Brompton tyre choice..

[wafter]

The little-B came with Schwalbe Marathon Racers, which after about 600 miles so far I have no complaints about; other than the slightly concerning rate at which the back one is wearing. Given their diminutive size I guess this is par for the course.

On account of said wear I've been looking at potential replacements for when the time comes; especially because I still have a 20% off voucher to blow with Brompton before it expires later in the year.

So.. the Racers seem the cheapest at £26 and being what's already fitted are the obvious choice. I like the look of the tan wall offerings (Marathon Racer Folding at a not insignificant £48, Conti Urban at £33) but since this is a utility bike I'm driven predominently by cost, longevity and puncture resistance. There are also straight Marathons at £39, but I've had no issues with punctures so far (touch wood!) and am not keen on their rep for weight / fitment fun / stiffness.

Also the Schwalbe Marathon Racer Folding mentions "tubeless" in the description - is this really likely to be the case or is this just an oversight / misnomer?

Interested to hear thoughts and experiences; thanks

 

[Tenkaykev]

I've got Schwalbe One Tan Walls, Marathon+, Marathon Racers and Conti Urban Contact on various Brommies. I'd go for the Conti Urban Contact which ride well and seem to have very good *P* protection🤞

 

[berlinonaut]

So.. the Racers seem the cheapest at £26 and being what's already fitted are the obvious choice. I like the look of the tan wall offerings (Marathon Racer Folding at a not insignificant £48, Conti Urban at £33) but since this is a utility bike I'm driven predominently by cost, longevity and puncture resistance. There are also straight Marathons at £39, but I've had no issues with punctures so far (touch wood!) and am not keen on their rep for weight / fitment fun / stiffness.

I'd either stick with the Racers or take the Contis for more Speed. The Marathons are surprisingly ok speedwise but clearly slower than the first two. I do use them mainly as winter tires. But: Don't get fooled by Brompton's prices for tires. The Racer in 349 ist available exclusively via Brompton, the normal Marathon and the Marthon Plus (that I would not recommend anyway) are not. Street prices in Germany are less than half of what Brompton wants:

The black wired Conti Urban is also way cheaper (and this is not even considered to be a low price for the tire):

 

[Kell]

When you say 'wear' what do you mean exactly? There's no way they've worn out to be unusable in 6 months of normal riding. Unless you skid to a stop every time.

If you meant the tread is looking a little bare - tread on bike tyres isn't the same as on cars. You don't actually need tread for a bike on the road. They don't aquaplane so unless you've worn it through to the protective strip it's not worn.

For the first 7 years of ownership I kept replacing my Marathon+ with the same, but last year I took the plunge on some Continental Urbans for the summer and normal Marathon for winter. The contis are SOOOOOO much better than the M+ in terms of outright speed. But I've had two punctures in 6 months of using them (sub 1,000 miles) compared to almost 8 years entirely puncture free on the M+.

So I'll be switching them out again for the winter and going back to regular Marathon. They are noticeably slower than the contis, but I used them for 6 months last winter and, again, was puncture free.

 

[All uphill]

St John St have the Marathon Racers at £18.99 each.

Spa have Marathon plus on sale at £14 each.

 

[Origamist]

Fawkes Cycles are doing the rigid CCU for £15.99.

 

[berlinonaut]

When you say 'wear' what do you mean exactly? There's no way they've worn out to be unusable in 6 months of normal riding. Unless you skid to a stop every time.

I've recently changed a rear M Racer on one of my Bromptons after ~3500km. It was in no way worn out but, being about 3,5 years old, had developed a nasty rubber breakout in one very small spot central of the profile that made it prone to a puncture (which I found out by having a puncture). Else it would have been good for at least another 1500-2500km I'd guess.

So with the 600 miles of @wafter on the tire there should be plenty of time before a new tire would be needed. Apart from if he loves skidding when breaking.

 

[Rocky]

Here's another vote for the Contis - they roll well, hard wearing, good protection and really easy to fit.

 

[chriswoody]

Just a slightly left field suggestion, but what about Schwalbe Kojaks? I've a set on my folder and have been commuting year round on them for several years now and love them. They last a long time and have good puncture resistance. I have no problems in Winter either, just riding in snow can be a little sketchy at times!

