I have just read the BazP comments and had the same issues on a tubeless ready wheel. The wheel I had seemed designed to grip the bead of the tyre and was a complete pain to remove a marathon plus mountain bike tyre from.

 

So probably marathon plus mountain bike tyres that are not designed to be run tubeless for whatever reason are very difficult to remove from some tubeless designed rims.

 

Now I have not run a marathon plus mountain bike tyre long enough to comment on the puncture resistant effectiveness and am surprised that BazP found them not so good as others have found them very good. As I said on the Haibike hard tail mountain bike I have now gone tubeless at the rear.

 

Like BazP I was worried that if I got a puncture on my off road route to work I would not be able to lever the tyre off the rim on that wheel to repair or replace the tube.

 

Something to watch maybe.

Me and my partner had Marathon Plus tyres for over a year along with slime tubes and I’ve lost count of the punctures we’ve had. Sometimes the slime works sometimes not. I then changed to the MTB version with the same results.

Regarding putting them on, it was fairly hard but worse was taking them off. I did put this down to having tubeless ready rims but after not being able to get a lever under the wall and trying laying the wheel down then standing on the wall with my heel I finally resorted to using a rounded of screwdriver to dig between the rim and tyre wall. This slightly damaged the rim each time. I’ve now gone tubeless with Maxxis tyres but to finally get the Marathon off I clamped the tyre in a vice and sawed through it. Difficult to do on a run.

This is weird. I know loads of people with MPs. None of them have ever had a puncture with them. Also, can you explain how you fixed all those punctures if you had to saw the tyre off each time to get at them?

This is weird. I know loads of people with MPs. None of them have ever had a puncture with them. Also, can you explain how you fixed all those punctures if you had to saw the tyre off each time to get at them?

 

I also wonder if there was something in the wheel itself causing these punctures? Were the rim tapes not up to the job? Did something get in the tyre that was causing repeated punctures? Did you damage the inner tube trying to lever the tyre back on?

 

To puncture a Marathon Plus takes quite some doing and the evidence of the hole left behind should be quite visible. Did you see any holes? Find any embedded thorns or nails?

 

I don't mean these questions in any way as questioning your competence etc, just would like to get to the bottom of it and be able to eliminate the obvious.

This is weird. I know loads of people with MPs. None of them have ever had a puncture with them. Also, can you explain how you fixed all those punctures if you had to saw the tyre off each time to get at them?

I didn’t say that I had to saw the tyre off each puncture. Almost all of my punctures were thorns and it usually took at least 10 minutes to get a tyre off. The problem every time was breaking the seal on the rim. These were Alexis tubeless ready rims and the tyres were put on within a month of the rims being new.

Plastic levers wouldn’t go in so I resorted to putting the wheel on the ground and trying to push the tyre off with my heel. In the end I ground the end of a wooden handled screwdriver round to minimise damage to use as a lever. This put slight nicks in the rim which I would sand out occasionally. once the seal was broken the tyre came off as normal. I’m not a novice cyclist and have done all of my cycle repairs for 60 years. The tyres were run at 40 psi to try to prevent penetration

I changed to the MTB version which I think you once commented were not quite as puncture proof but still had the removal problem. When going tubeless, because I wasn’t bothered about the MP I clamped the two walls of the tyre in a large engineers vice but the walls just came together without parting from the rim. Therefor , after all the frustration they had caused, it was quite enjoyable to saw them off and dump in the bin.

For what it is worth, that is my honest experience.

BazP the rear wheel I had the same problem with was an Alexis tubeless ready rear wheel with exactly the same symptoms you describe. An absolute nightmare to break the bead of the marathon plus mountain bike tyre away from the rim.

BazP it seems you have been unlucky, I have fitted them to my Alex tubeless rims six months ago so here's hoping if I do get a puncture out on the road I can break the bead

It reminds me of a Yamaha xt660z that I ran for a number of years, it had a tubeless rear rim laced with spokes to the hub making it a tube type wheel. It was an absolute pig to break the bead and I couldn't do it out on the road so had to get recovered when it happened. I eventually sent the wheel to Italy to be made tubeless, curiously though i ran the bike for another 15k and never got another puncture

I didn’t say that I had to saw the tyre off each puncture. Almost all of my punctures were thorns and it usually took at least 10 minutes to get a tyre off. The problem every time was breaking the seal on the rim. These were Alexis tubeless ready rims and the tyres were put on within a month of the rims being new.

