Product Review: Goodyear Newton Tires

Way back in 1898 the Goodyear name appeared on a bicycle tire, long before the company became known for being one of the world’s largest automotive tire manufacturer. The Goodyear name and its “Winged Foot” logo can be seen hovering over sporting events, driving down roadways or achieving blistering speeds around racetracks. Goodyear teamed up with Rubber Kinetics to bring the world a new line of premium bicycle tires for everything from road to mountain use. More viable options are always welcomed by the EBA crew, so we got our hands on Goodyear’s burliest tread patterns and mounted them to one of our high-performance rigs. We then set out to see how these new tires held up against the current top competitors in the mountain bike realm.  

Tech features:

Goodyear offers a few options for mountain bikers, including the Peak for cross-country racing, the Escape for light-duty trail riding, and the Newton for aggressive downhill and enduro applications. Goodyear also launched a tire called the Newton ST. The ST designation stands for “steer,” meaning this tire is specifically designed to be run in front. 

The Newton and the Newton ST are quite similar with just a few subtle differences. Both tires are available in either a 2.4-inch or 2.6-inch width and can be purchased in 29-inch or 27.5-inch sizes. Two casing options are available, including a 1.5-ply EN casing or a dual-ply DH casing. Goodyear also offers two different compounds—Dynamic R/T and Dynamic RS/T. The R/T compound is best used by riders looking for durability, while the RS/T compound is softer, providing optimal traction. 

The Newton and the Newton ST are quite similar; however, their tread pat-terns have a few different nuances. The Newton features L-shaped side knobs and a uniform tread pattern down the center. The ST has slightly taller side knobs with less of an L-shape and a more open tread pattern down the center. This is said to increase cornering bite and braking performance.

We tested both tires in a 27.5×2.6-inch size in the EN casing with an R/T com-pound. Our Newton and Newton ST test tires both weigh right around 1150 grams  and have a retail price of $80. 

Field test results:

We mounted the Newton and Newton ST onto one of our longer-travel test bikes to truly push these tires to their limits. The tires held their shape well, thanks to their burly enduro casing, which is the lighter option over the downhill casing. Mounting the tires required a little muscle, but we wouldn’t say they were hard to mount. In fact, the tighter fitment of these tires actually makes setting them up tubeless a very easy task. Using Orange Seal sealant, we managed to seat the bead armed with just a regular floor pump. After a couple days of letting these tires sit, we noticed very little, if any, air loss. Out on the trails, the Newtons continued to impress us with excellent traction and control. Our ST tire up front never felt like it was going to wash out, even when blasting through blown-out trail conditions. It also delivered good braking performance and felt fairly fast compared to other 2.6-inch tires we have ridden. On climbs, the rear tire held traction well, and while these aren’t the lightest tires in their category, their minimal rolling resistance makes up for the added weight. Additionally, these tires held up to sharp rocks and other trail hazards well. The R/T compound showed little wear after our testing, so we are curious to try out the softer compound to see if it would further improve grip. That said, we were quite pleased with our Goodyear test tires. Furthermore, Goodyear told us that it will be introducing more options for specific trail conditions over the next few years. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a new set of enduro or downhill tires, we’d recommend giving Goodyear’s Newton tires a try.  www.goodyearbike.com

Hits

• Easy to install

• Great tread design

• Good side wall protection

Misses

• Could be a touch lighter

Star Rating

★★★★☆

THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS TO GET ELECTRIC BIKE ACTION