CX/Gravel Tire Test: Goodyear Connector Ultimate 35

The Goodyear Connector Ultimate is an allround gravel bike tire for "connecting tarmac and dirt, urban and rural", and from the looks of it, we can see why gravel bikers might be interested in this tire. The Connector Ultimate comes with tightly spaced center knobs and more widely spaced knobs along the edge of the tread, a pattern we see pretty often on gravel bike tires made for a wide range of conditions.

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Goodyear only recently re-entered the bicycle tire market, and we're not very familiar with them yet. When we look at the tire's construction, we find that the Connector Ultimate is made from quite a plain 120 TPI casing material. Goodyear's edge here seems to be their proprietary Tubeless Complete design that adds a multi-compound material that "allows for improved air retention while providing additional puncture and cut protection with minimal weight increase". The Tubeless Complete design works well from our side, as the tire was easy to inflate and sealed right from the start.

What's different from most other gravel bike tires with a similar tread pattern is the extra layer of R:Shield puncture-resistant material under the tread, which should give it a boost in our puncture resistance test. The compound is Goodyear's Dynamic Silica4 compound which, according to Goodyear, offers "Low rolling resistance and class-leading wet grip". Given Goodyear's vast experience with compound mixing and the compound being the most crucial ingredient of any tire, we're curious how the Connector Ultimate performs in our tests.

We've tested the Goodyear Connector Ultimate in the 35-622 size, but it's also available in the 40-622, 45-622, 50-622, and 50-584 sizes with all sizes available with either black or tan sidewalls.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Goodyear
Model	Connector Ultimate
Year	2023
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	GR.009.35.622.V003.R
TPI	120
Compound	Dynamic Silica4
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	35-622
Specified Weight	460 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	58
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	35-622 (700x35c) 40-622 (700x40c) 45-622 (700x45c) 50-622 (700x50c) 50-584 (650x50b)

Goodyear Connector Ultimate 35 Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	460 grams
Measured Weight	454 grams
Measured Width Casing	34 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	37 mm
Measured Height	32 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	1.7 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	2.4 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	2.40 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at low air pressure on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	None (30 ml sealant)
Measured Width	34 mm
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 33-35 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 36-38 = 54 psi/3.7 bar 39-42 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 43-46 = 46 psi/3.2 bar 47-50 = 42 psi/2.9 barHigh Air Pressure (60 psi / 4.1 bar)	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 55 psi/3.8 bar 33-35 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 36-38 = 45 psi/3.1 bar 39-42 = 42 psi/2.9 bar 43-46 = 38 psi/2.6 bar 47-50 = 35 psi/2.4 barMedium Air Pressure (50 psi / 3.4 bar)	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 44 psi/3.0 bar 33-35 = 40 psi/2.8 bar 36-38 = 36 psi/2.6 bar 39-42 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 43-46 = 31 psi/2.1 bar 47-50 = 28 psi/1.9 barLow Air Pressure (40 psi / 2.8 bar)	31.4 Watts CRR: 0.00941
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 33-35 = 30 psi/2.1 bar 36-38 = 27 psi/1.9 bar 39-42 = 25 psi/1.7 bar 43-46 = 23 psi/1.6 bar 47-50 = 21 psi/1.4 barExtra Low Air Pressure (30 psi / 2.1 bar)	37.0 Watts CRR: 0.01109
The CX/Gravel section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	40 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness	2.40 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	65 Points
Wet Grip Center	Members Only
Wet Grip Edge	Members Only
Measured Knob Height Center	1.7 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	2.4 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 CX/Gravel grip test rim width = 23.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

Even though the Goodyear Connector Ultimate performs quite well in nearly all of our tests, it falls flat on its face in our rolling resistance test. Compared to the competition that offers similar performance in the other tests, a pair of Connectors would require roughly 20 watts of additional power to ride at the same speed. The main problem is the compound that, even though it grips quite well, is underperforming for a tire with a premium price tag.

Given the high rolling resistance, we can't recommend the Connector Ultimate as we don't see an exceptional performance in any of our other tests that would make the high rolling resistance more bearable.

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RATING: 2.5 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Not Recommended

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