Just for the record, I know I have a 20inch Tern, but they also come in Brompton sizes.

 

[Origamist]

There is also the Marathon Almotion, but I don't have any experience of this new 16" tyre.

 

[wafter]

Thanks guys - as usual your responses seem to have elicited more questions than answers

I'd either stick with the Racers or take the Contis for more Speed. The Marathons are surprisingly ok speedwise but clearly slower than the first two. I do use them mainly as winter tires. But: Don't get fooled by Brompton's prices for tires. The Racer in 349 ist available exclusively via Brompton, the normal Marathon and the Marthon Plus (that I would not recommend anyway) are not. Street prices in Germany are less than half of what Brompton wants:
View attachment 705360

View attachment 705361

The black wired Conti Urban is also way cheaper (and this is not even considered to be a low price for the tire):
View attachment 705363

Thanks - tbh I'm dubious of prioritising speed over puncture protection as I really don't want the hassle of having to repair a flat mid-commute if it can be avoided. Experiences of the current Racers have been good in this regards so I'm happy to look at comparable tyres but certainly don't want to sacrifice puncture resistance for speed.

Ta for the guidance about pricing - however sadly since (unlike yourself) I'm not in the country of origin for all of these tyres (plus the fact that we get screwed for everything over here anyway) prices seem to be both higher and comparable between Brompton and other suppliers..

I think £26 is the cheapest I've seen the (reflex) Racers for anywhere; obviously less if I get them at 20% off from Brompton.

When you say 'wear' what do you mean exactly? There's no way they've worn out to be unusable in 6 months of normal riding. Unless you skid to a stop every time.

If you meant the tread is looking a little bare - tread on bike tyres isn't the same as on cars. You don't actually need tread for a bike on the road. They don't aquaplane so unless you've worn it through to the protective strip it's not worn.

For the first 7 years of ownership I kept replacing my Marathon+ with the same, but last year I took the plunge on some Continental Urbans for the summer and normal Marathon for winter. The contis are SOOOOOO much better than the M+ in terms of outright speed. But I've had two punctures in 6 months of using them (sub 1,000 miles) compared to almost 8 years entirely puncture free on the M+.

So I'll be switching them out again for the winter and going back to regular Marathon. They are noticeably slower than the contis, but I used them for 6 months last winter and, again, was puncture free.

Cheers - I'm not suggesting that they're worn out, just that the rear is visibly more worn than the front. IIRC when I got the bike (having apparently seen very little mileage) both tyres had around 1.6mm tread depth.

After 600 miles the front is down to around 1.4mm, the rear around 1.0mm.. suggesting that the rear is wearing at around three times the rate of the front (as one would expect) and that the rear will have worn bald (at least at the centre) after around 1600 miles. I appreciate the point about tread and usually run tyres until the bitter end when the punture protection layer becomes visible; however who's to say how much rubber depth is left beneath the tread..

I appreciate the feedback on the Contis - while that doesn't sound terrible I'd like to avoid punctures at all costs of course so am reluctant to look at anything that offers less resilience than what I currently have (if that is indeed the case as I know the Racers are less hardy than the usual Ms).

St John St have the Marathon Racers at £18.99 each.

Spa have Marathon plus on sale at £14 each.

Thanks - those in SJS appear to be the non-reflective / reflex jobs though.. and if sticking with the same basic tyre I'd rather keep them matching!

Looks like the only Marathos for £14 at SPA are 26", unless I'm missing summot..

Fawkes Cycles are doing the rigid CCU for £15.99.

Thanks - seems like a good price but I'm not sure about their puncture resistance, while I'm somewhat dubious of Contis after the undersize tyre debacle encountered last time I bought some.

I've recently changed a rear M Racer on one of my Bromptons after ~3500km. It was in no way worn out but, being about 3,5 years old, had developed a nasty rubber breakout in one very small spot central of the profile that made it prone to a puncture (which I found out by having a puncture). Else it would have been good for at least another 1500-2500km I'd guess.

