Schwalbe Winter v's Marathon Winter Plus

londoncommuter

Any experience of both of these for commuting? The Winter Plus have twice the spikes but are £29 each compared to £17 for the Winter so £24 less for the pair.

I've an easy three miles on a main road but then a mile on a side road.

Indulgently, I've bought a dedicated "rubbish bike" these can be fitted to (very cheap and old cyclocross bike) which I can use just for those few weeks a year when ice might be a risk so I'm kind of relaxed if the Marathon Plus are more draggy. Just wondered how much better the grip was practically. Wouldn't penny pinch if it was noticeable as it's cheaper than dealing with broken ribs but no point wasting money if the Winter have insane grip anyway.

Many thanks.

roger_merriman

Schwalbe say the plus has better cornering grip ie banked over! This said it’s only a touch heavier if your going to run spikes then might as well do it properly!

I vaguely thought about doing what your doing, but I find that it’s difficult to be sure if or not it will be like on the day, only time in the last few years I had a off due to ice was a day the mist had settled on the path next to the river, and being a nice day I and another cyclist ungracefully flopped on the ground, but realistically my commute bike is a old MTB with big tyres so much rubber on the ground unless it’s sheet ice, or as above user error it’s simply not a issue, loads of grip.

londoncommuter

I completely agree, fairly sure nobody goes out expecting to fall off so it's bound to turn out tropical when I do you use them and that random day will catch me out when I don't.

wolfsbane2k

londoncommuter said:

Any experience of both of these for commuting? The Winter Plus have twice the spikes but are £29 each compared to £17 for the Winter so £24 less for the pair.

I've an easy three miles on a main road but then a mile on a side road.

Indulgently, I've bought a dedicated "rubbish bike" these can be fitted to (very cheap and old cyclocross bike) which I can use just for those few weeks a year when ice might be a risk so I'm kind of relaxed if the Marathon Plus are more draggy. Just wondered how much better the grip was practically. Wouldn't penny pinch if it was noticeable as it's cheaper than dealing with broken ribs but no point wasting money if the Winter have insane grip anyway.

Many thanks.

I have the previous "winters" - Snow Studs I think they were called, which only had 1 line of studs either side of the central line. I hit sheet ice, managed to stay upright on it by going dead straight, but had to turn slightly to avoid a twig, and ended up in a tank slapper trying to keep it upright, only to end up going over the handlebars as the rear wheel tried to overtake me.

Over the following few days I had similar close calls, and ordered the Marathon Winters (which now appear to be called winter plus's)

I'd seriously recommend getting the full studded tyre - it's not much more weight, and if you're out in icy conditions (rather than just snow), you'll really appreciate it.

londoncommuter

The Snow model is a bit different as you're right it has no studs in the centre. The Winter are just slightly pared down versions of the Marathon Winter with half the spikes (in the same place though) and less puncture resistance. They're cheaper, a tiny bit lighter and maybe less draggy on the road but the flip side is less benefit from studs. That's all in theory though so I wondered just not sure how significant that is in real life.

timothyw

I've ran the Schwalbe Winter (2 lines of studs) over several years of icy spells now (including a few snowy days, and days when there were patches of ice on the road)

Never had a problem with them, certainly never had an off, although I do commute in the south east into London, and mostly on a fairly major road that is often treated.

Haven't needed them yet this year (or at least, haven't bothered putting them on) although it has been a fairly mild one.

If you are going to be riding in properly winter conditions (compacted snow, ice etc) then you probably ought get the full job, but if you are buying them as a just in case for icy days (as I am) then the Schwalbe Winters are fine.