compound has a tacky feel to it and grip levels are very impressive, giving loads of confidence in fast bends or when tackling roundabouts while keeping up with the flow of traffic.

It works just as well in the dry too. The Vectors have a very similar feel to some of the better summer race tyres in the corners and they aren't far off in the rolling resistance stakes either, they're just a bit weightier that's all. Not that you notice that extra 150ish grams in the real world.

As their sidewalls need to be less porous, many tubeless tyres don't have quite the same feel as a standard clincher, but the Vectors are surprisingly supple which aids comfort and, more importantly, means you get plenty of feedback from the road.

I've ridden about 400 miles on this pair so far and wear rates are looking pretty good, although it's way too early to tell for sure. If anything shows up as I carry on riding into the winter, I'll be back with an update.

The Vectors are available in four sizes: 25mm, 28mm, 30mm and 32mm. The first two have an rrp of £52 while the wider two are £57.

That means these 28mm versions come in a smidge under one of the benchmarks, the Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons, and I'd say the Goodyears have the edge on ride quality.

The Vectors are undercut by the Michelin Power All Season tyres at £47.99, which Simon found didn't quite deliver the 'summer tyre' ride of the Goodyears, but those were the 25mm size – we do have some 28s on test at the moment – full review to come.

Liam highly rated the Vittoria Corsa Control TLR G2.0 tyres and they scored very well across all of the aspects that the Vectors have going for them – but they are £69.99!

> Buyer’s Guide: 22 of the best winter tyres

Overall, if you like plenty of grip and speed throughout the year without really sacrificing durability, then the Goodyear Vector 4Season is a very good tyre choice. There are cheaper solutions out there if you're happy to sacrifice a bit of suppleness or speed, but I'd rather not.

Verdict

Excellent durable and puncture-resistant wet weather tyre with the performance of a summer one

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tubeless tyre

Size tested: 28mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Goodyear says, "The all-new Vector 4Seasons UHP road tire utilizes the latest developments in materials and construction methods to optimize performance across a wide range of conditions. "

A grippy and fast tyre that works whatever the weather.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Goodyear lists:

Dynamic:Silica4 Compounding for Multi-Condition Grip

Lightweight Reinforced Casing for Improved Durability

Tubeless Complete and Tube-Type Options

Sizes: 25mm, 28mm, 30mm and 32mm

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

A high performance tyre that can be used year round.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Loads of grip and a supple ride.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

So far there isn't really anything to dislike but I'll be keeping an eye on the wear rates.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They are in the right sort of ball park: Continental's Grand Prix 4 Seasons are a few quid more and the Michelins mentioned in the review are a bit cheaper. Something with similar performance like the Vittoria Corsas are much more expensive though.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

A really impressive tyre that saves you having to swap rubber as the seasons change if you want a year-round fast, grippy and supple ride.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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4 comments

Avatar
Psi Squared | 3 years ago
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How do these compare to something like the Conti GP5000TL?

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Kiwifrisor replied to Psi Squared | 3 years ago
0 likes

I have been using the gp5000 tl for the past year (2 pairs) & I have been very happy with them speed, feel, ease of tubeless setup & puncture protection. I decided to give vector 4seasons a try, but I was terribly disapointed. I swapped them after two weeks of numerous punctures. Now I am happily back to the contis, hope that helps.

Avatar
yupiteru | 3 years ago
0 likes

How much?  52 nicker just for one? Yer avin a larf surely? 

Avatar
fukawitribe replied to yupiteru | 3 years ago
0 likes

..because everybody always pays RRP ?

Mind you, even then it's still cheaper than the RRP some of the usual clinchers suspects, e.g. Conti GP4/5000, Schwalbe Pro One, Vittoria Corsa G+ (not knocking them, and nobody buys them at RRP either..)

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