The dynamics of novel ionomers based on a low-molecular-weight polybutadiene with zinc acrylate moieties were investigated as a function of the number of ionic bonds by using a combination of calorimetry, dielectric broadband spectroscopy and rheology. We find that the ionic bonds have profound effects on the mechanical properties, including the introduction of a sol-gel transition. However, all techniques consistently indicate that the segmental dynamics of the polymer chains remain largely unaffected, and only very small changes in the glass transition were observed. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019