Plastic levers wouldn’t go in so I resorted to putting the wheel on the ground and trying to push the tyre off with my heel. In the end I ground the end of a wooden handled screwdriver round to minimise damage to use as a lever. This put slight nicks in the rim which I would sand out occasionally. once the seal was broken the tyre came off as normal. I’m not a novice cyclist and have done all of my cycle repairs for 60 years. The tyres were run at 40 psi to try to prevent penetration

I changed to the MTB version which I think you once commented were not quite as puncture proof but still had the removal problem. When going tubeless, because I wasn’t bothered about the MP I clamped the two walls of the tyre in a large engineers vice but the walls just came together without parting from the rim. Therefor , after all the frustration they had caused, it was quite enjoyable to saw them off and dump in the bin.

For what it is worth, that is my honest experience.

Are you sure that the Tyres were Marathon Plus? I've been on this forum for ten years, during which time tyres comes up about once per week. Every time, people extol the virtues of MPs. As far as I can remember, you're the only one that has ever mentioned punctures in them. It just doesn’t add up.

 

Where I ride, they're always cutting hedges. I used to get punctures nearly every time I rode on the roads where they had done it. Since fitting MP, not a single one in 6 years and 6000 miles, yet you had loads. Can you explain why?

 

pita to fit but never had a flat on my bike and had it since 2014 with tubeless sealant and top up every 3 months 5min job.

Are you sure that the Tyres were Marathon Plus? I've been on this forum for ten years, during which time tyres comes up about once per week. Every time, people extol the virtues of MPs. As far as I can remember, you're the only one that has ever mentioned punctures in them. It just doesn’t add up.

 

Where I ride, they're always cutting hedges. I used to get punctures nearly every time I rode on the roads where they had done it. Since fitting MP, not a single one in 6 years and 6000 miles, yet you had loads. Can you explain why?

Hello vfr400, no I can’t explain. You sound like you don’t believe me but it is what it is.

I think the tyre I didn’t saw off is in the garden hut, you can have it if you’re so keen on them.

How is your tubeless setup coping with the thorns BazP. Have you noticed the sealant doing its job if you pick up a thorn.

 

I now have a tubed tyre at the front and a tubeless tyre at the rear. I now carry those little rubber plug things that you use to assist sealing a larger puncture on a tubeless tyre and a CO2 inflater as well as a nomal pump. The weight of my tools bag is getting heavier!

 

I am now no longer using the Alexis rear wheel after it got badly damaged. In my case I don't think the Marathon plus tyre was at fault but that something about that wheel and rim damaged the tube.

 

It would work for a few rides and then just deflate. I checked the tyre when I took it off and could not see any sign that it had been punctured.

 

I bought a cheap rear wheel of Ebay which I now use as a spar with the marathon plus tyre on it, and got a local bike shop with a good reputation to build me a rear wheel which turned out really well and is what I have on it now.

Hello vfr400, no I can’t explain. You sound like you don’t believe me but it is what it is.

I think the tyre I didn’t saw off is in the garden hut, you can have it if you’re so keen on them.

If you have sawn it in half, could you post a photo of the tyre cross section so that we can see if the tougher belt is actually there.

The reason that I say this is because I once bought a Marathon plus locally, only to find that one of the rim wires was defective, so they do make mistakes.

So no one doesn't have experience of Continental tires? I might as well be the guinea pig and try them out next summer.

Continental Tyre Feedback

 

Hi, sorry to be slow, I have some Continental Cross King 2.2 Protection tyres fitted to an acoustic mountain bike I bought some years ago on a ride to work scheme and have found them to be a very good cross country mountain bike tyre. I run them with tubes and I have had no punctures.

 

Around March this year the wheel bearings on the front wheel of my 2015 Haibike Yamaha failed and were not of a type that could easily be changed. So I could keep commuting while I sourced a replacement front wheel I slotted the front wheel shod with the Continental Cross King 2.2 Protection tyre into the Haibike and it proved to be very good. Since then I have ridden 700 miles on it, of which around 400 miles are off road. They are proving to be more hard wearing than I thought they would be. They perform very well off road and seem to run well on road.

 

They are probably not as puncture proof or hard wearing as Marathon plus tyres but they handle and perform better off road and probably on road too, certainly when the weather gets wetter and colder.

 

I commented at the time, "Having a proper grippy mountain bike tyre on the front gave me oodles more grip in faster slippery muddy corners and everywhere else giving a real uplift in off road handling without the less off road orientated rear tyre compromising too much the better performance delivered at the front. This might be my perfect off road commuter bike combination, and it also worked well on the road."

 

 

Since I made that comment I have changed my back wheel and fitted a VITTORIA MOTA G+ ISOTECH TNT 27.5X2.35 TYRE: ANTHRACITE/BLACK/BLACK 27.5X2.35" and gone tubeless.

 

So my set up now is off road biased.

 

This is because I now only use my Haibike to commute to work when I am able to ride on my 14 mile cross country route and then 10 back on the road.

