{"id":174024,"date":"2025-09-27T22:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T22:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/174024\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T22:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T22:56:09","slug":"review-goodyear-wrangler-mtf-mtr-compete-with-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/174024\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Goodyear Wrangler MTF\/MTR compete with the best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goodyear has an exceptionally long history in making automotive tires, but its return to bikes is more recent. While initial efforts didn\u2019t necessarily match the brand\u2019s reputation<\/a>, the newer Wrangler MTF and MTR are stand-out options. Both the front- and rear-specific tire bear a strong resemblance to some aggressive treads from the competition, but with some important changes to set Goodyear apart.<\/p>\n

The result is a tire that thrived in all conditions, from the dusty dry days of summer to the slippery, treacherous roots and rocks of fall and winter riding.<\/p>\n

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\nGoodyear Wrangler MTF\/MTR<\/p>\n

As metioned, Goodyear modells the Wrangler\u2019s after one of the more popular gravity tires out there. There\u2019s tall, block-ish knobs with only the slightest ramping, prioritizing grip over rolling speed. The rear-specific MTR uses a 2-3-2 tread pattern, with the row of three nearly touching the well-spaced and well-supported side lugs. The alternating row of two gives some room for debris to clear out and the slightest siping should let the individual knobs conform, somewhat, to the surface. The MTF tire switches to a 2-2-3 tire, giving more space to clear debris and a slightly lighter weight.<\/p>\n

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The Enduro casing we tested has noticeably more supportive sidewalls than some other brands, making it a good option for those who want protection but don\u2019t want to mess with inserts. Goodyear\u2019s latest offering comes with a suitably slow-returning and tacky Grip3S rubber compound that stays confident was rocks and roots get greasy, which was not the case with the Newton\u2019s we tested.<\/p>\n

Goodyear offers the Wrangler MTF in 29\u2033 only, with a choice between 2.4\u2033 or 2.6\u2033 widths. The Wrangler MTR comes in 27.5\u00d72.6 or 29\u00d72.4\u2033 sizes. There\u2019s also a Downhill casing and an ElectricDrive option with more support and tougher construction for eMTB use. Weights run from 1,315g for the MTR in 29\u00d72.4 to 1,095g for the 29\u00d72.4\u2033 MTF. Tires are $124.99 each in Canada.<\/p>\n

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Roping in real world conditions<\/p>\n

I enjoyed the Wranglers all fall and well into the winter. But I think the strength of Goodyear\u2019s new tire is best exemplified by an early-season ride this spring. That\u2019s a great time of year for testing tires as conditions can be great, or terrible, or swing wildly and unpredictably between the two.<\/p>\n

The trail started off with high-speed, chunky sections out in the open where the dirt was loose but the rocks were dry. Fast enough that the Wrangler\u2019s supportive casing didn\u2019t squirm or give out on the rocks and still dug in and had the support to really lean into loose dirt corners. At the same time, the Wrangler\u2019s had the traction needed when this trail ducked into some thick trees. Over a few metres, dry dirt turned into sloppy muck intertwined with a mess of greasy roots and rocks. To make everything just a bit more exciting, just after entering the trees, it pointed directly down the mountain.<\/p>\n

Solid, well-supported side lugs stand up well in cornering Tall, square lugs are about traction, not rolling speed on pavement There’s enough space to clear dirt, so the Wrangler’s keep holding traction instead of packing up The rear uses slightly closer spacing and a 2-3-2 pattern<\/p>\n

Flying into the shade at a speed more appropriate to dry conditions, and with confidence to match, I was moving way to fast for the wet, fall-line traction-free surfing. On a lesser tire, this would have spelled disaster. The Wranglers have enough bite that I was able to reign in my speed and are tacky enough that I didn\u2019t immediately slide out on the wet rock. Somehow I made it through with just a warning and no real consequences for my foolhardy endrance.\u00a0There aren\u2019t a lot of tires that can so capably handle those two very different demands \u2013 speed over rough and then wet and steep \u2013 so seamlessly.<\/p>\n

Wranglers\u2019 still aren\u2019t the lightest tire out there, or the fastest rolling in a straight line. But they make up for the weight with supportive sidewalls and perhaps slower rolling speed with oodles of control. Goodyear\u2019s joined the growing crowd that realise that big, square lugs that make a tire able to brake later, corner faster and generally have more control to carry speed in hairier situations is more important \u2013 and faster overall \u2013 than how fast you go on a straight section.<\/p>\n

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Review: Goodyear Wrangler MTF\/MTR<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a dofference between riding roots and wet rocks, where you\u2019re attacking and picking lines, and just trying to survive. These tires allow you to attack. To ride fast and brake late with confidence. Even on tricky wet\/dry mixed rocks.\u00a0When the trails dry out, the Wranglers really like to dig into the\u00a0deep loose stuff, with the confidence and support to really lean the bike over without worrying about sliding. The near-continuous coverage from center tread to side lugs also makes the Wrangler\u2019s really predictable when transitioning between a straight line and corners.<\/p>\n

Goodyear\u2019s Wranglers hunted for traction in almost any condition. I knew I could throw them into any scenario and they\u2019d hold up just fine, even with the weight of an eMTB behind me (Goodyear does offer an \u201cElectricDrive\u201d option if you\u2019re really sending it on the eeb, but on an SL eMTB I was quite fine). I liked that there was more sidewall support, so I could run slighly lower pressures without the tire feeling squirmy. All in, that makes for a tire that was the easy pick most days, a go-to that never let me down or held me back. Not the lightest, sure, but not the heaviest. And, more importantly, great any time there are more important considerations than weight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Goodyear has an exceptionally long history in making automotive tires, but its return to bikes is more recent.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,49133,88966,88967,88968,35620,61,88969],"class_list":["post-174024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-goodyear","tag-goodyear-wrangler","tag-mob-features","tag-mountain-bike-tires","tag-mtb-gear","tag-technology","tag-tires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}