The return to the bicycle tyre scene of Goodyear in 2018 and the introduction to South Africa in 2022, has added to the myriad options for road, gravel and mountain bike tyres. We spent a couple of months test-riding the Goodyear Peak SL Race, a lightweight tyre for XCO, Ultra-marathon and Gravel racing. Here’s what our test crew have to say.
There’s a large portion of the South African mountain bike market that wants a tyre that’s very light, super grippy, fast-rolling, puncture-resistant and highly durable. Does this tyre exist? Probably not, but the Goodyear Peak SL Race certainly gets close.
Let’s go through those features one by one:
LIGHT: Yes. At 710g for 29×2.4 tyre, the Peak SL Race is one of the lightest tyres in its class. According to Goodyear, the narrower 29×2.25 Peak SL Race weighs 680g. (Note: tyre production can deliver up to a 7% variance in weight.)
GRIPPY: Mostly. Our skilled testers felt it lacked the grip they wanted when cornering at speed, while our less skilled testers thought it was grippy enough for their more moderate pace through turns. Essentially, it offers enough grip for 90% of South African mountain bikers.
FAST ROLLING: A big YES! All our testers say that the Goodyear Peak SL Race rolls really fast. One of our more experienced testers says he feels it’s the fastest-rolling tyre he’s ever ridden.
PUNCTURE-RESISTANT: Yes. This is based on the fact that we never sustained any punctures during the nine weeks of testing. All testing was done on a range of Gauteng trails parks in late Autumn and early Summer. Mostly loose over hardpack, hardpack, loose stoney and, eventually, hero dirt with some mud.
DURABLE: Hard to tell. Ridden by three testers over nine weeks with over 800km covered, they still look pretty good; but lightweight tyres aren’t usually made to last too long.
We were sent the tan-wall version. The Peak SL Race also comes in solid black, which is slightly lighter. The pair we tested has 120TPI casing and sidewall protection. According to Jaco Malan of Orim Global, the South African distributor of Goodyear bicycle tyres, there is a more aggressive version, the Peak Ultimate, which comes in 2.4 and 2.6 widths and which is apparently more grippy (review for this model coming soon).
The Goodyear Peak SL Race uses a low-profile tread pattern, with closely spaced knobs for high rolling speed. There’s a consistent centre tread line with two rows of angled transition knobs on either side and larger (but not large) moderately spaced edge knobs for cornering bite. There’s varying degrees of siping on the all the knobs to allow for displacement and traction.
They Peak SL Race is what Goodyear calls Tubeless Complete – we didn’t fit them, we got The Bicycle Service Company to do that for us, so we don’t know how difficult they are to mount.
Our testers were all impressed with the Goodyear Peak SL Race. While not the most grippy at high-speed, high-pressure cornering, it’s an exceptionally fast-rolling tyre that seems to have very good puncture resistance. The Goodyear Peak SL Race is also suited to Gravel racing, which is good news for Gravel riders looking for a swift medium- (2.25) or high-volume (2.4) tyre.
From a mountain biking perspective, the Goodyear Peak SL Race is ideal for those who ride Ultra-endurance races and Ultra-marathons, where rolling speed is more important than cornering grip. The Goodyear Peak SL Race is also ideal for skilled riders competing in XCO races wanting a light, puncture-resistant tyre.
PRICE: R1 150 – Goodyear Peak SL Race 2.25 and 2.4 (Black and Tan)
PRICE: R1 250 – Goodyear Peak Ultimate 2.4 and 2.6 (Black and Tan)
For more information on the Goodyear Peak SL Race, click here.
