With all the hullabaloo around hookless road tubeless, the new Goodyear VectorR road bike tires seem like a timely launch. Developed in conjunction with Zipp specifically for their 303 wheels, it’s an interesting partnership that delivers a truly optimized system.
The key difference is that the tread cap and casing is all specifically made for Zipp 303-series wheels. The result is the VectorR 700×30 tire measures a true 30mm on Zipp’s 25mm internal rims.
The bead design is optimized for better fitment with hookless wheels, and more specifically for Zipp’s 353 NSW and 303 Firecrest wheels.
It’s not just fitment for safety reasons, because, if we’re being honest, hookless rims for road are mostly fine as long as you adhere to recommended tire pressures and installation guidelines. If you’re concerned about it, then there’s no need to buy Zipp wheels or Goodyear tires optimized for them and you can go straight to the comments to register your concerns.
No, here, it’s largely about aerodynamics. Goodyear says that standard 28mm wide tires are designed for rims with 19mm internal widths, yielding a tire that measure right about 28mm wide. That puts its tread cap where it should be for straight-line and cornering grip, and the casing construction is designed to support that.
But Zipp’s rim profiles are much wider (as are many other brands these days). Put that same 28mm tire on a wider rim and it usually stretches to about 30mm wide. Its profile gets distorted and the tread cap isn’t wide enough to fully support deep cornering. But, oddly, aerodynamics are slightly improved.
So, why not optimize?
With these new VectorR 30mm tires, the tire construction is designed to create an optimal profile, tread contact patch, and aerodynamics. The tire’s actual width is 30mm, which matches the outer rim width for a better look and streamlined airflow.
Not only do they match the rim, their sidewalls and construction are designed to support the rider and bike weight with the recommended lower tire pressures.
What about other brands of wheels?
Goodyear calls this their Fitment Series, which “utilize strategic partnerships toe develop industry leading tires that embrace emerging technologies and trends without compromise.” It’s a systems-based approach to tire development that optimizes around a specific use case. In this case, it’s the Zipp 303 NSW/Firecrest rims.
Beyond that, it’s a bit fuzzy. Zipp isn’t endorsing them for use on other rims but suggested that, technically, they’re compatible with Zipp’s 23mm internal rims, too, (like the 404-series) but they’re more compatible with their 25mm internal rims.
Goodyear lists their specs as “designed to measure 30mm on a 25mm TSS rim”, but also indicate that they are “for use only with Zipp 622×23-25 TSS rims and were designed exclusively around the Zipp 622×25 TSS rim”. So, up to you if you want to run them on other wheels…it won’t void a warranty or anything, but…
What about speed & grip?
It’s not just about fitment. They also targeted speed, rolling resistance, and grip. Zipp says they’re about 1w faster than the Continental tire they’ve always used for testing, which they’ve always found to be the fastest tire they’ve tested, and a good benchmark.
They also have low rolling resistance, which, when combined with the aero gains, puts them overall on par with the speed of the Conti. For grip, they got closer to Conti’s dry grip, but exceeded both it and the Vittoria for wet grip. So, basically, it’s a great tire.
Coming in two versions
There are three versions of the tires, two 30mm wide and one 35mm wide. While the names imply there’s one specifically for the NSW wheels, that’s really just an indication that it’s the higher-end tire. You can put it on the 303 Firecrest, etc., if you want.
VectorR NSW 30
The lightweight racing and climbing option, it has a 150tpi short-ply casing with their R:Shield puncture protection layer under the tread cap. They have their Dynamic:UHP compound for low rolling resistance and high grip. Claimed weight is 275-280g, 700×30 only.
Vector R SW 30 T2 & 35
These have a 120tpi casing and thicker tread caps for longer tread life and a bit more puncture protection, but are otherwise the same. Comes in 700×30 (325g) and 700×35 (365g) sizes.
