Cycling UK Forum

Just returned from completing LEJOG on a folding bike (!!!) using my 20" wheeled Dahon Mu XL. It came fitted with Marathon Racers which were fine except that half way through the ride I noticed that the tyres had lost much of its tread (bad planning on my part, should have checked this more thoroughly and taken into account the bad road surfaces I'd be cycling on). Last but one day rear tyre showed a hole, luckily enough a friend on another 20" folder had a spare tyre ...

So, going to replace with ... Same Racers? Marathon Plus tyres? Any other suggestions? I do use the bike quite frequently (though the touring is only once a year for about 300 miles a stretch).

thanks

Martin

IMHO I'd stay away from M+ if you want to keep your fillings in, especially on 406 wheels - depends on you attitude to p*nt*r*s I suppose.
I'd stay with the Racers or maybe try Big Apples (if they fit) for a bit more radial pneumatic suspension (at the expense of a bit more weight). For something a bit left field, how about an GoCycle F-Lite or the wider Vredestein F-Lite?. (Not tried the F-Lites, but they do have a reputation for low rolling resistance.)

Have you looked at Marathon Supremes.
I prefer them over Racers on my bent trike.

supremes - I had them on a commuter and they were good but quite pricey ... The Racers seemed to have worn quite quickly (1,000 miles?). M+ are a bummer to put on/take off but if they deliver on the puncture resistance that won't be an issue then ?

Martin

standard Marathons?

[quotestandard Marathons?][/quote]

How do they compare re puncture resistance and rolling resistance (mind you, this is a folding bike and not a road racer ). Also - ease of removal/fitting from/onto rim?!

Martin

Or Continental Contacts???

Martin

A friend rates the Maxxis DTH BMX race tyre on his Moulton APB: lightweight folding, dual compound, all round use kind of tread, 1.5" or 1.75":

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/41 ... -tyre.html

(PS avoid any listed as sizes 20 x 1 1/8" or 20 x 1 3/8" as these are for a different larger rim i.e. 451mm diameter rather than the Dahon's 406mm)

malverncyclist wrote:

standard Marathons?]

How do they compare re puncture resistance and rolling resistance (mind you, this is a folding bike and not a road racer ). Also - ease of removal/fitting from/onto rim?!

Martin

I've found that standard marathons fall half way between Supremes and plus's in terms of rolling and puncture resistance.
Their main advantage is the rubber on the tyre is the deeper than the Supremes or the Plus's, so it take longer for you to wear the tyre out.
If I want a long wearing tyre on the back of my trike, standard marathons are the ones I tend to use.

niggle wrote:A friend rates the Maxxis DTH BMX race tyre on his Moulton APB: lightweight folding, dual compound, all round use kind of tread, 1.5" or 1.75":

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/41 ... -tyre.html

Mmmm, 290g for the 38-406 and 120TPI

squeaker wrote:Mmmm, 290g for the 38-406 and 120TPI

Fascinating that they think their foldable tyres can take almost double the pressure of the wire bead ones before blowing off. The aramid bead must be fatter than the steel one 'cause I don't think its elastic modulus is likely to be higher?

An afterthought: the wire beads are spun from strands giving a lower modulus, and maybe the folding beads aren't. But why don't we have kevlar Bowden cables?

Do BMX tyres have those puncture resistant layers that any decent road use tyre has and which we take for granted when buying them?

It makes punctures about ten times as often if you dont have such layers in my experience before I replaced the tyres.

M+ for maximum puncture resistance and long life.
Standards Marathons for good value every day use
Supremes for lightweight and fair P resistance
I would avoid Racers. When mine wore down the tread peeled off and flapped around!
I am currently using Supremes on the tandems (700c & 20") and Duranos on the summer solo. Schwalbe tubes are good too.