GoldenTyre GT201 Review

With the death of the Bridgestone TW202 and the tube that was in it (thanks, nails) I was in need of a 120/90-16 rear tyre, preferably tubeless. A quick look at Oponeo showed a possible solution from GoldenTyre, and a bit of reading showed people seemed to like them. Some people even race supermotos on them, though I did find someone saying the guys on these tyres slide around a lot more than those using Michelins. This is probably correct.. But I had to find out for myself. Bam!

The tyre man who I get to fit these must think I'm mental.

Initial impressions were good, the tread depth was massive, the releasing compound did not make itself known (take note of this, Bridgestone!) and having a nice round tyre was a great relief after the very squared Trailwing. It was immediately apparent that this tyre does not offer the same levels of grip and security as the TW202, but the compound is much harder so hopefully longevity will be better than ~4500 miles. The carcass is also stiffer in the middle but wobblier in the sidewall, which is the wrong way round - it has quite a harsh ride but also allows slight wobbling/wallowing when cornering hard. Overall this struck me as a cheap oriental tyre, except these aren't cheap at all at £52 - This tyre was more expensive than another Metzeler ME77 and a lot more than a Sava MC7 which I also intend to test at some point.

As the GT201 was fitted in December I had plenty of opportunities to try it in cold and wet conditions, and I can report that it doesn't like either! Temperatures below 10C or so make the compound become very hard and the tyre doesn't feel all that secure even in the dry, while in the wet it squirms slightly though it is better in warm rain than cold rain. It never let go or gave me a full slide but it doesn't track like it's on rails, which the TW202 really did manage.

I trundled onwards, including a trip to Scotland, and after around 6000 miles it became squared off which leads to a slightly queasy feeling round corners and coupled with the floppy sidewall it is distinctly knocked off line by road imperfections, especially strange cambers. The CB250 is usually not affected by these in the slightest, the GT201 letting the side down somewhat.

As the miles passed by (including a camping trip to Wales with some strange people from reddit) the squaring and queasiness got worse, with the lack of grip in the cold being so disconcerting that it wasn't unknown for me to feel the need to stop and see if it was going flat. I soldiered on though, until at 8066 miles the GT201 was finally punctured by a small nail.

I was disinclined to take it to a proper tyre place for a plug because it was close to the first set of wear markers and it's also a right pain to remove and refit the rear wheel on a chain driven bike, so I plugged it myself with a mushoom plugger thing. As you can see, there isn't a lot of tread depth left in the centre but I shall carry on so I can give all you anonymous Internet types the best review I can muster.

..Not a lot of tread depth, says I. Something strange happened from that point, the GT201 became so square that more tyre was in contact with the road and it seemed to resist all wear. At a frankly ridiculous 12801 miles it sailed through an MOT (the UK road worthiness test) and with 13574 miles under its blocks I think part of it has finally hit the 1mm minimum tread depth required by UK law, right in the centre of the tyre (of course).

Also, of course, the other side of the tyre has loads of meat left on it because the tyre has not been perfectly central in the mould..

So I still feel like there is more work to do. Of course grip has continued to deteriorate and it follows road imperfections in a most alarming way, but I shall continue to soldier on in the name of science.

And so, eventually, after 14691 miles(!) I changed the tyre. Not because it was worn out, it looked basically the same as the last picture, but because I was about to set off on a big trip round Europe and wasn't sure if the GT was going to make it. Here are the final moments of the GT201:

I actually believe there was another 2000, maybe even 3000 miles in this tyre as it seemed to have basically stopped wearing, but sometimes the circumstances come against properly testing something to destruction. So, to sum up, a rubbish tyre with poor grip in wet or cold conditions, and feels wobbly all the time. But very long lived.

I have replaced the GT201 with a Cheng Shin C907 after reading on that there Internet that the 'Shin had upped their game and their tyres were now much better than before. I was looking forward to going back to a road tyre. Sadly it seems to be worse than the GT in every way, and shorter lived.. Maybe the GT201 ain't such a bad tyre after all!