 

I use a rear hub road bike when I ride to work and back on the road.

Here is a shout out for Tannus Armour for off road riding.

 

I used to get regular punctures from hawthorn needles, my record was three on one ride ☹, so I went to tubeless and that reduced things but not eliminated it. I then got two punctures from exposed sharp flints (baked into the hard clay soil) which put a small slash in the tyre that no amount of sealant was going to sort that out.

 

So in desperation I got a pair of Tannus Armour and in the last year have had 1 puncture from a very long tough hawthorn.

 

The biggest advantage to me has been that I can run any tyre I want, so I now have wet weather (High Roller) and dry weather (Rekon) setup that I use – basically I can choose the tyre that is best for my conditions.

 

The overall weight gain was 100g per wheel when compared with tubeless, and I pick up more mud than that on a run so that does not make a difference. Yes they cost £30 each, but I am still using the tyre with the flint slashes which I would have had to replace and I like having the tyres I want.

 

I have not noticed any difference in rolling resistance (all my riding is off road) and I run the pressures at 15psi on the front and 20psi on the rear, I had no problems putting them on/in, it probably added 30 seconds to changing a tyre. The Tannus has been the solution for me.

AS I said in another place, I had a thorn puncture thru Tannus inserts (3/4 of the away from the rim, so not the thickest part) from a hawthorn that would double as a gramophone needle (78 rpm only) .. that was Big Apple rather than MP+, but still Schwalbe and supposedly good puncture protection. Annoying thing with thorn puncture is finding the damn thing .. need a magnifying glass if you don't have a bucket of water, deep puddle, or A1 hearing for the hiss..

AS I said in another place, I had a thorn puncture thru Tannus inserts (3/4 of the away from the rim, so not the thickest part) from a hawthorn that would double as a gramophone needle (78 rpm only) .. that was Big Apple rather than MP+, but still Schwalbe and supposedly good puncture protection. Annoying thing with thorn puncture is finding the damn thing .. need a magnifying glass if you don't have a bucket of water, deep puddle, or A1 hearing for the hiss..

 

 

Big Apple only have a protection rating of 3 or 4 depending on the guard type:

 

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/big_apple

 

 

Whereas Marathon Plus are a rating of 7:

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_E-Plus

 

A rating of 3 will not give a lot of protection. Better than a standard tyre, but can still be punctured by long sharp objects. I had a piece of flint go through a Schwalbe City Jet with a rating of 3.

Big Apple only have a protection rating of 3 or 4 depending on the guard type:

 

[ATTACH type=full" alt="39348]39348[/ATTACH]

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/big_apple

 

 

Whereas Marathon Plus are a rating of 7:

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_E-Plus

 

A rating of 3 will not give a lot of protection. Better than a standard tyre, but can still be punctured by long sharp objects. I had a piece of flint go through a Schwalbe City Jet with a rating of 3.

Marathon E-plus seems like better choice to overall. It has better off-road and road grip and also rolls better.

Neither Marathos Plus nor (afaik) M-EP, are available in the size require for the Tern Vektron (only the studded winter ones).

Big Apple only have a protection rating of 3 or 4 depending on the guard type:

 

Whereas Marathon Plus are a rating of 7:

 

 

On one of my ebikes, I run Big Apple in the summer, and Marathon Plus MTB in the winter.

There is a big difference!

 

Pretty much no punctures with the MP, not so with the Big Apples.

So why do I bother running the Apples at all?

Because everything is a compromise, and putting Marathon Plus tyres gives hideous ride quality in comparison!

Most people here never seem to mention this though. There is a reason you'll often hear people talking about 'good' tyres and the benefits of 'supple' ones - well a marathon plus is about as anti-supple as you can get!

 

I still use them because often, getting a puncture is the last thing I want to have, but they are hideous in oh so many ways!

Edited November 19, 20205 yr by GLJoe

On one of my ebikes, I run Big Apple in the summer, and Marathon Plus MTB in the winter.

There is a big difference!

 

Pretty much no punctures with the MP, not so with the Big Apples.

So why do I bother running the Apples at all?

Because everything is a compromise, and putting Marathon Plus tyres gives hideous ride quality in comparison!

Most people here never seem to mention this though. There is a reason you'll often here people talking about 'good' tyres and the benefits of 'supple' ones - well a marathon plus is about as anti-supple as you can get!

 

I still use them because often, getting a puncture is the last thing I want to have, but they are hideous in oh so many ways!

