Test: Goodyear, a titan of the tire industry, ventures into the demanding mountain bike market with the Wrangler Enduro. Known for its decades of dominance in the automotive sector, Goodyear is now bringing its expertise to the trails. We tested the tire, designed for dry conditions, over several months in a variety of terrain to find out if the big name can also impress on mountain bikes. The test shows a solid tire with impressive grip on loose surfaces, but one that reaches its limits in the wet.
The Goodyear Wrangler in detail: technology and construction
Goodyear is a name inextricably linked with mobility for over a century. Since its beginnings with bicycle and carriage tires in 1898, the company has significantly shaped the development of rubber compounds and casings. This immense experience is now flowing into the development of mountain bike tires. According to the manufacturer, the Wrangler was designed specifically for aggressive, downhill-oriented mountain bikes and e-MTBs and is intended to demonstrate its strengths primarily on dry, dusty, and rocky surfaces.
Carcass and rubber compound
The Goodyear Wrangler is available in three versions: in addition to the tested Enduro version, there's also an e-bike-specific Electricdrive tire and a particularly robust tire for downhill use. The casing is always designed for robustness and puncture protection, even in the "lightest" Enduro version.
The test tire uses the Grip3S compound. This soft triple compound is designed to provide a balance between maximum grip, good damping, and acceptable wear. There's also an "Electricdrive" version specifically for e-bikes, which uses a harder rubber compound to counteract the increased wear caused by the motor drive.
Profile and variants
The Wrangler's motocross-inspired tread design features deep, closely spaced center knobs designed to reduce rolling resistance. Aggressive side knobs provide the necessary cornering grip. The tire is available in the popular sizes 27,5" and 29" and in widths of 2,4" and 2,6". Our test setup consisted of a mullet configuration with a 29" front tire and a 27,5" rear tire, both 2,6" wide.
Basically, the tire is available in a front and rear wheel specific version, which are called MTF (=Front) and MTR (=Rear).
On the trail: Our test impressions
For the practical test, the Goodyear Wrangler was mounted on an e-MTB with 170 mm of travel – a true endurance test that puts the material to its limits. The tires were mounted on rims with a wide inner width of 30 mm and ridden over several months in a wide variety of terrain, from home trails in Germany and Austria to the dusty slopes of Finale Ligure.
In terms of weight, our test tires were exactly within Goodyear's specifications. The front tire weighed 1.152 g, the rear tire 1.320 g. There were no surprises in terms of width either: Both tires performed as expected for voluminous 2,6-inch tires.
Performance in dry conditions
As promised by the manufacturer, the Wrangler unfolds its full potential in dry conditions. Here, the tire impressed with its very docile handling, plenty of grip, and pleasant self-damping. It offered impressive traction and control, especially on loose surfaces and in sandy conditions. The grip limit is pleasingly wide, and loss of grip is announced early, giving the driver plenty of time to react. The robust casing offers plenty of support, meaning the tire doesn't feel spongy even with low air pressure. Compared to competing products of a similar weight, such as tires with Exo+ or SuperTrail casings, the puncture protection is even slightly better, allowing for driving at lower pressure. Depending on your driving style and the surface, you should work your way down to the minimum: even slightly over-inflated tires noticeably lose damping.
Weaknesses in wet conditions
Unfortunately, the tire couldn't maintain this high level as soon as conditions became damp or wet. Here, the Wrangler showed a clear weakness: The grip limit became noticeably smaller, and there were several sudden and unforeseen losses of grip. While the tread's self-cleaning ability on deep forest soil and mud can still be described as good, its wet performance doesn't quite match that of an all-rounder. Therefore, the tire is only partially suitable for mixed use in our latitudes, where damp conditions are commonplace.
Wear and weight
The weight of the Enduro version is competitive. Rolling resistance is unobtrusive and solid for a tire in this class. Wear was average in the E-MTB test. After approximately 500 kilometers, the rear tire already showed clear signs of wear in the form of broken and partially torn-out lugs. Therefore, the "Electricdrive" version with its harder rubber compound is clearly recommended for use on E-MTBs.
