Advice on tyres for MTB

[Old timer]

I have Marathon plus tyres on all my bikes but for my latest electric bike. It came with puncture resistant tyres( made in China I think) I`ve been running the bike around the country lanes where I live (lots of thorns and flint) for around 200 miles and to be honest the tyres are holding up ok so far. I`ve recently had a heart attack so don`t want to be caught out but also don`t want to have the outlay for a pair of tyres that might not be needed.

Q.
Having not had much success with the small cans of tyre sealant in the past and if I stick with the originals I might consider carrying maybe a larger can made for motorbikes or cars. any views on that?

Q.
If I do change the tyres for Marathons and seeing as I sometimes run off road now and then and the fact that the bike is quite heavy I might go for the Marathon Plus Tour tyres that have a slightly courser tread that might be more suitable for the rough country lanes. Does anyone use those Tour versions and what do you think?

Thanks for any advice

Dave

 

[Old timer]

I have Marathon plus tyres on all my bikes but for my latest electric bike. It came with puncture resistant tyres( made in China I think) I`ve been running the bike around the country lanes where I live (lots of thorns and flint) for around 200 miles and to be honest the tyres are holding up ok so far. I`ve recently had a heart attack so don`t want to be caught out but also don`t want to have the outlay for a pair of tyres that might not be needed.

Q.
Having not had much success with the small cans of tyre sealant in the past and if I stick with the originals I might consider carrying maybe a larger can made for motorbikes or cars. any views on that?

Q.
If I do change the tyres for Marathons and seeing as I sometimes run off road now and then and the fact that the bike is quite heavy I might go for the Marathon Plus Tour tyres that have a slightly courser tread that might be more suitable for the rough country lanes. Does anyone use those Tour versions and what do you think?

Thanks for any advice

Dave

 

[Old timer]

I have Marathon plus tyres on all my bikes but for my latest electric bike. It came with puncture resistant tyres( made in China I think) I`ve been running the bike around the country lanes where I live (lots of thorns and flint) for around 200 miles and to be honest the tyres are holding up ok so far. I`ve recently had a heart attack so don`t want to be caught out but also don`t want to have the outlay for a pair of tyres that might not be needed.

Q.
Having not had much success with the small cans of tyre sealant in the past and if I stick with the originals I might consider carrying maybe a larger can made for motorbikes or cars. any views on that?

Q.
If I do change the tyres for Marathons and seeing as I sometimes run off road now and then and the fact that the bike is quite heavy I might go for the Marathon Plus Tour tyres that have a slightly courser tread that might be more suitable for the rough country lanes. Does anyone use those Tour versions and what do you think?

Thanks for any advice

Dave

No replies

Oh well, back to the drawing board

 

[2Loose]

Squirty sealant is generally rubbish and rarely works or doesn't inflate the tyre to anywhere near high enough pressure, so I wouldn't waste my time or money.

Sorry but I can't comment on the M+ Tour tyres, although generally M+ are about as puncture proof as is possible.

 

[RedBike]

Q.
Having not had much success with the small cans of tyre sealant in the past and if I stick with the originals I might consider carrying maybe a larger can made for motorbikes or cars. any views on that?

I've never had any luck with the sealant the goes in an inner tube. It would appear that once a tube is ripped its too flexable to allow the sealant to work properly.

However, sealent when used with tubeless tyres as found on some MTBs and motorbikes works brilliantly. Watch this video.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlLmy-0ZRt4

Sadly, you're wheel rims are very unlikely to be tubeless compatable.

Q.
If I do change the tyres for Marathons and seeing as I sometimes run off road now and then and the fact that the bike is quite heavy I might go for the Marathon Plus Tour tyres that have a slightly courser tread that might be more suitable for the rough country lanes. Does anyone use those Tour versions and what do you think?

Sadly the tread on the Marathon plus tour is unlikely to be of much help off-road, you will still find wet grass / mud very slippery. The tread pattern should however give a little bit more grip on 'mucky' country lanes.


If you're worried about fixing a puncture then it might be worth trying to take the tyre off while you're sat at home. A good frame pump and a set of park tyre levers makes the job MUCH easier.

 

[Old timer]

I've never had any luck with the sealant the goes in an inner tube. It would appear that once a tube is ripped its too flexable to allow the sealant to work properly.

However, sealent when used with tubeless tyres as found on some MTBs and motorbikes works brilliantly. Watch this video.
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=jlLmy-0ZRt4
Sadly, you're wheel rims are very unlikely to be tubeless compatable.




Sadly the tread on the Marathon plus tour is unlikely to be of much help off-road, you will still find wet grass / mud very slippery. The tread pattern should however give a little bit more grip on 'mucky' country lanes.


If you're worried about fixing a puncture then it might be worth trying to take the tyre off while you're sat at home. A good frame pump and a set of park tyre levers makes the job MUCH easier.

Thanks for coming back

I just thought the extra size of the car type can might be enough to pump the tyre up to ride because when I`ve used the small Zefal cans you need to put a fair ammount of effort in with a hand pump to get the bike rideable again.

No problems doing repairs etc but if you saw how tight and short the electric cable was to the rear wheel it would be hard on the side of the road (don`t know why some makers put a connector in line and some don`t) On my other e bike I`ve cut the multicable and soldered in an extra 12" of cable( 8 core) and that makes the job so much easier.
I`ve just ordered a pair of the Marathon Plus Tour tyres anyway to maybe give me a touch more grip around the lanes where the tractors drag the crud onto the road so that should sort out the problem and I can sit on the floor of my nice warm bike shed and fit them ( as I keep saying to my wife when she wants things done around the house "" I`ve not been well dear""


When I look back 20 years or more! I`ve replaced clutches in cars on the side of the road

Thanks again for replies

Dave

 

[RedBike]

You can get CO2 canisters that will inflate your MTB tyre to a rideable pressure. They're very good but they're got an obvious limitation which is they can only be used once. If they don't work the first time thats it, no second attempt.

I would recommend that you look for a good quality hand pump. I'm lucky enough to have 3 different pumps to play with.

On the road bike I use a Topeak Micro rocket. It's easy to stash it away in my jersey pocket and its good enough to re-inflate my tyres enough to limp home. It wont get the tyres to a high pressure and small size means larger volume tyres would take forever.
http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Pumps/MicroRocketAL

On the MTB I use a Topeak Mountain Morph. This is too large to go in a back pocket but it does fit nicely in the rucksack (camelbak) I use while MTBing. It can inflate my MTB tyres in seconds without any major effort but it wont inflate a high pressure road tyre. (There is a different road version of this pump designed specifically for the high pressure road tyres.) http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Pumps/MountainMorph

On the winter bike / tourer I use a frame pump.
This pump is as big (and as heavy) as some floor standing pumps. The pump is mounted on the frame of the bike because its too big for a rucksack or pocket. It is the only one of my three pumps that can inflate a road tyre up to 90+psi.
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=20225&categoryID=118