So with the 600 miles of @wafter on the tire there should be plenty of time before a new tire would be needed. Apart from if he loves skidding when breaking.

Cheers - as above this post was started by the fact that I can see some wear and potentially have the opportunity for the next month or so to purchase some replacements a bit cheaper

Just a slightly left field suggestion, but what about Schwalbe Kojaks? I've a set on my folder and have been commuting year round on them for several years now and love them. They last a long time and have good puncture resistance. I have no problems in Winter either, just riding in snow can be a little sketchy at times!

Just for the record, I know I have a 20inch Tern, but they also come in Brompton sizes.

Thanks - I hear these aren't so puncture proof however, so not a direction I want to be heading in!

 

[wafter]

There is also the Marathon Almotion, but I don't have any experience of this new 16" tyre.

Thanks - seem very pricey currently!

 

[berlinonaut]

St John St have the Marathon Racers at £18.99 each.

As @wafter said: These seem to be w/o reflective sidewall. I wasn't aware that such a version does exist at all! https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-small/schwalbe-marathon-racer-hs429-tyre-16-x-1-13-inch-35349/

Spa have Marathon plus on sale at £14 each.

This is a 26" tire - a bit huge for a Brompton. Plus it is the Model HS348 that went our of production in 2014 already and was superseeded by the HS440: https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m14b0s142p4416/SCHWALBE-Marathon-Plus-HS348

Thanks - tbh I'm dubious of prioritising speed over puncture protection as I really don't want the hassle of having to repair a flat mid-commute if it can be avoided. Experiences of the current Racers have been good in this regards so I'm happy to look at comparable tyres but certainly don't want to sacrifice puncture resistance for speed.

The Contis are probably a bit worse than the Racers but not by much. They are clearly better than the Kojak and worse than the Marathon.

Ta for the guidance about pricing - however sadly since (unlike yourself) I'm not in the country of origin for all of these tyres

They come from Indonesia anyway.

I think £26 is the cheapest I've seen the (reflex) Racers for anywhere; obviously less if I get them at 20% off from Brompton.

This is bc Brompton has a monopoly on them in ETRO349. Therefor they are extra expensive. It is the same with other tires that are marketed through Brompton exclusively. I was lucky to grab a bunch of overstock Racers a while ago for a very low price. For the regular price Brompton charges I'd rather look for alternatives.

 

[berlinonaut]

Just a slightly left field suggestion, but what about Schwalbe Kojaks? I've a set on my folder and have been commuting year round on them for several years now and love them. They last a long time and have good puncture resistance. I have no problems in Winter either, just riding in snow can be a little sketchy at times!

Just for the record, I know I have a 20inch Tern, but they also come in Brompton sizes.

I've been running them for years on my ti-Brompton as the standard tire as for a long time they were considered to be the fastest tire available for the Brompton. They are way more puncture proof than one would guess (and way more comfortable, too) but clearly still the worst tire for the Brompton in terms of punctures. Endurance is a mixed bag - I do run through them relatively quickly, but then they are cheap as chips (the wired version). Still a Marathon would be way more economical.

Overall the Conti outperformed the Kojak completely when it hit the market: It is at least as fast (if not faster), at least as comfortable (typically more comforable), has a better puncture protection and a better endurance as well. It is economically feasable and for those who want ist there are folding versions and tan and brown sidewall versions available as well. So bad times for the Kojak.
If it would be all about speed the Schwalbe One have become available for the Brompton as well - they are fast, but very prone to punctures. And expensive.

 

[chriswoody]

Thanks - I hear these aren't so puncture proof however, so not a direction I want to be heading in!

Well, all I can say, is that I've been using Kojaks for over 4 years of daily commuting into the city and hundreds of other small trips to the shops etc, which must amount to a fair amount of kilometres. I've had one, possibly two punctures on my Kojaks. For me, they have proved to be a very puncture resistant tire and fun to ride on.

It was a left field suggestion though and I appreciate, not everyone's cup of tea.

@berlinonaut that's interesting and insightful to hear your thoughts on running them on Bromptons, especially the bit about finding them fast and comfortable, which I've also found on the bigger wheels of the Tern.