We have goat heads (puncture vine) in Albuquerque and it's not unusual to see a half dozen people doing repairs on a 25 mile scrape. I had over 8000 miles on my front tire and had worn out 3 on the rear. For those 16000 tire miles, I had about 4 flats...all due to the goat heads. With no tire protection one would be lucky to get 10 miles esp. at this time of year. Great tire to be sure.
I bike commute 100 miles a week 12 months a year in Maine. This is probably the best tire ever for my 4000 miles of snow free summer commuting. They have a slightly higher rolling resistance than a true road tire, but the toughness and flat free worry free ride is worth it. My only caution is that they are VERY difficult to mount. Someone posted a great mounting tutorial....read it and use the wall over your bench in front of you as they suggest. I no longer worry about flats and enjoy the ride!
I just finished a 600 mile bicycle tour across the state of Washington and did not experience a single tire puncture. The ride was challenge enough withiout having to worry about my tires. The Schwalbe tires performed beyond expectations on a variety of surfaces. Although a bit on the expensive side, they were worth every cent.
Ride on pavement and packed dirt or grass whenever I can find them. Very happy with these tires.
I currently ride a Specialized Sirrus Elite fitnesshybrid bicycle with 700x28c Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. I also own a recumbent with Schwalbe 1.5 inch Marathon tires. These tires are extremely dependable. I have experienced very few flats during or after riding approx. 2000 miles per year on paved roads and local rail trails with a crushed limestone surface. The Schwalbe Marathon is well known as a dependable and long lasting touring tire. Delivery was on time and the price was the best I could find anywhere. All , No -
Harold
This is my first road bike, don't want to ruin my experience by getting flats, did my homework and I bought the marathon plus, I rode over one hundred miles already and no flats, just make sure you put in your inner tubes correctly (pinch flats) and inflate correctly and you won't be like those I pass (fixing flats) each time I'm ridingexercising.
Just completed a 350 mile ride through the Alps. 100 miles was with a heavily loaded Americano solo. The rest was with a group of 8 German riders, all using Schwalbe tires. A LOT of riding was on Schotterstrassen or rough gravel roads. No one had a flat. These tires are truly bulletproof. A bit heavy and a bit slow, but the puncture resistance alone makes these tires a first choice
I travel long distences from my vechical on the Rails To Trails network so its importantn that I have a tire that I can trust not to puncher.
I use this too commute to work as the streets are full of glass and other debris.
I love the fact that my flats went down about 90% over any other tire
the cons are the tires are heavy, occasionally they will develop a bubble and if they are not pumped up fully they feel like you are riding in sand
I have been using Gatorskins for years. They are fast and light. In Brooklyn, they seems to hold up for about a year of commuting. But at the end of 2011 my office moved, and I started biking through the industrial section of Brooklyn. After 6 months of dodging inordinate amounts of broken glass and all sorts of little spikey metal thingys, and 3 flats in 5 weeks, I decided I needed extra protection.
So I switched to the Marathon Plus. At first, I was unhappy with the increase in tire weight. I have a light steel frame bike. And I really enjoy the light ride. I've owned the bike for almost 10 years and have avoided putting anything on the bike to add weight.
But soon enough the Marathons proved themselves. One morning about 12 way through my ride to work, I heard a sudden ching-ching-ching. I stopped my bike to investigate and found a flat head screw sticking out of the tire. I quickly yanked out the little bastard. And a quick ffffffffssst followed. And then I was very suprised to find that my tire wasn't flat. It had only lost a little bit of pressure. So I got back on the bike and rode the remaining 4 miles to work(!). By noon the tube was flat. But being able to make it to work without having to stop was a livesaver that day. Really. If I was late that day, it would have changed the course of my life because of office politics.....But that's another story.
Excellent wearing, flatproof tire. I use it on both my city bike and on my touring bike along with slime tubes. In three years I've only had one flat. Living in California's northern central valley where goats heads are a dime a dozen, they are priceless .
Several years ago I used the 26x1.75 size on a Fuji mountain bike set up for daily street use for over two years without even one puncture. Lately I've been using the 700x38 on a Motobecane flat-bar road bike for the same type of daily use for over two years now, again, without even one puncture. Prior to finding these Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I suffered anywhere from a puncture a month to one every hour (as many as 8 in a day). Don't tell me about tire liners, tire sealants, Kevlar belts - 35 years of experience tells me they don't reliably prevent punctures (heavy-duty tubes work, but the jackhammer ride will make you want to take the bus instead). Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are totally effective, even against glass-covered streets and goatheads (thorns) so large they look like nuclear mutations (sharp as daggars, too), in addition to still providing a lively, comfortable ride. I'm not seeing a downside here!
