Marathon Winters, studs penetrating casing... anyone else? Repairable?

[mrmacmusic]

I'm posting here as I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced similar problems with their studded tyres, and if there is a solution.

Having been running a set of Marathon Winter's since late November, a puncture forced me to inspect my rear tyre for the usual culprits – thorns, glass etc – but I was horrified to discover that it was actually the studs that had broken through the inner casing (see attached photo). Whilst the bottom of the studs are smooth, the resulting cracks in the rubber are not, and the resulting friction abrasion on the inner tube clearly caused the flat

Whilst I initially saved money purchasing the Winters through a German retailer, I've now discovered that to return them for warranty check is going to cost me more than the tyres did in the first place!!! (Naturally I'm in the throws of investigation whether or not I can send them to Schwalbe UK for inspection, but I've yet to get an answer on that one.)

In the meantime, I'm obviously very disappointed with what has happened as I had expected to get 2 or maybe 3 Winter's use out of them. Whilst it may be that I get replacements (or a refund) sorted out OK, is there any sort of repair or fix I could try to make the tyres usable? I've seen puncture-protection bands that I suppose might do the trick, although I've also read that they can move about and that the friction can actually cause punctures, but maybe glueing them to the inside of the tyre would stop them moving about, plus add a bit of extra protection at the same time? Or is there another option?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

That's really strange!
I cannot help, never had a puncture with them (yet!), probably others that use them will come along shortly!
Sorry Mrmacmusic

 

[mrmacmusic]

That's really strange!
I cannot help, never had a puncture with them (yet!), probably others that use them will come along shortly!
Sorry Mrmacmusic

Cheers Pat – looks like no-one else has had any bother with them

 

[BSRU]

How many miles have you ridden on them? My current set have just completed 1,000 miles with no problems at all.

For an idea, how about a tyre boot or piece of old tyre glued over the offending area.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Tbh, contact schwable, they were great to deal with when I had studs go missing.

 

[mcshroom]

Not seen or heard of something like that before. With the home-brew studded tyre designs, sticking a band of gaffer tape or gluing an old inner tube round the inside of the tyre is a standard method of covering the screw heads.

For fixing normal splits in tyres then superglue can work, or you can use some patches to smooth the surface.

Before doing any remedial work on them I would contact Schwalbe UK and see what they say. If they say they're not interested then you are no further back than now so you might as well try

 

[Herzog]

Have you been running them on clear ground (i.e., not on snow/ice)?

 

[mrmacmusic]

How many miles have you ridden on them? My current set have just completed 1,000 miles with no problems at all.

843 miles, so well within the expected life – I'd hoped to have them on for 2-3 months this winter, next and possibly the one after.....

Not seen or heard of something like that before. With the home-brew studded tyre designs, sticking a band of gaffer tape or gluing an old inner tube round the inside of the tyre is a standard method of covering the screw heads. For fixing normal splits in tyres then superglue can work, or you can use some patches to smooth the surface. Before doing any remedial work on them I would contact Schwalbe UK and see what they say. If they say they're not interested then you are no further back than now so you might as well try

Cheers mcshroom I will be contacting Schwalbe UK, but that's a great option to try, thanks!

Have you been running them on clear ground (i.e., not on snow/ice)?

Of course Herzog, as my commute isn't always 100% covered in ice, even on icy days! Schwalbe don't advise against using the tyres on clear ground though, in fact their website states that the Winters can be run on ice-free tarmac no problem at maximum pressure.

 

[Herzog]

Of course Herzog, as my commute isn't always 100% covered in ice, even on icy days! Schwalbe don't advise against using the tyres on clear ground though, in fact their website states that the Winters can be run on ice-free tarmac no problem at maximum pressure.

Just thinking out loud really as to why the spikes might have penetrated the carcass. I'm interested in this as M Winters are my main winter tyre.

Good luck with getting replacements!

 

[Stephen Fisher]

Not sure how you made out but I had this happened to me in the past and I just had to send pictures to Schwalbe who sent me 2 Summer Marathon in replacement. I have since bought another Winter Marathon and had the exact same thing happen again. I swear there were hardly any miles on this set. I will try the warranty route again and see what happens. I won't run these on my rear tire any more. I never had this happen on the front. As for running a puncture protection strip - I tried that too and it did move around and cause a puncture itself. I never expected that. Maybe I am just too heavy? No idea how I can have these issues so much when almost everyone else loves these.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Tbh, contact schwable, they were great to deal with when I had studs go missing.

Schwalbe have been great with me over a faulty tyre & new studs for my winters, give them a call and talk through with them, they may want the tyre back directly to analyse.

I've not had any similar problems on my winters but I do tend to keep them for the bad weather only.

Not to imply anything but you've not been running them soft on non slippy roads or introducing extra flex into them any other way have you? I would imagine that the stud base edge would eventually work the rubber down if routinely flexy