I did a couple of hundred miles on M+ on the Kettwiesel then changed to Kojaks, the trike came alive on the Kojaks, whereas it was like pedalling through cold treacle on the M+s. I detest M+ with a passion after the still cursed rainy night in Darlington when knuckles were skinned tyre levers broken and the air turned blue. After rescue, the next day it took a couple of metal tyre levers and a metal Motorcycle lever to get the blastard thing off the 700C rims of my tourer.
Let no one tell you M+s don't puncture, they do and can be utter swines to get off the rim!
The Big Apples on my Kettwiesel are older than the Marathon Racers were. They got fitted in January 2009 and while the rear right (Driving wheel) has been replaced the other two are from then.
M+'s are harder to get off than racers, but there is a definite knack. If you don't squeeze the opposite beading away from the rim then the part your working on won't come off even with tyre levers. I know what you're saying, I wouldn't want to change one in the dark, pi55ing rain, on a rural road, BUT, in 7 years of commuting, 6,000 miles a year, never had a puncture. The smaller the wheel the harder they are to get off. Back in the days before I discovered bents, I found 700 M+'s to be easy to remove? Maybe you have a make of rim that's problematic?
I did have a ripped valve once on a previous Trice, but I can't blame the tyre for that. As for speed, tyre choice seems less important on the Borealis......the weight masks the extra weight of the tyres, but I still run racers as I can swap a tube in 2 minutes. However, I can't risk a rear puncture as it would be nigh on impossible to fix at the roadside. Refitting the wheel is a nightmare as with the fairing there's only a couple of inches either side to slot it in whilst refitting the chain.......difficult even when it's raised on a bench!
