Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre

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Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Photo Winner
Location
Inside my skull
Because they're tired, I suppose?

Yes, if you lay tired tyres down each evening they last much longer
 
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Deleted member 121159

Guest
A while ago, I bitterly complained that my 'tubeless ready' wheels turned out to be actually not ready for tubeless, i.e., came with non-tubeless tape so can't be used tubeless. I wasted a whole evening slowly descending into madness, covered in sealant, trying to make these tyres seal. I was surprised to see many coming to the bike industry's defence saying I was utterly wrong to expect my 'tubeless ready' wheels to be tubeless ready...

So currently my e-bike-ready non-e-bike has a carbon-ready aluminium frame, 13-speed ready 11-speed drivetrain, tubeless-ready non-tubeless wheels, hydraulic-ready mechanical disc brakes, pressfit-ready BSA bottom bracket, oh, and clipless-ready flat pedals.

(OK some of these aren't true, I just wrote that for the comic effect.)

Sorry, totally unrelated to the OP's question. I guess the point is, can manufacturers stop using strange confusing marketing language.
 
Very good protection, no doubt. But Jeez, they do suck the life out of you when cycling.

Always seem to have worked well for me - mind you the ebike motor might help a bit with that!!!

I did try a COntinental with puncture protection for a while - can;t say I noticed much difference (but see above) and the puncture protection wore off a lot when the tread wore down
Although it has been fine since I moved it to the front

The tyres that came with the bike were pretty rubbish - lots of puncture as soon as the tread started wering and they slid round the roundabout at the bottom of the road like a Ford Escort on a rally stage!!!
 

Alex321

Veteran
Location
South Wales
Very good protection, no doubt. But Jeez, they do suck the life out of you when cycling.

I haven't really found that.

I put a pair on my hybrid, and never really felt they were any harder to ride than the puncture prone tyres I had on before. Admittedly, that is in a 38c width.

On the Cube road bike, when I was getting loads of punctures, I tried Specialized armadillos instead, and while I didn't have any punctures, the rear tyre wore out in about 1500 miles (the marathon+ on the hybrid are still looking good after over 2000), and the front isn't looking great.

So I put a marathon+ (700x28c) on to replace it, and it actually feels much better - though that may be as much down to the fact I also ditched the slime filled inner tube - adds even more to protection, but when you do get one, I couldn't get a patch to stick.

They may not be as light or lively as racing tyres, but on the roads round here, I'd be spending more time sitting at the side of the road switching/patching inner tubes than actually riding.
 

Alex321

Veteran
Location
South Wales
I don't need to spend time and money on fixing punctures, buying tyres, changing wheels. Buy new, put on, keep inflated, travel a few thousand miles wear them out, buy new ones. Simple.

That is what I find with the marathon+.

Apart from the "travel a few thousand miles" it was also true of the armadilos.

It very definitely was NOT true of the previous tyres I had.
 
I don't need to spend time and money on fixing punctures, buying tyres, changing wheels. Buy new, put on, keep inflated, travel a few thousand miles wear them out, buy new ones. Simple.

That has always been my experience of them, too: put on bike, and ride over all kinds of surfaces with no worries. Never felt them slowing me down either.

I think it's a bit like tools: in carpentry, some people will only use wooden planes whereas others can't stand them.
 
On a similar note - towards the end of last summer I noticed a thorn in my tyre
No puncture - just saw the backside of the thorn when I was doing something else

Went through the tyres looking for anything else and remove 7 different bit - mostly thorns but also a couple of slivers of metal

All had failed to penetrate the Schwalbe protection - and these are Marathons - not pluses
 
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Deleted member 121159

Guest
According to bicyclerollingresistance.com, regular Marathon (37mm) costs you 21.3 watts at 60 psi and Marathon+ 25.5 watts. Conti Grand Prix 5000 (32mm) 16.6 watts at 44 psi. This goes down to 12.8 when run tubeless. I run regular Marathon at 40-50 psi, so the rolling resistance is probably around 25 watts. This is per tyre + 45kg weight was used, so the total difference for a rider like me who weighs at 83kg will be even bigger, maybe in the region of 30-40 watts. I still love regular Marathon. No puncture whatever you throw at it. I've been carrying a spare tube for years - never used.
 

biking_fox

Guru
Location
Manchester
I don't need to spend time and money on fixing punctures, buying tyres, changing wheels. Buy new, put on, keep inflated, travel a few thousand miles wear them out, buy new ones. Simple.
THis!

But does very much depend on what roads you ride, and how you ride. I'm basically an urban commuter, so reliability is key. I need my bike ready to ride first thing in the morning, last thing at night, no if no buts. Speed is far less of an issue.

OldHouse had a relatively straightforward run into work. I used a variety of lightweight tyres. NewHouse involves a few miles of rougher path. Lightweight tyres were shredding within months. M+ just keep going. I certainly can tell the difference riding them, especially the acceleration with the higher rolling mass. But it's hardly sucking the life out of cycling.
 
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