Schwalbe Marathon Plus

cjcp

Apologies to CP , but...

what are these like for the commute - p******* resistance, rolling resistance, grip in the wet etc. I've had a run of deflations on the rear Gatorskin (25mm) and, looking at it, it looks as if it's on its way out (only had it since July too - about 1,700 miles).

I've not had a great deal of luck with my two sets of 25mm Contis; my 23mms lasted a full year.

Reviews suggest that Krylions tend to lose some deflation resistance at around the 2,000m mark. I've had these before and, while I liked them, am wondering what these Schwalbes are like as CRC don't have any Krylions in atm. I could just by a new Gatorskin for the moment.

Cheers.

TCBLUE

Bullet proof been commuting for a year not had puncture :roll: need to be king kong to get them on the rim and they are quite heavy

N0bodyOfTheGoat

No punctures in ~18 months. As above, evil to fit, but then wear them out before a fairy visit!

Grip wise, not had any issues, but I always try and avoid road paint lines; metal grids etc. especially in the wet.

They take some effort to get to speed, but personally, I'm happy to sacrifice acceleration and weight for the lack of hassles in tube repairs to/from work.

spasypaddy

is it a road bike? from what i know it is get the durano plus instead. much better tyre for your needs.

iain_j

Had one puncture in mine from a hedge clipping, but in over 2 years since, none. I check the tyres occasionally and I'm amazed at how many little bits of glass and thorns are deeply embedded yet haven't caused a puncture. I don't remember the tyre being that difficult to get on and off the rim despite several people saying they are.

cjcp

Thanks, chaps.

@spasypaddy - yep, for a road/cross bike. Thanks for that one.

roger_merriman

38's here.

The bad they can be a so and so to fit. And you do notice the weight, partically pulling away.

The good they have battle ship class armor. And once up to speed roll well. Grip is fine even on mixed surfaces.

This said the duro (spelling) or just the normal marthon which would still give the fairy a hard time.

jamesco

35mm Marathon Plus on my hybrid commuter.

In short, they're splendid and I'd buy the same again. They've covered about 2,500 miles since the beginning of last winter with zero punctures, going through the glass & rubbish of Acton, Shepherds Bush, central London etc. every day. The grip is not great and one has to be careful of painted lines & metal, but IMHO that's an acceptable compromise for the puncture-resistance and good wear. There's another year at least left in them.

My bike has a replacement (Mavic) rear wheel and getting the tyre on takes some effort and cursing, but is done in a few minutes. The front happens to be easy.

spasypaddy

no worries mate, its what i run on my fixie and have never had a puncture when out on the road. had one when i had a broken spoke and a bit of dirt got in when my mechanic changed the nipple and spoke.

jmillen

I bought some about a week ago and from my limited experience with them (and all of the other reviews etc I've read) I can't really fault them yet. No problems with getting them on at all. Okay, not the lightest of tyres but that didn't bother me.

Give them a go, I doubt you'll regret it.

bunter

I have (not through choice) cycled through piles of broken glass on mine & still had no punctures (touch wood). The ride quality is unforgiving, with the mysterious blue stuff giving a weird quality to the ride, which seems more noticeable at high tyre pressures. they are certainly less grippy than my previous slicks, although I haven't wiped out yet (touch wood).

They are tough to fit. I had to warm up the tyres with a hair dryer to soften them up first & my thumbs were sore for ages afterwards.

overall they are worth it if you don't want punctures and don't mind sacrificing a bit of speed and ride quality.

cjcp

Thanks, chaps.

Thinking about it, if they've got a little less grip, I may wait for the Krylions or go for the Duranos because I tend to use my commuter on weekend training rides too.

jimmypippa

I heard a crunch as I cycled over a broken bottle (accidently) on Tuesday. Still OK. A couple of p*s after putting them on due to them dislodging my earlier patches on my front tyres, but none in the last 2000 miles

cjcp

Jimmy - which bike do you ride?

bumpitybump

Been using them for 4500 k on my commute and had one puncture - a steel tack. Very difficult to initially install. But much easier when I had the tack puncture as after about 4000 km of riding the rear tyre had softened up and was very easy to re-fit. Have now got these tyres on all my bikes - once fitted ( almost ) forget about punctures.

gert_lush

I have some on my commuter/tourer and they have been great, they have done 5000miles now and although the back one is a erm *cough* little bit bald, which is probably why the only 3 punctures I have had in that time have been in the last 4 months, but the from one is fine great tyres

jimmypippa

cjcp wrote:

Jimmy - which bike do you ride?

