Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour Tyre

[simonhill]

There are lots of different Marathons, 9 at last count with different variations within each type. Don't forget to specify WHICH Marathon when posting.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour

[Morzedec]

Whoof has it about right.

Forget the 'extra weight', and forget the 'tyre changing' - if you don't get punctures then you will not be changing tyres, and as for the weight difference, when touring loaded, you just won't notice it. Someone mentioned acceleration: really? On a fully loaded tourer? If you can push off, then that counts as success.

Schwalbe: I swear by them (and they fit trailers as well!).

Happy days,

[trogg]

There are lots of different Marathons, 9 at last count with different variations within each type. Don't forget to specify WHICH Marathon when posting.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour

I did

[willem jongman]

I hate heavy stiff tyres like the Marathon Plus. They take all the refinement out of a sweet bike. I like Paselas but they are a bit fragile. My best touring compromise is the Schwalbe Almotion. It is fast, quite durable and puncture proof, easy to fit and comfortable. It also has enough tread for most gravel and forest trails. They grow a bit so even if they start narrower than their nominal size, this will not last.

[pedals2slowly]

The 'Smartguard' on the marathon plus means the tread is more rigid than the side walls.
The result of this is that as you lean over the tyre 'flops' or distorts, it feels as if you are riding on a square section tyre.
If you ride slowly and corner gently it probably wouldn't be a problem.
Stick to the lighter and easier to remove and repair non-plus versions, the tread and sidewalls are more similar in stiffness and so you don't get the 'square tyre' feel.

[Cowsham]

Schwalbe big Ben's are my favorite -- I have them on my 27.5 mountain bike -- they seen very light compared with landcruisers -- they're not puncture proof ( we do have a lot of thorn hedges ( the only thing that'll grow up here in the wind ) where I live which I now check as I ride along to see if they've been cut ) but I have no bother putting them on after a puncture. They roll very well and there's a nice even tread just enough to cope with most surfaces but seems they only make them up to 28"

[MarcusT]

Has anyone ever used a Marathon Plus Tour?

Thanks

Jonathan

Not the Tour Plus, but the Mondials which look like the same tyre, but are folding and lighter. Great tyre, no mounting problems, never had a flat and with 30 kg of gear on my bike, I certainly don't notice a few hundred more grams on the tires.

[pwa]

I tried the regular Marathon HS420 (sometimes called Greenguard) and it was kind of okay, but to me the ride quality seemed harsh, sending vibrations up to my hands and backside. And it did seem a bit more draggy than I am used to, requiring more effort to keep the bike rolling along. I changed to Marathon Supremes which are much nicer to ride. I'm not sure it is the reduced weight, I think it is more that they are more supple. They give a smoother ride which makes the experience more pleasurable. We recently did a 400 mile tour on country lanes with some miles of gravel and some miles of urban cycle track with the inevitable drifts of broken glass, and we had no punctures with Supremes. What they won't do is give you lots of offroad grip because they are quite slick.

Whether or not the Supremes are the right tyre for you I don't know. Perhaps they are not the best option offroad. But there is more to a tyre than stopping punctures. I would recommend finding a tyre that is puncture resistant enough but still pleasant to ride, so not one of the really heavily reinforced Marathons. There are tyres out there that are nicer to ride and won't give you many punctures, and some of the more supple ones may actually be easy to get on and off the rim on the rare occasions you need that.

[willem jongman]

The Mondial is another heavy bomb proof expedition tyre. It will not give you a sweet ride. As for the regular marathon greenguard, I can only say I had a free set for testing and gave them away: too stiff for my taste. The Supremes are in a very different category: fast and comfortable but still robust enough. If that is what you want, plus some grip on trails, get the Almotion.

[francovendee]

I've used Schwalbe Marathons and Land Cruisers. I've found the Land Cruisers were better on muddy tracks but punctured far more often than Marathons.

[Pebble]

Marathon Plus's become much easier to fit after they have done a good few miles. Riding them half inflated for a few miles is also a good way to supple up the tyres for easier fitting. (obviously for safety reasons don't go below the min recommended pressure)

I havn't used any other tyre for may be the last 25,000 miles so don't know if they feel good or bad in comparison to others - but have been impressed with the lack of punctures, only one on the road. (have had a few where I have noticed the tyre flat the following day, but only once had to change a tube whilst out)

[willem jongman]

Unless you use very fragile extra supple performance tyres like Paselas or even more Grandbois and Compass, punctures are really not that much of an issue anymore with any modern touring tyre. In fact, I even use Pasela Tourguard and now Pasela Protite tyres on my town bike in a student town with a lot of dirt on the street, and have not had a single puncture with them for many years. I would not recommend you take that risk, and even less because their treat is so minimal, but it shows that good quality tyres suffer very few punctures. Budget tyres do, however.

[mercalia]

I have founnd the Greenguard Marathons fine - they are advertised as for ebikes - they are better puncture wise than the previous Kevlar based Marathons

[willem jongman]

I thought they were far worse, because stiffer. But each to their own.