Do I need Marathon Winters?

[mrmacmusic]

Conti's Top Contact Winter 2 tire may be a good compromise.

Not sure if they'd be as good as Marathon Winters on ice and they're very expensive, but I do take your point re compromise. A fellow commuter who I pass every day (going the opposite way) has these - I'll need to ask him what he thinks of them and what they were like last year.

 

[DCLane]

Long range forecast: http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=longrange;sess=

Cold & drier in the north = ice?

Colder & wetter in the south = snow

 

[Stonepark]

I'm just across the water at airth and got a set of marathon winters a few weeks ago ready for the ice and snow, not too bothered about the snow, but once you add in hills and ice, i'd rather have a bit more grip.

Was out round back of airth/letham and the downhill with the frost was an interesting experience on my normal matathon tours but they held on okay at 15mph (normally 25mph) but wouldn't want to have gone much faster.

when proper winter starts the winters are going on.

 

[MacB]

I have MWinters 700x35.
These are not fit and forget tyres. For a start they are incredibly difficult to fit, very stiff and heavy! Secondly, although they are rideable on normal roads theyare far from ideal if there is no snow or ice about.
The studs get ripped out on normal roads too. Schwalbe sent me a handful of spares after I contacted them. I struggled to put the replacements in until I discovered a nice little trick that worked perfectly everytime. Great tyres in the snow and ice - rubbish tyres for normal roads! I put them on when it snows, and take them off again afterwards - it's a pain but.....
As a last note, they work amazing well in the conditions they were designed for. I was quite surprised just how well they did work.

Not disagreeing with you but just to add a slightly different perspective:-

1. M Winters are easier to fit than M+ by way of comparison and it will depend on the rim you're trying to fit to as well...I've only used them on rims with a 19mm internal width...narrower, or deeper, rims may prove more problematic but I can fit them without a need for levers.

2. being rather anal I followed the bedding in process very carefully and have lost one stud in two Winters...though my nature led me to source spare studs just in case and they still languish uneeded in the garage

3. if you move from racy 700x23 tyres to M Winter then I'd imagine the difference would be shocking, much less so if you move from M+ 700x35s. Plus, if you ride on them for the Winter, boy do you feel fast in Spring.

4. I like the peace of mind, I pay no attention to weather forecasts etc unless I want to take out another bike, the allrounder is ready and waiting regardless of conditions. Though you can vary the tyre pressures to alter performance if desired.

5. totally agree on performance, twice now I've been certain I'm losing the bike sideways and they've gripped and held at an alarming angle...they aren't proof against anything but they certainly help

 

[Norm]

Mostly +1 to MacB, although I haven't much experience on the M-Winters on ice, I did the proper bedding in and have only lost a couple of studs.

I'm not sure they are much slower than the usual City Jets that I run, but they are as vague as anything riding on them.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

We get a lot of ice here, even in town. It's because of the River Clyde, I guess, ice forms around running water.
Last year I fell, this year I won't: got an old mb fitted with winters, ready for action.
Done a few commutes on them to embed the studs. The first time I found them a bit heavy going, now I don't really feel them too much different from my City Jets or Marathon originals.
You could leave them on all winter, no problems.
Had a very wet commute last night, they performed ok - at my modest speed anyhow

 

[tincaman]

Conti's Top Contact Winter 2 tire may be a good compromise.

Yep, just bought a pair from Ribble, £70 with their 10% off if it helps anyone

 

[mrmacmusic]

Thanks for the further input folks – much appreciated

It was still well above freezing this morning, but very damp and foggy. I certainly had no problems with grip on my current tyres (Continental Touring Plus, which I thought I'd give a bash instead of M+), but I was conscious that I was "surveying" my route and tarmac conditions today more than normal for some reason. I clocked a number of hilly sections and several bad bends that today were making me think "there's going to be ice there", "and there".......

I've still not 100% decided what to do, but given that I'm commuting and don't expect this winter to be my last getting about on 2 wheels, proper winter tyres that will cope with ice and a bit of snow are probably, on balance, a wise investment.

 

[mrmacmusic]

Any thoughts on whether the 120 spike version of the Marathon Winter? From the illustration, it looks like exactly the same tyre, except it has holes where the outer-most ring of studs would be on the 240-stud version. Never seen these anywhere else, but they are certainly a nice price at just £19.07 each from bike-discount.de

The cheapest I can find the standard Winters with 240-studs in 700x35 is for €27.90 (about £22.50) each at actionsports.de.

With UK shipping that's ~£45 for 120 studs or ~£50 for 240 studs... so which one would it be best to go for, presumably the 240's considering the small difference in price?

 

[Norm]

I'd pick the higher stud count. Not that I plan on using the edge of my tyres but I'd have a concern that, if things did let go, it would be the outer strip which might catch and save a slide with the bike at an angle.

 

[mrmacmusic]

I'd pick the higher stud count. Not that I plan on using the edge of my tyres but I'd have a concern that, if things did let go, it would be the outer strip which might catch and save a slide with the bike at an angle.

Thanks Norm – sounds like a most sensible argument for the higher stud count to me

 

[mrmacmusic]

Decision made, so thanks everyone for your input... just ordered the standard 240-stud version from actionsports.de for €63 (~£50) delivered, which I reckon is a great deal

 

[Mallory]

Just practice getting them off and getting them back on a few times first.

On the road side in the freezing pissing rain is not the time to find out if they will be a right bugger

 

[mrmacmusic]

Just practice getting them off and getting them back on a few times first.

On the road side in the freezing ****ing rain is not the time to find out if they will be a right bugger

Cheers Mallory – I've done my probation with Marathon Pluses

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Cheers Mallory – I've done my probation with Marathon Pluses

Careful the first time you ride on the winters: I felt my back wheel sliding a bit at times - and I am slow, btw
After about 6/7 miles I had no problems.
More miles later, in pouring rain, I felt there was no difference to my ordinary tyres.