Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x23 equivalent

PeakRider91

Hi guys I commute in London every day and flat tyres are not a rare thing for me, I was told these are the best tyres for endurance and puncture resistant. But was gutted to find they don't come in 700 x 23.

Can anyone recommend a robust hard wearing tyre of this spec in 700 x 23?

Cheers

declan1

Why not try the 25mm ones? 25mm is the new size of tyre to have. More comfort, less rolling resistance and more puncture resistance. I presume they'll fit on your rims?

PeakRider91

Will that work? Has anyone done this?

t.m.h.n.e.t

PeakRider91 wrote:

Will that work? Has anyone done this?

The issue is frame clearance which on most bikes isn't a problem.

PeakRider91

I ride a trek 1.5 with Mavic Aksium if any geeks here no if that meets the spec. Won't this change the performance and include any other disadvantages or is literally just 2mm?

declan1

PeakRider91 wrote:

I ride a trek 1.5 with Mavic Aksium if any geeks here no if that meets the spec. Won't this change the performance and include any other disadvantages or is literally just 2mm?

The 25mm tyres will increase performance/comfort compared to the 23mm.

Hoopdriver

Just go with the 25s

desweller

Marathon+ are fantastically heavy and rigid compared to normal tyres anyway, so most of the difference you'll notice will be a result of the tyre construction rather than its dimensions....

godders1

I'd go for Schwalbe Durano plus in 25mm. Not quite as puncture resistant as marathons but pretty close and much lighter (I have M+ on one bike and D+ on the other).

http://www.highonbikes.com/wheels-tyres ... lding.html

Monty Dog

Durano S or GP4 Season in 25mm if you want a tough, decent-riding road tyre with good puncture protection. I only use 23mm tyres for racing.

woolwich

If you really must go 700x23, then Continental gatorskins are available, as are their commuter equivalent the Gatorhardshell. I've toured on these tyres and have never punctured across many European cities. They don't roll quite as nicely as the Durano or 4 seasons although they are perfectly acceptable.
Definatley give 25mm a try, you'll be glad you did. I am sure I make much quicker progress with 25's, as they don't skitter about on frost damaged/potholed roads as much. I feel I'm putting power down more efficiently.

Manc33

declan1 wrote:

The 25mm tyres will increase performance/comfort compared to the 23mm.

I can vouch for this.

I took off my old 700x23 slick tyres today (bog standard B'Twin tyres) and fitted the 700x25 Marathon Plus tyres.

Had my old tyres at 115psi always, the new Marathon Plus were pumped up to the same, 115psi.

The Marathon Plus weigh 550g each, my old tyres weighed 350g each.

The result on the Marathon Plus is less drag combined with a more comfortable ride compared to my 23c slicks! Now that is not to say I will go any faster, after all they have added 400g of rotational weight to the wheels, acceleration will suffer slightly but once moving, there is actually less drag.

If you're serious about racing there's no way you should have Marathon Plus on your bike IMO, the tread is an all purpose tread. The only downside to these that I can see straight away is there isn't a smooth flat slick tread going down the middle of the tyre, which is a bit of a bummer but I like the fact that these have the tread they do - these tyres could easily zip down a reasonably smooth canal path or bridleway whereas I wouldn't even think about doing that with my old slicks.

The old slicks were just standard B'Twin that came with the bike. They were cheap and dare I say slightly nasty, what do you expect on a £300 bike with a carbon fork.

Think, with a Marathon Plus you're actually riding on a layer of sponge, really. I was surprised that the ride was smoother with less rolling resistance over my old slicks.

When people say these are a pain to get on they weren't joking, but they "only" took me about 15 minutes per wheel in the end. Its just that they won't go straight on, you do have to somehow outwit them to get them on the rim. The 25c variant of this tyre is supposedly one of the hardest tyres to get on a rim... but its not as bad as people make out. I only got annoyed like once (went to get some toe clips like in that video where the old guy does it with no levers, but they didn't really help). One tyre was a bit harder to get on than the other.

People whine about having these at 115psi but it was definitely more comfortable than my old slicks. This is like a commuter/touring tyre to me though and would never be used where speed is the priority.