 

 

I completely understand

 

On my hybrid bike I am limited by the frame width to no more than a 40mm wide tyre, so I run a 40mm wide Marathon e-Plus on the back and a 40 mm wide Marathon Almotion (older design HS453) on the front. The Almotion tyre has a low rolling resistance and is lighter, while still having quite good puncture resistance. Not fantastic for comfort, but so much better than the 28 mm wide Durano Plus I used to run on. Ouch! They used to give me bruises where you shouldn't get them

 

On my other bike with 26 inch wheels, I run 50 mm wide Marathon Supreme front and back, which give a much more comfortable ride, with good rolling resistance and puncture protection:

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/marathon_supreme

 

As an alternative to Big Apple tyres, could you run Big Ben plus instead?

 

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/big_ben_plus

Edited November 19, 20205 yr by WheezyRider

On one of my ebikes, I run Big Apple in the summer, and Marathon Plus MTB in the winter.

There is a big difference!

 

Pretty much no punctures with the MP, not so with the Big Apples.

So why do I bother running the Apples at all?

Because everything is a compromise, and putting Marathon Plus tyres gives hideous ride quality in comparison!

Most people here never seem to mention this though. There is a reason you'll often here people talking about 'good' tyres and the benefits of 'supple' ones - well a marathon plus is about as anti-supple as you can get!

 

I still use them because often, getting a puncture is the last thing I want to have, but they are hideous in oh so many ways!

Good points well presented. Each tyre has it's own characteristics. you have to choose one with the characteristics you want, and that choice means inevitable compromises.

Good points well presented. Each tyre has it's own characteristics. you have to choose one with the characteristics you want, and that choice means inevitable compromises.

 

Indeed. What we really want is a super supple tyre with great flexibility, low weight, low rolling resistance and fantastic puncture protection.

And preferably one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg!

 

But you can't have it all! Bugger.

 

And like you, where I live, this time of year means hawthorn hedges being trimmed! Marathon Plus tyres are I think the only ones I've used that have let me avoid punctures on country lanes - although I have had to manually pull out a couple of really long spikes and I suspect that if I'd have left them in the tyre, they would have eventually worked their way through the protection!

 

But I dislike them with a passion! they kill the ride quality. The rotating mass is noticeable, even on an e-bike; changing them can be difficult, and lets not even mention how cruddy the grip in the wet!

But if you don't want punctures ... I've yet to use a tyre that's better than them. And I have tried other brands, including the tough Conti's that are supposed to be ok as well.

I suspect its mainly the incredibly deep band of extra protection rubber they put on the plus models.

Roll on spring time though when I can put some far nicer tyres back on my bike

 

As an alternative to Big Apple tyres, could you run Big Ben plus instead?

 

 

I seem to recall Big Ben are pretty good protection wise, the plus even more, but even these aren't quite as good as the Marathon plus.

 

I had a set of Little Big Ben in I think a 38mm on a non electric hybrid. Not a bad compromise to be honest - was fairly comfy, decent grip, and FAIRLY puncture proof - I think I did get one or two punctures though. Before that I had a set of 47mm marathon plus road tyres. Again, awesome puncture protection, but I just had to take them off on a non electric bike as it was a step too far weight wise. Hang on ... I think I made a note of the weight ....

1.145Kg !!! OMG

Per tyre !!! (can that even be right ??)

I weighed some 28mm GP4000 tyres at the same time and they were 260g each!

Ok, not like for like, but in my list, I also have some fairly chunky 50mm Giant Sycamore gravel tyres, and those are only 730g.

Those marathon plus tyres are monsters weight wise

I had a previous version of continental "travel contact plus" and I found them the have better punture resistance than regular tyres and very durable. I do get punctures with the marathon plus and the continental occaisonally.

 

The reason why i went for marathon plus in the end is because the have tougher sidewalls, whereas the travel contact had literally bare rubberized nilon on the sides, so a thorn could get through if I went through a hedge or a fence which sent something sharp to the side of the tyre.

 

Then I got marathon plus and they are awesome except I had quality control defects on them too, the nylon underlayer on the side became a bit detatched from the rubber in small lines which are all parallel to the nylon weave and eventually a 15 x 3mm hold has appeared on the side of the marathon plus, and 10 other little cracks all at the same angle where the nylon flexes.

 

Either way, I get more than 5000 from either tyre, good call from this thread i'll probably try to mend the marathon plus defect today. I'd say they are 5 -8 times less puncture prone than an ordinary tyre, so i have a flat every 1000km going through hedges and fences

Edited March 29, 20224 yr by science.raven

I have had a continental on the rear for about 2 years - I got it when the tyres that came with the bike started getting worn out

Once I got rid of an old inner tube I have had no punctures at all

Until last week when a thorn got through.

When I looked the thread is getting quite think on the contact patch and that was where the hold was.

I have a Marathon on the front and I have had no problems with that - I should swap them really!