Marathon plus - 700x25 or 700x28?

hatbeard

As the snow seems to have gone away for a bit I'm thinking I might swap out my snow tyres now to save them for when the weather next turns and swap to some marathon pluses as there are enough potholes and broken glass on my commute to warrant the extra protection in tradeoff for weight.

What I cannot decide on is whether to go for the 25 or the 28's. they'll be going on my specialized tricross and both will fit but i'm not sure if the 25 is a bit too small considering i have been running 32 and 35 so far.

anyone got any opinions on which is best and why?

asprilla

I've just swapped my Marathon Winters for 25mm M+s.

Unless you want the extra comfort, there isn't much reason to choose the 28mm over the 25mm.

Mr Plum

I've put 25mm Michelin tyres on my Tricross for training but will put some 28mm or 30mm on for touring, but for everyday use I'd be going for the 25's - the Tricross is a pretty comfortable bike to ride anyway so you'd not gain much with the 28's IMO.

vorsprung

How about 25mm Durano Plus?

Or 32mm Marathon Supreme?

Or 28mm Ultremo DD

Schwalbe make a lot of different types of tyre

sketchley

Simular question.

I currently run 700c x 28 Armadillos, should I replace with 700c x 25 SMP or 700c x 28SMP? Weight doesn't concern me as I'll loose more than difference between the tyres for by belly simply by cycling anyway. What I want is a smooth fast ride and a well protected tyre.

Also I think the current tyres I have would get me through Winter, should I therefor "Summer" tyres on and if so which ones, then change to SMP next Winter or just put SMPs stick with them all year. Pros / Cons would be usefull?




I'm going to need new tyres at some point. Should I go for lighter summer tyre

soundninjauk

Nobody ever seems to mention Continental GP 4 Seasons. I run a 700 x 28 set of those and they're seemingly bulletproof, and grippy as anything. I even survived the snow and ice on them last year, although I'm sure that's not what Conti had in mind when they named them '4 Seasons'.

Canny Jock

I had 28's on a Tricross and they were fine, it does give you more pothole protection. They are heavy anyway so not much benefit in 25's, plus they will look lost in the massive forks :-)

snailracer

Is there any difference in max inflation pressure between 25 & 28mm?

asprilla

snailracer wrote:

Is there any difference in max inflation pressure between 25 & 28mm?

The 25mm is 115psi, don't know what the 28mm is.

Another reason the 25mms work for me is that I can get away with using 18-23mm tubes that I have for the road bike. Not sure I could do that with 28mm tyres.

Wallace1492

28mm for me....

Running the Conti Gator's at the moment - 25mm.
But as the weather here still bad, commuting today on MTB.

Going to swap to the Snicker's Plus at the weekend.

tailwindhome

Cycling plus did a winter tyre test last month

The Michelin Krylion (sp?) was the clear winner.

JPJ001

I fitted the 28s to my tricross last weekend and the past two days commutes are much slower than I expected, I was using the CX tyres previously so was expecting the additional weight to be offset by the slick tyre.

I will fit a new speedo this weekend so I can get a before and after.

hatbeard

JPJ001 wrote:

I fitted the 28s to my tricross last weekend and the past two days commutes are much slower than I expected, I was using the CX tyres previously so was expecting the additional weight to be offset by the slick tyre.

I will fit a new speedo this weekend so I can get a before and after.

I'm coming from riding 700x35 studded tyres on which I've managed to get my 6 mile commute down to 26:00 from the 35:00 I got starting out on the original CX tyres so any change in tyres should help me go a little faster (i hope).

nich

vorsprung wrote:

How about 25mm Durano Plus?

Or 32mm Marathon Supreme?

Or 28mm Ultremo DD

Schwalbe make a lot of different types of tyre

+100000000

Durano Plus is an awesome tire.

I'm running 25mm, and they feel quite a bit more comfy and stable than some 23mm Vittoria I run.

Butterd2

I've got a spare MPlus 25mm if you want to give it a try?

Canny Jock

I've heard good things about the Durano Plus.

When I changed from the standard tyres on the Tricross (32's) to Marathon Plus 28's I found it rolled a bit better - subjective though, didn't have a speedo at the time.

A few bikes later I've just bought another Tricross to use for commuting specifically because it would take 28's - but then spoiled it by buying Vittoria Randonneurs in 28 which after fitting I've found to be closer in size to a 25 anyway :-(

I use 20-28 tubes which do my road bike tyres fine too.

Specialized Needs

Sketchley wrote:

Simular question.

I currently run 700c x 28 Armadillos, should I replace with 700c x 25 SMP or 700c x 28SMP? Weight doesn't concern me as I'll loose more than difference between the tyres for by belly simply by cycling anyway. What I want is a smooth fast ride and a well protected tyre.

