Solid / Puncture Proof Tyres any advice please?

[morphix]

Thanks for bringing the SJS Schwalbe sale to our attention – I might stock up for the summer.

Some confusion here – mostly due to Schwalbe.

The HS368 is the old (pre 2011) Marathon tyre with ‘Kevlar Guard’ which was replaced by the HS420, confusingly named Marathon Original, which has ‘GreenGuard’ protection. Schwalbe rate the Kevlar Guard 3 and the Greenguard 5 in their 1-6 puncture protection ratings.

The HS348 Marathon Plus is their only 349 tyre to get their maximum 6 rating for puncture protection.

I’ve not tried a Marathon Plus on a small wheel but imagine it would be rather uncomfortable as it is quite a stiff tyre.

You're right, on both counts, it's confusing the way Schwalbe have branded these tyres with some changes I think to the terminology and how the tyres are made.. I think the difference between the HS420 "original" compared to the HS348 "Plus" is that the HS420 only has 3mm of rubber and the Plus has 5mm? I could be wrong there, but I know the HS420 definitely has 3mm, although this could now be standard with the Plus model as I think when I bought my 26" Marathon Plus it came with just 3mm.

The other thing as you said, these tyres have a very rigid and solid feel to them. They work best at higher pressure I think due to the extra rubber in them and make fast road tyres.. if you want lower pressure/more bounce, these maybe not be the tyres to get.

 

[flecc]

I’ve not tried a Marathon Plus on a small wheel but imagine it would be rather uncomfortable as it is quite a stiff tyre.

On a 20" wheel they are uncomfortable on poor surfaces, even at minimum recommended pressure.

 

[jhruk]

You're right, on both counts, it's confusing the way Schwalbe have branded these tyres with some changes I think to the terminology and how the tyres are made.. I think the difference between the HS420 "original" compared to the HS348 "Plus" is that the HS420 only has 3mm of rubber and the Plus has 5mm? I could be wrong there, but I know the HS420 definitely has 3mm, although this could now be standard with the Plus model as I think when I bought my 26" Marathon Plus it came with just 3mm.

The other thing as you said, these tyres have a very rigid and solid feel to them. They work best at higher pressure I think due to the extra rubber in them and make fast road tyres.. if you want lower pressure/more bounce, these maybe not be the tyres to get.

You can get more details in their catalogue. I’ve got a 2013 copy which gives the ‘Kevlar Guard’ a 3 rating but I see the old 2012 one, which you can download here, gives it a 4. (Page 63)

I’ve been using some 406 Big Apples with the older Kevlar for sometime without problems. It maybe just marketing.

 

[wissy]

So what are Schwalbe Marathon 40-622 then??

And

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme??

 

[morphix]

You can get more details in their catalogue. I’ve got a 2013 copy which gives the ‘Kevlar Guard’ a 3 rating but I see the old 2012 one, which you can download here, gives it a 4. (Page 63)

I’ve been using some 406 Big Apples with the older Kevlar for sometime without problems. It maybe just marketing.

True, I've had a look at the latest catalogue/info pdf which does give a lot of info.. unfortunately my bike can't take the Big Apple's else I would have gone for those as a lack of suspension compensation.. they say that higher pressure tyres are less prone to punctures and wear on the sides of the tyres (cracking etc). Always a trade off I guess, lower pressure for a more comfortable ride but poor rolling resistance/reduced gearing etc, or more rigid tyres for less comfortable ride, but more durability and better road speed performance.

 

[jhruk]

So what are Schwalbe Marathon 40-622 then??

[FONT=&amp]An excellent general purpose tyre for a 700c wheel.[/FONT]

And

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme??

A more expensive specialized folding tyre.

For more details see the Schwalbe website or download their catalogue here.

 

[jhruk]

True, I've had a look at the latest catalogue/info pdf which does give a lot of info.. unfortunately my bike can't take the Big Apple's else I would have gone for those as a lack of suspension compensation.. they say that higher pressure tyres are less prone to punctures and wear on the sides of the tyres (cracking etc). Always a trade off I guess, lower pressure for a more comfortable ride but poor rolling resistance/reduced gearing etc, or more rigid tyres for less comfortable ride, but more durability and better road speed performance.

Indeed – I reckon the ones you have will be a good compromise but you only have to browse a Brompton forum to see how personal the choice is.

 

[MikeyBikey]

Haringeys streets are littered with 'Tottenham Diamonds', broken glass, flints, & other sharps :-(
So I am having to change another otherwise perfectly good rear Brompton tyre after the previous Schwalbe marathon plus was also damaged beyond repair. Still waiting for Haringey to reply re my claim, they were waiting for Highways dept report! Yeh, I bet.
Present method of using 3 old tubes as extra protection has worked so far, tyre bulging, but holding. Wish I could post pics but WinFone won't allow :-( fitting another spare Brompton tyre coz can't stand aggro of forcing Schwalbes tight undersized 347 tyres onto 349 rims. Slime in last tube saved 6 punctures before last hole was too big for it to plug :-D Cheers, Mikey

 

[Clockwise]

Haringeys streets are littered with 'Tottenham Diamonds', broken glass, flints, & other sharps :-(
So I am having to change another otherwise perfectly good rear Brompton tyre after the previous Schwalbe marathon plus was also damaged beyond repair. Still waiting for Haringey to reply re my claim, they were waiting for Highways dept report! Yeh, I bet.
Present method of using 3 old tubes as extra protection has worked so far, tyre bulging, but holding. Wish I could post pics but WinFone won't allow :-( fitting another spare Brompton tyre coz can't stand aggro of forcing Schwalbes tight undersized 347 tyres onto 349 rims. Slime in last tube saved 6 punctures before last hole was too big for it to plug :-D Cheers, Mikey

I have similar diy tyre liners on our bikes, overall I found they helped punctures from glass but worsened pinch punctures from the pot holes so can be really hard to find what's best. I also find with glass that shards will work in over a few rides so inspecting tyres often can help, if I ride over what I think was a broken bottle then I will take a moment at the next lights to look for some glass in my tyre before I ride it deeper, done about 1500 miles since my last flat and that was from a drawing pin(who drops those?) soon fixed with slime.