I tour on paved roads almost exclusively this summer I will ride the Erie Canal and the C&O Canal and will use the 700X35.
I began using Schwalbe Marathon's (700X32) last year after wearing out another name brand of touring tires in under 500 miles. I also had five or six flats with the other set of tires in that 500 miles. I'm not your typical rider, I weigh in at 225 pounds. Add a touring bike 30 pounds, another 30-40 pounds of gear, food and water and I'm pushing 300 pounds.
I have approximately 1500 miles on my current set of Schwalbes. The rear tire is showing some wear, but I'm comfortable with getting another 500-1000 miles out of it. The true bonus is not having had another flat (knock on wood). This years journey will cover 5000 miles and I know of all the things that can and will go wrong, you can not go wrong in Schwalbe Tires.
I just finished a self supported tour from San Diego California to Saint Augestine Florida (3100 miles). I rotated my tires at the half way point. I experienced only two flats during the entire trip, but was rolling over glass and thorns the whole time (not on purpose).
I would recommend these tires to anybody who is looking to make problems with flats dissapear. I was delighted by the way the 35mm tires felt while riding. This is my third cross country tour. These tires are a game changer!
Where the rubber meets the road
Relatively expensive replacement tire for a commutertrekking bike. Sidewalls are VERY stiff which makes mounting challenging, but not overly so (folks with weak hands may have problems). Rolling resistance seems pretty low for a tire with deeper sipes, but the tread and overall stiffness inspires some courage to ride through less than optimal conditions. So far, I'm pretty happy with this purchase.
Put these on our tandem bike in preparation for a multi-state tour. Had read largely positive reviews for these tires and wanted something durable for primarily paved roads and possible some crushed limestone trail riding. A number of reviewers has indicated significant difficulty mounting the tires which concerned me. Evidently this must be dependant upon the wheels you are usings as the tires went on very easily (without tire levers) for me. They are thicker rubber than many tires and therefore a little stiffer to work with but this did not cause me any problems. The size does seem to run a bit larger than some other tires so you may want to drop back a size. I had to tweak my fenders to get them to fit. I put on 700 x 35C and noticed they seem as bigbulky as the Continental Contact 700 x 38C's that I have on my single bike. Have only ridden them a couple of hundred miles at this point but they ride well and you really feel the confidence with them to not need to dodge every little bit of debree on the road. They do absorb much more road vibration and bumps well, especially if you don't run them quite at max pressure. I would say the bike feels a tad more sluggish versus the Gatorskin 700 x 28C's that I had been running but that would be expected. If I was not going to tour and was just ridding in club rides etc. where top speed was the goal I would probably swap back to the Gatorskins. Overall I am quite satisfied with the tires and just judging from the construction they seem as though they will hold up well. So a thumbs up from this reviewer! By the way, the tires were on sale and an excellent deal when I bought them, so do compare prices. Have bought tires through Tires Direct a couple of times and have had an excellent experience.
I just finished a 1,100 mile tour, and had no flats. Which is absolutely amazing. I personally will always use these tires, because a flat in any situation is always a bummer.
This tire is rolling smoother that the factory tires that came on my REI Safari. No more punctures either! Installation was easy, there is a u tube video showing how to do it without levers! Again well worth the money. The tire does have a directional arrow for mounting so pay attention to that. They ride great in the gravel roads we have up here and also on top of all that traction gravel leftover from this winter that's accumulating on the sides of the road. Just as steady as my 29er on top of the loose stuff.
I will certainly buy these again. I added the slime tubes and they have really good review's. My goal is no flats on my commute! lol
I run these tires on a twenty mile-a-day commute in Juneau, Alaska (when I'm not running my Nokian studs) and I love them. I've tried other flat-resistant tires (I'm looking at you Continental!) and they always let me down. Not the Marathon Plus. Sometimes I feel like I could ride a should full of glass the whole way home and not get a nick. I have a set of these in 700x32 for my cyclocross bike (what I ride most) and 26x2 for my mountain bike. After hundreds (really, thousands) of miles I've never had a flat on either. Some comments talk about trouble mounting these - take your time! Once you get the tube in, move around the tire pushing the bead into the rim as you air it up. If you just keep an eye on it as you pump it will seat fine. Ride!!!
