Reliable all-seasons tyre balancing performance and durability
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By Rob Borek
Published: February 18, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Goodyear’s Vector 4Seasons tyre is the brand’s all-season offering. It’s intended to offer good ride quality all-year round, while being grippy and durable enough to keep you out of trouble in the winter months.
The tyre manufacturer claims boldly that the Vector brings “ultra high performance to your daily ride whilst keeping you moving forward across a wide range of conditions”.
Although it measures up smaller than advertised, I’ve found the Vector 4Seasons to be a tough and durable road bike tyre, while providing good grip through some of the worst weather a UK winter can offer.
The Vector 4Seasons features Goodyear’s R:Shield and R:Armor protection, which offers bead-to-bead sidewall protection against punctures from all angles, as well as providing resistance to pinch flats.
I put this to the test with some viciously pothole-ridden farm lanes and found the Vectors to shrug off some particularly hard hits, which I’d have expected to lead to sidewall damage.
I’ve been testing the ‘tubeless complete’ version of this tyre, although a tube-type option is also available.
Goodyear claims its tubeless complete casing offers improved air retention at a minimal weight increase, and should soak up less tubeless sealant on first setup than some competitors’ more porous sidewalls.
I found the tyre pressures didn’t require checking any more regularly than my usual once per week, and there’s no significant loss of sealant into the sidewalls.
The Vector is available in 700 x 25, 28, 30 and 32c sizes, with the 28c version on test here.
I found these to come up a little smaller than advertised, measuring 27mm wide when fitted to 21mm internal-width rims.
For comparison, a 28mm Schwalbe Pro One or Continental GP5000 measure up at 30mm on the same rim width.
If you’re choosing between sizes and want some higher-volume rubber for your winter road bike, I advise choosing the larger option.
The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tyres feature a 120 TPI casing, and are claimed to weigh 360g per tyre.
On the road, the Vector 4Seasons proved to be a reliable companion through some of the worst examples of UK winter conditions.
This encompassed a sustained cold spell with temperatures below freezing, and several exceptionally wet rides along flooded and pothole-ridden lanes.
Despite the challenging conditions, the tyres don’t appear to have sustained any cuts or damage, and tread wear is not significant after 400 miles of use. I’m very impressed with the durability up to this point.
Goodyear’s Silica:4 compound has a soft and tacky feel, and definitely isn’t lacking in the grip department.
The American brand claims an 8.7 per cent increase in wet grip compared to its standard compound. While this is hard to verify, the Vector 4Seasons is definitely a grippy tyre that inspires confidence in the worst conditions.
As with all tyres, there are compromises to be made, and while the Vector 4Seasons feels great for a tyre in its class, it doesn’t have the fast and supple feeling of a thinner summer tyre.
Its thick casing and sidewall can feel a little harsh. This is probably compounded by the tyre coming up a touch smaller than claimed too.
Although the Vectors weighed in 16g per tyre lighter than claimed, they are still one of the heavier options out there at 344g per 700 x 28c tyre.
Riders looking for a winter tyre that is focused more on speed than durability may want to consider the Pirelli P-Zero Race 4S.
In terms of rolling speed and grip, I found the Goodyear Vector to feel fairly similar to Continental’s long-standing GP 4 Season. However, there is currently no tubeless-compatible version of that tyre available.
In testing, the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons met its claims as a tough and durable tyre, providing impressive levels of grip in typical UK winter conditions.
I would be quick to recommend this tyre to a rider prioritising a durable and hard-wearing tyre over outright performance.
However, as they blow out narrowly compared to equivalently sized tyres on the same rims, I would suggest opting for a larger size within your wheel’s compatibility. This would also help counteract some of the harshness inherent in a thicker, more durable casing.
Contributor
Rob Borek is a Bristol-based mechanic, wheel builder and all-around bike nerd. Cutting his teeth in cycling by spending several years as a courier, he knows what it means to spend days at a time in wet bib shorts, and appreciates the value of good kit as a result. Rob describes himself as a jack of all trades, and has ridden and raced across many disciplines, from road racing, time trialling and hill climbs, to enduro, cyclocross and bikepacking adventures. With years of bike industry experience under his belt, working with a number of prestigious brands, you'll be hard-pressed to find a mechanical problem Rob can't solve. In the wild, you're likely to find him bashing along the Mendips' filthiest lanes or trying to ride his mountain bike up something silly. Fun fact: his surname is also a Turkish pastry.
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