Schwalbe Marathon Plus

The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
179
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South Yorks
Anyone here riding with these tyres?

Im thinking of changing my mountain bike tyres for a set of these, mainly as a more road biased tyre. I also like their puncture resistant claims..



 

awol

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 4, 2013
1,216
374
Yes, I've done over 15'000 miles with one on my motor wheel and just got my 1st puncture. Mind you it is worn down to a treadless slick now.
 

Rohloffboy

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 1, 2015
315
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North West.
Got a pair of 26" x 1.5" MP for my none ebike around a year ago, they are outstanding, I can feel the extra weight, but it makes little difference, although I feel they may be overkill, no punctures of course.

Thinking about changing them for "Marathon Tour" 26" x 1 3/8" slightly less protection with 3mm thickness instead of 5mm thickness, and reduced weight.

Although I think the MP are perfect for ebikes.
 
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oriteroom

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 13, 2008
297
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Buy, you wont regret it. All my bikes have them. Great.
 
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Reactions: Emo Rider

The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
179
52
South Yorks
Im just a bit confused about the tyre size I need.

I have 29" wheels and my current tyres have 29 x 2.60 printed on them. Im wanting the Marathons for a better ride when on the road, so I guess a narrower tyre might be good?

The sizes available on Chain Reaction have me a little confused as to which size I need..




My current tyres..

 
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D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
5000 miles on them with no punctures despite getting a 3" nail in the tyre. Tyres are still like new, but grip isn't much.

puncture 1.jpg

puncture1.jpg
 

The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
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52
South Yorks
Is 700c not 28", Schwalbe do 29" x 2.25" in Marathon Plus MTB tyre.
Well it turns out Schwalbe don't do the Marathon Plus tyre for my 29" wheels

Can anyone suggest a tyre that will give me better rolling resistance for road riding, and with good puncture resistance please?
 
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
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E-Wheels

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Aug 16, 2016
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Im just a bit confused about the tyre size I need.

I have 29" wheels and my current tyres have 29 x 2.60 printed on them. Im wanting the Marathons for a better ride when on the road, so I guess a narrower tyre might be good?

The sizes available on Chain Reaction have me a little confused as to which size I need..




My current tyres..

The biggest size in the Marathon Plus is 47-622 (700 x 45C)
Check your rim width to see if the 47-622 (700 x 45C) will fit
https://www.schwalbe.com/en/reifenmasse.html
 

The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
179
52
South Yorks
That is, put simply, nonsense.

Any Marathon - or other - tyre marked 28", 700c or 29er will fit, provided it's not significantly narrower than your present tyres.

In standard Marathon Plus, the 28" X1.75" width would be the one to go for.

https://www.schwalbe.com/en-GB/tour-reader/marathon-plus.html
Well I admit to being completely baffled when it comes to all the different methods of measuring true sizes, and knowing what size tyres would fit my rims.

Would a 29" tyre have the same internal diameter as a 28" tyre, with the only difference being the outside diameter being different?
 

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: The 28" size marking is popular in America, but it is exactly the same as a '29er' or 700c.

Outiside circumference depends on the type of tyre.

Mountain bike tyres have fairly tall sidewalls which gives the tread a bit more circumference.

Narrow, roadie tyres tend to be lower profile, so the circumference will be a bit less.

The Marathons are somewhere in between.
 

The Bear

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2017
517
179
52
South Yorks
Thanks, looks like Ill be ordering a pair of 28 x 1.75 then :)

Or should that be 700 x 38?

Who knows?
 
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jwm

Pedelecer
Feb 11, 2014
139
41
Hampshire
As D8veh states... grip levels can be interesting, though I find this with the Schwalbe rubber on Marathons, Marathon plus and Big Apple plus. In rain you expect it, it can come as a painful surprise in slightly damp conditions .. stay off road markings!

John
 

Ducknald Don

Pedelecer
Sep 2, 2017
97
38
Oxfordshire
As D8veh states... grip levels can be interesting, though I find this with the Schwalbe rubber on Marathons, Marathon plus and Big Apple plus. In rain you expect it, it can come as a painful surprise in slightly damp conditions .. stay off road markings!

John
They can't be any worse than MTB tyres on the road can they? I would guess there is more contact area.
 

gwing3

Finding my (electric) wheels
Oct 5, 2017
21
6
66
Chilterns, UK
They can't be any worse than MTB tyres on the road can they? I would guess there is more contact area.
I'm not sure you can generalise like that. Rubber compound is a trade-off between grip and longevity so a soft grippy MTB tyre might well have more grip in the rain than a hard long-life road tyre, especially if it's cold. Having a smaller contact area on wet surfaces isn't necessarily a bad thing either.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,785
The European Union
You don't want to ride any Schwalbe tyre in the rain the first couple of times out, I don't remember having that problem with the Michelins.

I swear by Big Bens (Plus or regular) which have just enough tread, they are s-pedelec certified and offer the next level of protection down from the Marathon. One thing I can say against them is they are very noisy once you get up to about 40 km/h. Apparently on trikes they let go without giving much of a warning but I still have my "L" plate on and am not pushing it to those levels of grip (yet...). On my road bike they are very confidence inspiring at speed in all conditions and at all angles of lean though I do tend to be more careful in the rain these days.
 
D

Deleted member 4366

Guest
Basically, you trade puncture resistance for grip. The MP has by far the best puncture resistance. Continental Top Contact have excellent grip, but low life and not much puncture resistance. There's loads of tyres in between.

The grip from MPs is adequate, but not as good as other tyres, and you do have to be a bit more careful on salty or icy winter roads or at anytime when the roads are wet.
 

ttxela

Pedelecer
Jan 3, 2017
118
66
52
Cambridgeshire
I was getting a puncture almost every day on my 30 mile round trip commute using the Schwalbe Life tyres that came on my bike. I've swapped to Marathon Plus, they've been on a few weeks and I've not had a puncture yet.

Not really noticed any difference in weight or grip.