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review

Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless tyre

8
£50.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Good value, impressively airtight and strong grip in any conditions
Impressively airtight
Good grip wet or dry
Easy to install
Could be more supple
Weight: 
303g
Contact: 

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The Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless tyre grips well whether it's wet or dry, rolls well and – although slightly heavier than other top-end tubeless options – proves an excellent allrounder thanks to a really airtight carcass and a very competitive price. They're not the most supple, though, and some of the opposition feel quicker too.

Goodyear offers the Eagle F1 in an abundance of ways, from 23 to 32mm in clincher tube type (see Dave's review here), to 25-32mm in Tubeless form.

> Find your nearest dealer here

I've got the 28mm tubeless in black – there are no tan wall options here as it's fundamentally porous. Also, if you're looking for something race-specific, the Eagle F1 Supersport version is lighter and faster (at the expense of puncture protection and durability).

2020 Goodyear Eagle F1 Ultra High-Performance All-Round Road Race tyre 700x28c - boxed.jpg

Tubeless tyres can be notoriously hard to fit, but the Eagle F1 doesn't pose any major problems. The large 'dual angle' bead is a test for the thumbs, but you can always resort to a tyre lever, and once on I was able to inflate them with just a track pump on multiple wheelsets.

2020 Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless fitted3.jpg

Goodyear calls the compound Graphene Silica Road, and if graphene sounds familiar it's because Vittoria has been using it in its Corsa tyres for a few years now – and created some of the grippiest tyres out there.

Graphene offers the holy grail of more grip, less rolling resistance and lower wear, according to Goodyear's science numbers versus a 'standard' compound (10.1% more rolling efficiency, 8% more traction and 7.2% less wear). And who can argue with science numbers like that?

2020 Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless fitted1.jpg

In reality the Eagle F1 tubeless rolls well, and grips well in both dry and wet weather. In the dry I was able to attack descents with confidence and, although I still rate the Vittoria Corsa Speed G Isotech as the most grippy, these come in not far behind – and on a par with the ever-popular Continental GP 5000 TL.

During a month and a bit of testing, I've had plenty of opportunity to test wet weather performance and it's been consistently good. Out the saddle on slippery slopes or rolling into corners the hang on well (unlike the Schwalbe Pro-One in the same situations).

2020 Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless fitted2.jpg

Wear rates and durability are obviously a hard one to review in only a month, but I've managed about 1000km on these and to be honest they look as good as new. I'll update the review as I continue to put more miles on them but so far so good.

This 28mm width is optimised for 19mm internal width rims, and on the Scribe Race-D wheelset they do indeed measure 28mm.

> Should you get tubeless tyres? Are they your best option?

One notable difference between the Eagle F1 and other tubeless tyres I've used, such as the Cadex Race 25, is how infrequently they needed blowing up. I can easily ride a week and a half before my analogue gauge registers any drop, and presumably this is due to the 1/2 Ply TC Liner. The downside is the liner does add a little weight.

Speaking of weight, the 28mm version is listed at 300g, and we weighed two at 303g each. Accurate, then, and pretty average for a 28mm tubeless tyre, although we have recently reviewed some, such as the 271g Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance, that are lighter.

Although not class-leading, comfort is good. The 120tpi casing provides good road feel, and I've taken to doing all my training on 28mm tyres as they really help cut road buzz – they're not only more pleasant, but quicker.

Value

At £50 these are £5 more than the tubed version, and even though the wider (30mm and 32mm) ones are more again at £55, the price looks great against the competition.

> 32 of the best tubeless wheelsets under £1,000

For all out performance and rolling I'd still recommend the Continental GP 5000 TL, but that's £69.95. And for an unbeatable ride feel, the Vittoria Corsa Speed absolutely nails it – but is £64.99.

For training though, it's extremely hard to overlook the Eagle F1 at £15-£20 less with only a miniscule reduction in performance. The tubeless liner also makes the Goodyear extremely easy to live with, as they need pumping up less frequently and continue to perform well when the roads get wet.

Verdict

Good value, impressively airtight and strong grip in any conditions

road.cc test report

Make and model: Goodyear Eagle F1 tubeless tyre

Size tested: 700x28

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Goodyear says their Eagle F1 is for "superior on road grip and handling. Designed for performance at the highest level."

I agree it's high performance, but other tyres narrowly beat it. Where the Eagle F1 shines is air retention and value for money.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Dynamic:GSR Compound

120TPI casing

Tubeless Complete

Dual Angle bead

R:Shield breaker puncture protection layer

1/2 Ply TC liner layer

Size tested - 700c x 28mm

Claimed weight:300g

Max inflation pressure: 85psi

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10

Feel fast and grip well, wet or dry.

Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10

Hard wearing.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10

Average, and close to the GP 5000.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10

Good but not exceptional.

Rate the product for value:
 
9/10

More expensive tyres only offer very small improvements in performance.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Wet and dry grip is good, and so is comfort and speed – although it's not class leading.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Easy setup.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing in particular.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Very well – most performance tubeless tyres are £10-£15 more.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

The Goodyear has some excellent features, such as the dual angle bead which makes it very easy to set-up and a liner which prevents air from seeping out. There are more comfortable quicker tyres out there, but they're more expensive – the Eagle F1 is a great balance, and an eight.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 22  Height: 6ft  Weight: 74kg

I usually ride: Specialized venge pro 2019  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

Jamie has been riding bikes since a tender age but really caught the bug for racing and reviewing whilst studying towards a master's in Mechanical engineering at Swansea University. Having graduated, he decided he really quite liked working with bikes and is now a full-time addition to the road.cc team. When not writing about tech news or working on the Youtube channel, you can still find him racing local crits trying to cling on to his cat 2 licence...and missing every break going...

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1 comments

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cborrman | 2 years ago
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Just got the tanwall tubeless version, not sure where you got the fact that tanwall and tubeless will not work as they are porous, as all tyres are porours, irrespective of their dye colour, what makes better tubeless tyres no porous is a butyl lining on the inside, which does not affect the colour on the outside, despite some calling tan wall transparrent... This is the way the conti 5000TR loses 50g vs the older TL (also in tanwall) anyway, got them based on the rest of your review and how good the goodyear connectors are on my gravel bike... (also tanwall and tubelss  21

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