Someone said you should only get these if you "really really don't want punctures" and thats pretty much it. I wanna go biking up to 30 miles away and know I don't have to worry about punctures... well I won't tempt fate, I will still deliberately worry a little bit just to be on the safe side.

Bottom line is you can't have a tyre that does it all, you can't have a puncture resistant heavy tyre that is also a fast racing tyre like a 700x23. If they did exist they would cost £40 or £50 per tyre... and everyone would buy them!

I think I am going to like these tyres. Now where's the nail brush and bleach....

cougie

The marathon plus can handle pretty rough off road conditions - they're seriously sturdy and enough grip unless its so muddy you need paddled tyres.

Bobbinogs

Personally, I think the Marathon Plus tyres are overkill for normal roads and would opt for the Marathon Kevlars instead. Noticeably lighter and more responsive but with most of the durability/protection. They really do last for ever and you would have to count yourself fairly unlucky to puncture. They are certainly not a tyre to put a smile on your face but you can't have everything.

dawebbo

Those B'Twin tyres must be truly aweful, as the schwalbe marathons are some of the slowest rolling tyres I've ever used, as well as weighing a tonne. The grip is not brilliant either to be honest. Puncture resistance however is amazing, I got about 5k km out of them with no punctures.
I recently replaced them with durano plus to commute with at the moment (on sale at wiggle incidentally), they seem ok so far. Certainly perform better, and the only flat I've had so far (c.1k km) was a pinch flat - so not really the tyre's fault.

migrantwing

I'd like to try some Durano's in 25mm, my only gripe is that the 23's I have already are a huge PITA to get on and off. Surely, 25's are gonna be a lot harder to get on the rim. I believe my Easton Aero wheels have a 19mm rim.

iPete

Put GP4 on about 1,000 miles ago for London riding, so far so good.

dawebbo

I didn't have any difficulties mounting the 25mm durano's - though couldn't do it just with thumbs like some tyres. They are a hell of a lot easier than the marathons! I found getting longer reinforced levers helps, would highly recommend these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=28714.

migrantwing

dawebbo wrote:

I didn't have any difficulties mounting the 25mm durano's - though couldn't do it just with thumbs like some tyres. They are a hell of a lot easier than the marathons! I found getting longer reinforced levers helps, would highly recommend these http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=28714.

I'll let you know how I get on What do you suggest, dawebbo, folding or rigids as there's not much in it, pricewise?

dawebbo

Good stuff.

Mine are folding, tbh I'm not sure what difference it makes other than coming in a smaller package. Perhaps someone else knows?

ademort

declan1 wrote:

Why not try the 25mm ones? 25mm is the new size of tyre to have. More comfort, less rolling resistance and more puncture resistance. I presume they'll fit on your rims?

I,ve just fitted Schwalbe Marathon plus 25mm on my work bike Giant Defy 4. They are incredibly thick tyres, i really hope they do the job. As many of you know theres nothing worse than getting a puncture when its pitch black in the middle of nowhere , no road lighting and pissing it down. I know, my commute is 16Kms of mostly unlit roads and despite having the best puncture resistant tyres ( Michelin Krylion carbon) the puncture fairy has stung me on a number of occasions of late hence the changeover to the heavier Schwalbe Marathons.I,ll settle for having to pedal a bit harder and having a bit more protection than carry on with the old tyres.I,m really looking forward to seeing just how long i go without a puncture now i have the new tyres and also how many Kms i get before they wear out and need replacing. Will keep all informed.
Ademort

migrantwing

dawebbo wrote:

Good stuff.

Mine are folding, tbh I'm not sure what difference it makes other than coming in a smaller package. Perhaps someone else knows?

I find folding tyres are a lot easier to put on as they don't have the wire runing around the bead. That's definitely a plus

tincaman

how many Kms i get before they wear out and need replacing. Will keep all informed.

See you in a couple of years then

Manc33

Don't forget the extra weight of the Marathon Plus will make you go faster downhill. :P

ademort

Manc33 wrote:

Don't forget the extra weight of the Marathon Plus will make you go faster downhill. :P

Well, thats brilliant but we dont have any hills.
Ademort

Manc33

ademort wrote:

Manc33 wrote:

Don't forget the extra weight of the Marathon Plus will make you go faster downhill. :P

Well, thats brilliant but we dont have any hills.
Ademort

I am guessing you're in the Netherlands... sometimes I wish there were no hills here but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and all that.

