How "flatless" are Marathon plus?

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Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
I don't think i've seen it mentioned so far in this thread,but if it has apologies as i haven't seen it. I've had 3 punctures when riding on Marathon Plus tyres. All have been impact punctures rather than penetration ones. One was caused by a small ridge in the road which i saw at the last second and couldn't avoid. It was about 2-3 inch high and i only hit it at about 10 mph but it caused a puncture. The second two were caused by a water filled pot hole again i didn't see till the last second and was unable to avoid as cars were up my backside and i couldn't swerve to go round it. I was travelling downhill at about 17 mph. The hole was quite deep,about 5 or 6 inches. I noticed this when i passed it in drier and less heavy traffic conditions. Both tyres/tubes went with a bang due to the hard impact. I've had tyres that have rode these type of obstacles without a problem,but to me Marathon Plus tyres seem to be crap at resisting pressure punctures.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
You can hardly blame the tyres if you ride straight into sharp-cornered objects, can you? The M+ didn't puncture at all, you slammed into something so hard that the tyre distorted to the point where the tube got pinched. Your riding style caused the flats not the M+.
 

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
You can hardly blame the tyres if you ride straight into sharp-cornered objects, can you? The M+ didn't puncture at all, you slammed into something so hard that the tyre distorted to the point where the tube got pinched. Your riding style caused the flats not the M+.
What i'm saying is that i've done that before and the tyre hasn't punctured. Marathon plus tyres are susceptible to pressure/pinch punctures,in my opinion.
As for my riding style,avoiding such things as water filled pot holes is difficult when you have a car up your backside or simply because with it being water filled you just don't see it!
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
,avoiding such things as water filled pot holes is difficult when you have a car up your backside or simply because with it being water filled you just don't see it!

Absolutely, puddles can hide all kinds of unseen hazards, especially if you aren't very familiar with that particular stretch of road. In that case, maybe 17mph was a little excessive, given your lack of swerve around room to avoid a hazard? I wouldn't drive a car at speed through water without knowing it's depth and the reason for it being there at all.
 

jongooligan

Legendary Member
Location
Behind bars
Several years ago after trying to fix a puncture on the way to work, in the dark, using a feeble headtorch, in a freezing deluge which both made my fingers numb and further worsened my vision I decided to fit M+. Since then like @slowmotion this is the only puncture I've had,

The only puncture I had was due to a two inch nail going in high up on the side wall, parallel to the road. Lord knows how that got there.

The nail was tight up against the rim and as @slowmotion says, 'Lord knows how it got there'. I binned that tyre and fitted another M+ without any further punctures. I don't record my mileage but both tyres were on the bike when I rode across South America in 2011 and they're still on there now having done loads of commuting and trips to the Alps and Pyrenees. If I'm going on a ride where I know getting a rescue lift is unlikely I always ride the bike with M+ on. It's heavier and slower than my other bike but it's worth it for the peace of mind.
 

Serge

Über Member
Location
Nuneaton
I've gone for these instead of the Marathon Plus:

Schwalbe Durano DD Performance SnakeSkin Double Defense Rigid Tyre.

Mainly because of the negative points on this thread. Any thoughts?
 

Edgy Dee

Cranky Old Guy
Location
Scotland
I run M+ on two bikes - a heavy tourer 26" wheels, and Bike Friday 20" wheels. I don't recall ever having a puncture with them. Then again, I avoid cycle-paths like the plague - I'm sure they're the product of some black, anti bike, conspiracy! I have toyed with swapping the M+s out for something lighter, faster, comfier, but I commute with these bikes in winter, and I have lighter/faster/comfier bikes, so I keep chickening out. I have a couple of nice steel tyre levers that came with a cheap multi-tool. The multi-tool disintegrated in a week, but the levers are brilliant. Never yet defeated by a tyre, and never bent or broken those levers. Take 'em everywhere.
 
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OneArmedBandit

OneArmedBandit

Active Member
Not convinced of the need for M+ for my use case. 6000mi of commuting annually, one or two unplanned deflations in that time. Takes about 10 mins to change a tube, 15 in winter, so not sure that spending an hour putting an M+ on each wheel justifies itself.
If I was only riding on roads I would probably stick with Gatorskins as they are definitely more pleasant to ride on than M+s. However, the choice is either use a cycle path or take a detour which is just unpleasant, a big hill and roads which have incredibly poor cycle provision.

I've thought about pressuring the council to sweep it more but I commute at 6.30am so I think I pick up the fresh glass from the night before. Must be hell with normal tyres though, I see a lot of people walking.
 

Old jon

Guru
Location
Leeds
I've gone for these instead of the Marathon Plus:

Schwalbe Durano DD Performance SnakeSkin Double Defense Rigid Tyre.

Mainly because of the negative points on this thread. Any thoughts?

I use Durano plus in England, and will do here soon. No punctures in something over three thousand miles.
 

Serge

Über Member
Location
Nuneaton
I use Durano plus in England, and will do here soon. No punctures in something over three thousand miles.
Well, I thought I'd ordered the Durano's but my order confirmation tells me that I've actually ordered Marathon Supremes. Hay ho, as long as they're round, I'm sure they'll suffice.
 
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