I�ve been riding Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tires for over 20 years. Their claim for puncture resistance is spot on. Our bike lanes are typically littered with all manner of debris including glass shards, sharp sticks, construction debris. I try my best to safely avoid the garbage but frequently ride straight through. I can only recall one puncture flat in 20 years when I rode directly onto a large screw without time to avoid. And they ride well in all weather conditions. The Fort Knox of puncture resistance!
The Grand Prix 5000 tube-type tire in size 700x30 on a 19mm internal rim measure 30mm width and 27mm height, The 700x28 measures 27.7mm width and about 25mm high on similar rims, so the 30mm tire is true. The tires were within 10 to 15 grams of claimed weight. They mounted easily to tubeless ready rims with Pirelli Smart (thermoplasitc) tubes. Changed to these from Veloflex, which are equally nice hand-made tires because I wanted a larger tire without going up to 32mm, which just seem to be overkill for a pavement-only racing tire. 30mm is appreciated on the rougher sections but for most roads with alligator cracks or better pavement, 28mm still seems more appropriate for me (168 pounds). The 30mm provides a very plush ride at the expense of weight and aerodynamics (if you care).
Kind of tough to mount, not as bad as Challenge tires though.
I did get a puncture on the rear on my 2nd ride that plugged and sealed immediately without issue. After that I was a little paranoid but I continued to ride the tire without issue for about 1500 mi. Even went on some light gravel and some terrible roads without any problems.
After almost 1000mi on them I am actually quite impressed with how they are holding up considering how light/supple they are.
These are definitely a race-day tire. not an every-day fast tire to run imo. Satisfied for what they are and will save them for those special times as needed.
I am giving 5 stars for overall rating because I like it better than 2 other brands of TPU I've tried (Tubolito, Rene Herse.) Both of the other brands had one of the 2 tubes defective. WTB was easy to install. I have punctured twice however. 1st time a tiny thin wire went thru a thin, not puncture resistant tire. I don't fault the tube. I patched it successfully with one of the 2 included patches. I think it's great that they include these. The 2nd flat was caused by the same wire! I know, my stupid mistake. I did find the tiny cut, and looked for the sharp object. Did not find it until looking the 2nd time. I patched it successfully the second time. I had the 2nd patch that came with the tire, but used a Park instant patch instead. I wanted to try it to see if it worked, as some people have said it likely would. It's working.