I think (but I may be mistaken) that it is not so much the weight per se, but that you are rotating that weight quite rapidly around an axle some 30+cm away, increasing the force required to spin up to speed - something an urban commuter is likely to have to do frequently. Still, it''s all good fitness training

I would +1 the Durano Pluses, too (but I've no vast experience of tyres and I have heard good things about the Conti 4 seasons). And this post from Nich on the bargains thread might make buying them a little more palatable.

Specialized Needs

Specialized Needs wrote:

I would +1 the Durano Pluses, too

PS as I understand it, the Stelvio+ (advertised at Planet X) were the previous incarnation of the Durano+.

JPJ001

hatbeard wrote:

JPJ001 wrote:

I fitted the 28s to my tricross last weekend and the past two days commutes are much slower than I expected, I was using the CX tyres previously so was expecting the additional weight to be offset by the slick tyre.

I will fit a new speedo this weekend so I can get a before and after.

I'm coming from riding 700x35 studded tyres on which I've managed to get my 6 mile commute down to 26:00 from the 35:00 I got starting out on the original CX tyres so any change in tyres should help me go a little faster (i hope).

3rd day today and it felt easier, my commute is 7 miles and it was taking me 24-25 minutes on the CX tyres (rolling time, there is a lot of start-stopping), my goal of 2011 is to get at least a minute consistently off this.

vorsprung

My commute bike(s) have had on them

1) 28mm Panaracer Pasellas - fast but not puncture resistant enough
2) 28mm Marathon + - bomb proof but a tad heavy
3) 25mm Michelin Pro - one of the faster tyres out there, in 25mm. Expensive
4) 26mm Panaracer Stradius Elite - nearly as fast / comfy as the Michelins but cheaper
5) 35mm Marathon Winter - 200g heavier than the 28mm M+

On my audax bike I have also tried a few other tyres, including 28mm Conti 4 Seasons. I used a new pair of these for the wet Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km in 2007. No punctures, they were good. Grippy, fast and comfortable. They are a narrow 28mm, more like 26.5mm.
However, my experience with a few sets of them is that after 2500km they become a puncture magnet. Before 2500km they get nicks in the casing but don't puncture. I assume after 2500km there are so many nicks that the sharps find them. They are also expensive. Given the high cost and low life expectancy I don't use them for audax riding and would never consider them for commuting

Butterd2

Canny Jock wrote:

- but then spoiled it by buying Vittoria Randonneurs in 28 which after fitting I've found to be closer in size to a 25 anyway :-(

.

Agree Randonneurs are small for a 28mm and I had my 2nd front wheel slide with them this morning, held it up but more luck than judgement. I want to get on with them but I have nearly lost the front twice and actually managed to spin up the rear on tarmac pulling away from some lights. They seem to roll ok but the grip is poor.

Wrestling with the decision of whether to bin them (less than 200 miles old) or wait until I do come off and then bin them.

I should just put some GP4000S's on but I really want something I can use on light trails with my daughter and whilst I would not have anything else on my road bike I'm not sure they are ideal for this. Could go back to Marathons but they are bloody heavy.

Any suggestions gratefully received. (for use on 700C FG, a bi-directional rear would be nice so I can fit SS cog and flip rear wheel for off road/trails but 95% will be London commuting).

peat

GRAVE DIGGIN!

I got a set of 700x28 Marathon Plus's last week. Went to fit them and found they are alot larger than the 28mm Vittoria's i had before. So much so that they don't rotate due to lack of clearance in the mudguards.

I am attracted by the bullet-proof nature and added weight (primarily for boosting my winter training) so would like to stick with M+.

Would going down to a 25mm be much of a jump?

Ouija

Might be better off going Schwalbe Durano Plus. Pretty much Marathon Plus without the knobbly tread.

Also worth mentioning that the lozenge shaped puncture protection strip in these types of tyre tends to give them a more oval shape when fitted, so they tend to be a tad higher than they are wide, which may account for your problem.

roger_merriman

Ouija wrote:

Might be better off going Schwalbe Durano Plus. Pretty much Marathon Plus without the knobbly tread.

Also worth mentioning that the lozenge shaped puncture protection strip in these types of tyre tends to give them a more oval shape when fitted, so they tend to be a tad higher than they are wide, which may account for your problem.

Much less durable carcass and thinner puncture strip though, fairly dead/dull ride though.

I've found marathon pluses to be the full size, compared to road race tyres of the same claimed size.

asprilla

Dull ride, but not as bad a M+s which are hosepipes.