Goodyear Eagle F1 road bike tire on test

Light, reliable and damn fast. Goodyear are pinning their hopes on the wonder material graphene, which has been put to use in the Eagle F1 road bike tire. How well does the new rubber of the speed all-rounder work on the road and can the addition of graphene spur you on to new record times?

The Goodyear team puts stock in the wonder material graphene for its new top of the line road bike tire. The Eagle F1 is offered in a Standard and SuperSport version, for everyday use or racing, timed rides and triathlons respectively. To reduce the weight and make the 120 TPI casing as light as possible, the tire hasn’t been designed to run tubeless. However, it does have R:Shield Protection, a tire-size specific puncture protection belt under the tread. That means that despite its light weight, the Eagle F1 should stay puncture free. For the production of its tires, Goodyear use new materials and new manufacturing methods. These are claimed to reduce rolling resistance by 10.1%, increase grip by 8% and improve durability by 7.2%. On paper those are fantastic numbers, but do the tires also perform out in the real world? We tested two samples in 700 x 28C on our ENVE SES 3.4 rims.

Goodyear Eagle F1 on test

On the scales, at 223 and 225 g respectively, the two test tires show little variability in weight and are lighter even than the weight claimed by Goodyear (235 g). On our comparatively wide ENVE rims (21 mm internal width), the Eagle F1 tires measure in at exactly the specified 28 mm – with a Schwalbe SV15 tube inside as unfortunately, the tires aren’t tubeless ready. Mounting the tires is easy with no tire lever required and the Eagle seats on the rim bed even at a low pressure. Out on the road, the good acceleration is noticeable and the tire is willingly brought up to speed. The rolling characteristics are pleasantly uniform and at high speeds we couldn’t detect any pulsing or vibrations. With regards to rolling resistance, we have to be clear that we tested this tire out in the real world and not in a lab. Above 15 km/h, air resistance forms the largest obstacle for rider and bike, meaning the 3.8721 watts saved here or there actually mean very little in practice for the majority of us. 😉 Of course, for all those who earn a living with cycling, it’s a completely different matter.

The damping of the Goodyear Eagle F1 is excellent and smaller vibrations are effectively swallowed. However, on large hits the tire deflects relatively easily – the risk of snakebite punctures is already quite high with a tube and you’ll have to ride at a slightly higher pressure than usual to avoid this risk. We recommend you spend a little bit of time finding the perfect pressure for you and your riding. Our suggestion: start with 6.5 bar and work your way up or down from there. For an 82 kg rider and 8.5 kg bike, we rode the tires with 5.7 bar at the front and 5.9 bar at the rear. Through the corner, the tire handles predictably and stays good natured even at the limit. The level of grip is good, but not necessarily the world’s best – good natured handling before all out race performance then. We see the perfect application for the Goodyear Eagle F1 for everything from sporty riding to extended tours and rides. If you’re looking for a little more performance, you should take a closer look at the slightly lighter, but also slightly more puncture prone Eagle F1 SuperSport. That said, during our testing we didn’t have any flats despite the mucky spring roads. The tire stays predictable in the wet, but it just can’t quite keep up with the grip of the best tires we’ve tested. Its specialty is dry conditions on roads that are broken up and dirty. However, the lacking tubeless compatibility seems like an oversight in this day and age.

Fazit

With the new Eagle F1, Goodyear have delivered a solid and good natured all-rounder. The tire shines with its excellent comfort and predictable cornering and stays reliable in the wet. Unfortunately, for tubeless fans the Eagle F1 is a no-go as it’s only compatible with tubes. Despite this, we didn’t have any flats at all during our test.

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Words & Photos: Philipp Schwab