OK as a consolation prize: Once you get up to speed with heavy tyres, it should be alright. Sorry that doesn't quite cut it. :P

I live about 6 miles away from the foot of Snake Pass. :twisted:

In fact it doesn't matter which road I go down from my house, its all either up a hill, or down a hill. :roll:

Just took the Marathon Plus out for their first decent length ride in abysmal rain, they seemed alright. I have got them pumped to the max and even then, even in the wet, they were alright. The thing is I just won't push it so much I skid, I play it safe.

I can tell you now my average speed was up over my last tyres, by about 0.5 MPH and in a horrible wind just then as well, would love to know what the average really should be in normal conditions, taking bigger risks because its dry etc.

I know those Marathon Plus are at least as fast as my last tyres because I ain't even been on my bike in about ten days and my average speed was up. Normally taking ten days off makes my average go down, its happened so many times before.

Like everyone else says, you only have these options...

1. A far lighter and better tyre for the same money, but it won't be puncture resistant.
2. A lighter and slightly better tyre for slightly less money, that won't be puncture resistant.
3. A tyre that is heavy and doesn't grip as well that is costly but is puncture resistant.

As far as I know you cannot get the puncture protection from any other tyre like you do with Marathon Plus.

The ride I just did is a perfect example of the kind of ride where I would absolutely hate to get a puncture. I would have to fix it in the cold + wet + dark, or walk 5 miles home getting cold and wet, in the dark.

I don't care about the negligible difference in rolling resistance, well I don't care when my average speed is up 0.5 MPH no.

ademort

That my avareage speed might me down as a result of having heavier tyres does not bother me one bit. It,s only a Giant Defy 4 i use for work and speed/time do not come into it.Puncture resistance is my number 1 priority and thats why i,ve gone for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 25c tyres.God knows what i,ve ridden through lately but the tyres i removed are a brown/reddish colour where they touch the road surface. I,ve never seen anything like it.I,ve had an unusually large number of punctures of late, but every puncture i,ve had has been as a result of debris picked up from the road. I,m now hoping to eliminate this. My commute is 16Kms of which around 11Kms are unlit roads in the middle of nowhere and pitch black. I used to swear by the Michelin Krylion carbon 25c but even they have let me down of late.I hope that 2013 brings more luck.
Ademort

Hoopdriver

ademort wrote:

That my avareage speed might me down as a result of having heavier tyres does not bother me one bit. It,s only a Giant Defy 4 i use for work and speed/time do not come into it.Puncture resistance is my number 1 priority and thats why i,ve gone for the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 25c tyres.God knows what i,ve ridden through lately but the tyres i removed are a brown/reddish colour where they touch the road surface. I,ve never seen anything like it.I,ve had an unusually large number of punctures of late, but every puncture i,ve had has been as a result of debris picked up from the road. I,m now hoping to eliminate this. My commute is 16Kms of which around 11Kms are unlit roads in the middle of nowhere and pitch black. I used to swear by the Michelin Krylion carbon 25c but even they have let me down of late.I hope that 2013 brings more luck.
Ademort

Your puncture problem should pretty well be solved if you're running Marathon Plus. Like you, I never found their weight a problem and have put in many a long ride with them on my tourer, and at a becoming clip, too.

Manc33

Before I switched to Marathon Plus, it was never "punctures" that were the problem, but the fact that over time I could see little cuts/tears/nicks/gashes/rips emerging in my tyres from glass I had ridden over but had not actually caused a puncture. On my last bike the inner tube even ended up bubbling through one of the gashes and it took 3 or 4 puncture repair patches on the inside of the tyre to sort of make it rideable.

ENOUGH.

With the Marathon Plus, those gashes will still appear of course, but with the 5mm layer of sponge "protecting" me, I don't care, and will just trust them. You can't get away with those little cuts in the tyre forever - it only takes a semi-sharp stone to get wedged in the hole - and I won't ride around with those little cuts in my tyres if I can help it.