Get your Marathon Winters NOW!!!!!!! (or you'll be sorry!)

rolf_f

Yes, they are in stock at the moment. Even Wiggle have them. So get them now and don't become a member of the inevitable "where the hell can I get Marathon Winters" thread that will appear in a couple of months time

You know you don't want to miss out on the fun of ice road cycling.......

700c http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... n=products

MTB http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marath ... n=products

(and thanks to Undercover Elephant for making me think of this).

iPete

Ha, great thinking! Managed to get some MTB ones last year (after much of the panic described above) but they are so heavy and slow I can't see myself actually riding 20 miles on them!

Might offload when everywhere sells out

meanredspider

iPete wrote:

Ha, great thinking! Managed to get some MTB ones last year (after much of the panic described above) but they are so heavy and slow I can't see myself actually riding 20 miles on them!

Might offload when everywhere sells out

I ran Ice Spikers on my 10-year old Kona Cinder Cone two winters ago - 15 hilly miles each way for my first commutes - that's hard work. Last year I race Ice Spiker Pros (folding) on my Cube Reaction Race which was easier. This year it's Marathon Winters on the CX - should be much quicker.

suzyb

No 650C

UndercoverElephant

suzyb wrote:

No 650C

There probably wouldn't be clearance on your road bike anyway, they're 35 mm tyres: it's either CX or MTB, really.

DrLex

Question for the experienced users of such; how short is the life expectancy of the tyres when the road isn't ice- or snow- covered? I appreciate that it's not the same as studded car tyres (illegal in this country but common-place in Scandanavian & other countries close to the North Pole), but I'd like to put these on for winter & get more than a couple of months' wear for my £60-odd. Or is it that one should have them on a spare set of wheels (+cassette) for a quick swap as conditions dictate?

mroli

Merlin were doing these for cheaper with the code schwalbe15 (don't know if it still applies though)...

suzyb

UndercoverElephant wrote:

suzyb wrote:

No 650C

There probably wouldn't be clearance on your road bike anyway, they're 35 mm tyres: it's either CX or MTB, really.

i just re-read your post and realized you didn't mean clearance as in sale but as in space to spin :oops:

ride_whenever

I ran ice spiker pro's for 4 months last winter (and 2 months on regular ice spikers) no noticable wear and tbh they'd only just bedded in after about 500 miles.

Lost one spike but seem to be lasting fine, even on non-iced roads.

That said the marathon winters are much much better, pump up hard for non frozen days to save the studs and let them down for ice

iPete

DrLex wrote:

Question for the experienced users of such; how short is the life expectancy of the tyres when the road isn't ice- or snow- covered? I appreciate that it's not the same as studded car tyres (illegal in this country but common-place in Scandanavian & other countries close to the North Pole), but I'd like to put these on for winter & get more than a couple of months' wear for my £60-odd. Or is it that one should have them on a spare set of wheels (+cassette) for a quick swap as conditions dictate?

The spikes are made of tungsten and shouldn't wear down dramatically. They are heavy and slow though so you might not want to run them all winter!

georgee

hmmm, they do make a ton of sense, only problem though is that i'd need loose my guards, can you get anything similar as a 25 or 28 maybe?

ride_whenever

They're really not that slow, or too heavy...

meanredspider

iPete wrote:

The spikes are made of tungsten and shouldn't wear down dramatically. They are heavy and slow though so you might not want to run them all winter!

They are pretty heavy (950g each) and have a fair bit of tread but, on the upside, they're great winter training

DrLex

iPete wrote:

The spikes are made of tungsten and shouldn't wear down dramatically. They are heavy and slow though so you might not want to run them all winter!

Thanks, iPete. Not worried about weight, as the Intended bike is 20+ in years and prob. kilos too. Just don't want to trash them in one season (am aware that one may lose a few studs in use).

Right- now off to google a Wiggle code...

davis

Mine have just been shipped, apparently.
Then I remembered I didn't have a bike that could fit 35c tyres. Damn. N+1 ordered too... 8)

wyadvd

got mine at the last minute last autumn from bike 24 , they seem to have them at good availability all year round , very fast delivery from germany , and good prices.
Just about to experimet with fitting them to my sabbath september this year......without mudguards maybe?

SmellTheGlove

All I need to go with my Schwalbe is a spare front wheel ready to do the quick-change when I wake up and see it deep and crisp and even outside. For commuting I can't imagine running the spikes in anything but a proper layer of snow; on the other hand a last minute tyre-only change would be a pain in the ar$e.
I reckon on getting the maximum benefit with spikes on the front only and leaving a standard mud tyre on the rear - anyone else used spikes up front only?

DrLex

SmellTheGlove wrote:

[...]I can't imagine running the spikes in anything but a proper layer of snow;[...]

I thought the idea was to gain traction on ice; snow (other than powder) could be managed on a 'regular' knobbly tyre.

SmellTheGlove

Hi drlex
last year in the snow, when it became compacted, steering and braking on the knobblies were sketchy at best. I think I soldiered through about ten or twelve days of that (suburban London). Those are the conditions I'm thinking of, when the snow packs down on untreated roads rather than all out sheet ice, like on a frozen lake.

joelsim

Call me an armchair fan, but icy roads = car to work.

roger_merriman

SmellTheGlove wrote:

Hi drlex
last year in the snow, when it became compacted, steering and braking on the knobblies were sketchy at best. I think I soldiered through about ten or twelve days of that (suburban London). Those are the conditions I'm thinking of, when the snow packs down on untreated roads rather than all out sheet ice, like on a frozen lake.

there are knobblies and knobblies though. try some soft compound tyres at reasonably low pressures and I think you'll be staggered at what you can get away with.

My MTB has these fitted

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/tyres/mountain/product/review-intense-tires-spike-fro-lite-2in-9138/

1) They are mud spiked tyres so if the ground gives even a little they will dig in.

2) It is dual ply so you can run it nice and soft with out pinch flats.

3) it has soft rubber so it really does stick like glue.

I ride up and down compacted ice tracks let alone roads, with these.

wyadvd

this is me on my marathon winters last december 18th on my way back from ashford to margate cross country.

http://youtu.be/7mlbx16tPo0

It was firm snowplowed packed snow. not a bad surface to ride on with these tyres. the worst is newly melting slush. sheer smooth ice is perfectly fine on marathon winters- as long as the pressure is as low as you can get away with. Ive sought out sheere smooth black ice , and steering and braking is fine.

The tread is too fine really with loose snow as the tread gets blocked up with snow, and the spikes are "buried".