Nearly a BSO:



(that was on one of my extensions to my commute home this summer)

Raleigh Pioneer Metro but it does the job and has mudguards and panniers. I wanted to see if my commute was feasible before splashing out on a better bike. Bike-weight isn't an issue with all my wateproofs, packed-lunch and work clothes in the pannier.

I like to think it helps with my fitness, although I am slower in headwinds than I would like.

I use 35-mm marathon plusses at the moment.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

jimmypippa wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Jimmy - which bike do you ride?

Nearly a BSO:



(that was on one of my extensions to my commute home this summer)

Raleigh Pioneer Metro but it does the job and has mudguards and panniers. I wanted to see if my commute was feasible before splashing out on a better bike. Bike-weight isn't an issue with all my wateproofs, packed-lunch and work clothes in the pannier.

I like to think it helps with my fitness, although I am slower in headwinds than I would like.

I use 35-mm marathon plusses at the moment.

I was looking at the Alfine equipped Metro Elite 2 the other day...
What size frame have you got?
Would you say an 18" frame would be too small for someone 5'10" and 32" cycling legs?

downfader

Am I the only one who hates the very notion of fitting SMPs to bike wheels? Simply cannot stand the look of them, how they feel.. they dont even smell like a tyre. :?

jimmypippa

NitrousOxide wrote:

I was looking at the Alfine equipped Metro Elite 2 the other day...
What size frame have you got?
Would you say an 18" frame would be too small for someone 5'10" and 32" cycling legs?

this looks to be pretty much what I have (given a different year)
I really wouldn't say, but I (5'10", 31" legs find my one OK).

cjcp

Thanks, JP. I'm trying to build up the courage to buy Duranos. £29 each on CRC though. Ouch!

spasypaddy

they are the right choice CJ, i have the old style stelvios and want to change to the duranos but there is really no point as my stelvios probably have another year in them... especially as my commute is so short now.

Wallace1492

I have stuck the Snicker's Plus (the new name - right?) on my Tricross 28mm. Tough to fit, but not as bad as I thought. They feel pretty tough and had no problems so far on Maryhill Road. They feel slightly faster than the Borough's, but probably because they are thinner, very happy with them so far.

cjcp

spasypaddy wrote:

they are the right choice CJ, i have the old style stelvios and want to change to the duranos but there is really no point as my stelvios probably have another year in them... especially as my commute is so short now.

I moved a steps closer to purchasing the Duranos last night rather than another Gatorskin: a close inspection of the sidewall on the rear tyre revealed that it's coming apart.

vorsprung

I've done 5,000 miles mainly commuting on a pair of marathon plus 28mm
Zero punctures

The back one is worn so I have replaced the front one and I am going to rotate the front to the back

The only two minus points with the marathon plus are 1) weight. They are noticablely heavier than any other tyre 2) sidewall flexiblity. They don't have much which makes them a little uncomfortable

I have previously used gatorskins and they are pretty good for puncture resistance until they have done 2000 miles+ and the tyre wears so much that the carcass shows. Then they have minimal puncture resistance and should be replaced immediately.

The gatorskins are also not good in the wet

Jay dubbleU

I've been running the standard marathons for about 12 months with no visits from the pf - they seem to be lighter and more responsive than M+

Belv

I have had more luck using standard tyres with liners fitted than the Marathon+'s

amnezia

If you have Gatorskins now then i don't think you'll notice much difference but if you're used to quick tires then the Marathon Plus feel a bit like cycling in clay.

My 23mm 4 Seasons have done 2500+ and still look in fairly good condition - only two deflations.

prawny

I've done 4000 miles on a 23mm gatorskin with one fairy visit. it's getting a bit thin so bought a new one when I got my new wheels but I've left it on my spare in case of emergency.

UndercoverElephant

CJCP, have you tried Rubino Pros?

Fast, light, reasonable grip, cheap and seem pretty good on wear.

cjcp

UE - not tried the Rubinos. IP mentioned them before. Will check them out too tonight.

Not to worried about weight. The heavier the better from a training point of view.

Prawny - part of me thinks, quite illogically, that it's the 25mms and not the 23mms which I have problems with. My last pair didn't last long either. The 23mms lasted a year, after a spate of deflations after six months.