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Behind the Curtain: Goodyear Bicycle Tires

Behind the Curtain: Goodyear Bicycle Tires

Ever wondered how higher-end bicycle tires are made? Or why they’re so expensive? Consider those questions answered.

Goodyear is one of the best-known brand names in the automotive world, but after being out of the cycling segment for decades, the tire manufacturing behemoth finds itself in the unusual position of underdog after finally returning to bicycle tires in 2018 through a licensing agreement with US-based firm Rubber Kinetics. Goodyear Bicycle Tires initially debuted with a handful of road, gravel, and mountain bike tires, and the range has grown considerably since then, along with the brand’s presence in the professional ranks. 

Six years on, Goodyear’s bicycle business is still nowhere near the size of current market leaders such as Continental, Maxxis, or Schwalbe, but things are apparently trending in the right direction with production capacity at its Taiwanese facility now said to be “in the millions” annually.

But what exactly happens within those walls? And how exactly are bicycle tires made, anyway? Despite being in this business for nearly 20 years now, I’d freely admit that I wasn’t entirely familiar with the process myself – and I suspect many others are in a similar boat. Goodyear kindly opened its doors to me for a few hours before this year’s Taipei Cycle Show for a rundown on how bicycle tires are produced, and it certainly was an eye-opening experience. 

One thing’s for certain: I complain a lot less now about how much good tires cost.

And up next from our Behind the Curtain series is one you definitely won’t want to miss: How Giant makes carbon fiber bicycle frames.


Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour raw rubber
Raw rubber first arrives at the Goodyear tire factory in this form. Goodyear uses a mix of natural and synthetic rubbers, but neither is very useful when it's like this.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour carbon black powder
Carbon black is one of the things added to raw rubber to improve factors like strength and durability. It also makes the tires more amenable to vulcanization later on in the production process.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber compound
Goodyear mixes its own rubber formulations in a process the company says is akin to baking. Two different rubber compounds can use the same ingredients, but in different blends, temperatures, methods, etc. to yield different properties. Goodyear uses up to six different compounds for a single tire.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber compounding machines
Test compounds are made in this small lab tucked away in a corner of one of Goodyear's facilities.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour dirty gloves
Carbon black is very messy stuff. Hey, parents, you know how pervasive glitter can be? This stuff is way, way worse.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber balls
These three rubber balls look the same, but behave very differently.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour no cameras
Yep.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour samples
Lots of samples.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour ozone testing machine
Goodyear uses this ozone chamber to determine how different rubber compounds degrade over time.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour DIN abrasion tester
This machine provides some insight on how different rubber compounds hold up to abrasion.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber fatigue tester
This machine is used for fatigue testing of different rubber compounds. Up to six samples can be clamped in the fixture, with the central portion oscillating up and down during a test.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour viscosity tester
Goodyear says knowing the actual viscoity of inbound rubber is perhaps the "most critical" parameter when it comes to getting ready for a production run.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour viscosity tester
This Mooney Viscometer "is used for tire development and quality control, primarily used to measure the viscosity and scorch characteristics of uncured rubber compounds."
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tensile tester
It's annoying when the shoulder knobs rip off the casing of your mountain bike tires, no?
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tensile tester
Well this notch tester apparently helps Goodyear's engineers solve that problem.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire fatigue tester
As important as it is to conduct testing before production starts, it's just as important to test finished goods, too.Goodyear uses this machine to simulate the "real-world" stress of being ridden on a road, with each test session simulating 3,000 km of use. Note how the machine is testing two tires at once here.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire humidity tester
Wondering how different tires behave at different humidity levels? This machine can help answer that question.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rolling resistance tester
Goodyear conducts its own rolling resistance tests on this rotating drum.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour microscope
Goodyear uses this microscope to digitally map tread wear.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour microscope image
Since it's next to impossible to measure small amounts of tread wear physically, Goodyear is able to use the digital images from the microscope for much greater resolution.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire samples
The graveyard of sacrificed souls.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire wear tester
This test machine is intended to simulate someone actually riding a bike, incorporating simulated rider weight and weight distribution, pedaling forces, and even how a bike tilts from side to side.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour bump bars
Different bump bars can be attached to the roller to provide different type of wear and durability information.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire fatigue testing machine
"This is another fatigue testing machine," explained Goodyear Bicycle Tires president Luke Musselman. "This one is equipped with a vibration bar [which] is designed to enhance the simulation of real-world riding conditions by introducing controlled vibrational and impact forces that mimic the dynamic stresses and impacts encountered on various road surfaces."
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour blowoff test rim
You wouldn't want to ride one of these test rims, but you should be glad it exists.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour blowoff test rims
Bicycle rims are supposed to tightly adhere to prescribed dimensional guidelines, and like many tire companies, Goodyear conducts its own blow-off tests using rigid aluminum test rims that are machined to both ends of the established sizing tolerances.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire blowoff test chamber
Blowoff tests are – not surprisingly – conducted inside a closed chamber.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire blowoff test chamber plexiglass
The plexiglass used for the blowoff chamber is about as thick as you'd expect.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour production floor
OK, back to making tires:Once the tire compounds are validated and mixed in bulk, they make their way to the production floor.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour compounded rubber
These giant blobs of rubber will eventually be transformed into bicycle tires.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour compounded rubber
Lots of different rubber compounds for lots of different purposes.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour calendar machine
Rubber is obviously used in the tread, but it's also used in tire casings, at least for vulcanized tires like what Goodyear produces. This machine – called a calender – fuses a layer of rubber into the casing material.Fun fact: the calender rests on an earthquake-resistant concrete slab that's 5 metres thick.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour calendar machine roller
Those blobs of rubber are fed into heated rollers ...
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour calendar machine
... and eventually fused with nylon fabric.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber infused with nylon
Once the layers are fused together, they're wound on to giant rolls with a backing layer in between to keep them from sticking together. Each roll comprises 300-600 m of fabric.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour production counter
That'd be 2,400 meters – more than 2 km! – of calendered casing fabric that had been produced so far in that batch.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber extruder
This machine can co-extrude up to three different rubber compounds into a single tread cap.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour rubber extruding dies
The raw extruded tread caps are specific to different tire models.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tread cap
Much of the production process in making bicycle tires is devoted to making the various precursor components.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tread cap production water bath
Freshly extruded tread caps are run through a water bath to cool them down.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour mountain bike tire tread cap
Mountain bike tires obviously require a lot more rubber than road ones.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tread cap being rolled up
Extruded rubber tread caps are overlaid with these backing sheets and wound into rolls so they're easier to transport.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour truck
The completed tire precursors are loaded up into a truck and transported to Goodyear's other facility, located just a few minutes away.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour second production facility
Pre-made casing material and tread caps are unloaded here and staged for the next steps.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour climate control
Taiwan is a tropical environment. Tire precursors are held in this climate-controlled staging area to keep them from getting too hot.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour casing cutter
This roll of casing material (destined to become tanwall tires) is unwound from the roll and fed through this machine ...
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour casing cutter
... where this blade eventually slices it into sections at an angle. Ever heard the term, "bias ply tires"? Well, this is where that comes from. Just like on carbon fiber frames, altering the fiber orientation of tire plies will change how a tire performs.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour casing cutter
Freshly cut tire ply sections are then joined together by hand ...
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour casing cutter
... and then rolled up again for transport to the next station.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour bias plies
This ply is cut at a roughly 45° angle.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire building machines
Goodyear has a small army of tire building machines on the factory floor.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire building machine roller
This evil-looking thing is where a big part of the magic happens.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire building machine
Strips of tire casing are fed in from behind, and workers place them on the roller manually.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire building machine
The strips are cut to pre-set lengths depending on the tire model, but someone still has to ensure the ends line up correctly.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour aramid beads
Pre-made aramid beads await their turn to be incorporated into tire casings. Different aramid beads are used for different tire models.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour steel beads
Cheaper tires still use steel beads.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour bead robot
Whereas much of the tire process is done by human beings, the beads are loaded robotically to guarantee consistency.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour installing tire beads
Beads are dropped into place ...
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour installing tire beads
... and then the casing ends are folded over them.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour anti-chafe layers
Anti-chafe layers are placed by hand, too.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tread cap installation
Tread rubber is also placed by hand.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tread roller
Once the tread rubber is placed, it's compressed on to the casing by this roller.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour hot stamp installation
The all-important hot stamp! Lasers provide some visual guidance to assist throughout this production process.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour green tire production
Job done! Well, sort of. This tire still isn't quite usable.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire weight
Every single tire is weighed when it comes off of the tire building machine.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire bar codes
I was amazed to learn that every Goodyear tire is serialized with full traceability down to the workers, machines, raw materials, and weather conditions.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour green tires
These "green" tires are now ready for the vulcanization process, which has to happen within 24 hours.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour green tires
These look rather supple, no?
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour green tires
At this stage, the tread caps mostly look the same since the patterns haven't yet been molded in.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour vulcanization presses
Over on the other side of the factory floor is a large bank of vulcanization presses.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour mold release
Mold release is applied by hand to both the machine ...
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour mold release
... and the inside of the casing.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour curing bladders
These curing bladders are inflated internally using steam, holding the tire in place and pushing the casing and rubber out against the inside of the mold.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour curing bladders
Goodyear has a whole bunch of curing bladders on hand depending on what kind of tires are being produced in a particular run.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire vulcanization
"Green" tires are loaded on to the machine by hand.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire vulcanization
Once the tire is loaded, the heated press is lowered down.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour vulcanization press
Baking time! Goodyear's vulcanization presses are heated from both the inside and outside, and only press one tire at a time. Tires cook for 230 seconds for the shortest recipe, or up to 10 minutes for bigger mountain bike tires, both under about 13 kg of force.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour finished bike tire
These tires are steaming hot when they come out of the press. Gloves are definitely required!
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tire molds
Looking at these tire molds, it becomes a little more clear why it's such a big deal to change a tire tread.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour steam tanks
Goodyear's vulcanization presses are actually steam powered.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour steam pipes
Goodyear says that most of the steam is recirculated and reused, thus cutting down on energy consumption and costs.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour tires on racks
Complete tires are racked up next to a whole bunch of molds.
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour before and after
Before (right) and after (left).
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour shipping boxes
Ready to roll!
Goodyear Bicycle Tires factory tour loading bay
And then out the door they go.

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