Tyre advice please - Schwalbe Marathon Mondials or other?
jonathanuk
Posts: 67
At the moment I've been quite content with the funky Rocket Ron 33 x 622 tyres that came on my Focus Mares cyclocross bike, however I never intended it to be a full time race bike and have found myself 80-90% on road with it, which has quite quickly begun to eat into the rear tyre treads. These tyres are great around forest roads and on wintery roads but now that dry summer conditions are approaching I want to swap them for something better suited to the conditions.
I will still occasionally venture into the forest but it will be limited to the easier trails, no jumps or technical bits as the bike and my skills are just not suited to them, and I can handle a bit of mud without the knobbly tyres (it'll just be more exciting - the Rocket Rons glide through anything slippery as if it was normal road).
I have been looking in my local bike shops and their main offerings were Panaracer Tourguard Plus or Bontrager LT2, which to me look like pretty much the same tyre. Then online there's the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial (Evo DD folding version), Schwalbe Marathon Tour and Marathon Tour Plus etc which look interesting too, the Mondial looking more aggressive for a bit of mud or soft surface here and there.
I have checked the weight of these tyres, none really compare to the Rocket Rons that I have on at the moment and all seem to be around the 550 - 650g mark, not that I am too fussed as it's not going to be in a race, I just would like to be able to ride a bit further with easier rolling.
My previous bike was a Claud Butler hybrid which came with very similar tread pattern to these Panaracer and Schwalbes, and served me well on and off road so I'm going for the same style of tread again, just a question of which is going to suit me best - which rolls the best on what will be quite often bumpy country back lanes and poorly maintained cycle paths (width 32 or 35?) and would something like the Marathon Tour have sufficient grip to prevent me skidding out on loose fire road surfaces or easy trail sections (one of which I managed to lose a mountain bike from under me on Continental Race Kings, so I tend to take it steady now anyway).
Any and all advice gratefully received.
I will still occasionally venture into the forest but it will be limited to the easier trails, no jumps or technical bits as the bike and my skills are just not suited to them, and I can handle a bit of mud without the knobbly tyres (it'll just be more exciting - the Rocket Rons glide through anything slippery as if it was normal road).
I have been looking in my local bike shops and their main offerings were Panaracer Tourguard Plus or Bontrager LT2, which to me look like pretty much the same tyre. Then online there's the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial (Evo DD folding version), Schwalbe Marathon Tour and Marathon Tour Plus etc which look interesting too, the Mondial looking more aggressive for a bit of mud or soft surface here and there.
I have checked the weight of these tyres, none really compare to the Rocket Rons that I have on at the moment and all seem to be around the 550 - 650g mark, not that I am too fussed as it's not going to be in a race, I just would like to be able to ride a bit further with easier rolling.
My previous bike was a Claud Butler hybrid which came with very similar tread pattern to these Panaracer and Schwalbes, and served me well on and off road so I'm going for the same style of tread again, just a question of which is going to suit me best - which rolls the best on what will be quite often bumpy country back lanes and poorly maintained cycle paths (width 32 or 35?) and would something like the Marathon Tour have sufficient grip to prevent me skidding out on loose fire road surfaces or easy trail sections (one of which I managed to lose a mountain bike from under me on Continental Race Kings, so I tend to take it steady now anyway).
Any and all advice gratefully received.
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Comments
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How about buying two sets of tyres: road and offroad. You are trying to combine the best of both and ending up with a bugger's muddle.0
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This was my original plan for the bike but I am lazy and wanted to buy wheels too so that it would just be a quick swap, but the wheels are not available to buy yet as far as I know because they use a new spindle system on these Focus bikes. If they are available, they will be expensive.
If I were to go for road tyres that could be used on rough cycle paths, which would you recommend?0 -
This may be of interest, viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=130256050
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The Marathon are a step down compared to pretty much any other tyre, including off road tyres. People buy them for puncture protection, rather than performance.
As above, you need two sets... you can't use a road tyre to go off roadleft the forum March 20230 -
Ok... So can someone recommend me a good road tyre please. Not slicks though, it's not a racing bike and I'm not going to beat any Strava times on it. I still want some comfort so 32 would be the minimum width.
Does anyone make a road tyre with a white sidewall? I see Amber sidewalls but don't fancy those on this bike.0 -
I got a separate wheelset to speed up changes on my cross bike. Also, these are durable and nicely rolling for commuting and tow paths Tourerhttp://www.wiggle.co.uk/vredestein-perfect-tour-road-tyre/0
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jonathanuk wrote:Ok... So can someone recommend me a good road tyre please. Not slicks though, it's not a racing bike and I'm not going to beat any Strava times on it. I still want some comfort so 32 would be the minimum width.
Does anyone make a road tyre with a white sidewall? I see Amber sidewalls but don't fancy those on this bike.
No road tyres as such, but light and fast touring tyres... Panaracer Pasela Tourguard folding are very good and have tan sidewallleft the forum March 20230 -
Back to the Panaracers, I must admit I do like the tread pattern, I have a pair of the slimmer ones on my old Galaxy tourer. It seems there is plenty of personal opinion on this matter with no definitive answer.0
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jonathanuk wrote:Back to the Panaracers, I must admit I do like the tread pattern, I have a pair of the slimmer ones on my old Galaxy tourer. It seems there is plenty of personal opinion on this matter with no definitive answer.
I've used them before passing them onto my wife's bike... they are very nice, very supple tyres. They tend to come pretty big, so maybe a 28 mm could be enough...left the forum March 20230 -
Bobbinogs wrote:How about buying two sets of tyres: road and offroad. You are trying to combine the best of both and ending up with a bugger's muddle.
I think a definition of what constitutes a road tyre and an off-road tyre should be helpful in this context. Searching Wiggle or Chainreactioncycles could be one way to split the two, but who really says where the line is drawn? Is a typical hybrid bike tyre road or off-road?0 -
All the info on panaracer tyres http://www.panaracer.com/road.php0
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Think I'm swaying towards the Panaracer TourGuard Plus, I can buy it from my local bike shop tomorrow.0
