I use Marathon plus on my roadbike and commuter and not had a puncture now for over 3000+ miles unlike the original tyres I had fitted and it would be every 30 - 50 miles in the winter. I sometimes think they may slow me down a lot which does not bother me when I am on my own, but when riding with others the pace can be a lot faster, averaging 18mph, so I feel I could do with something a lot lighter at times.
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres
- Thread starter J-Lo
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I would not recommend M+s at all. They are slow, heavy, roll poorly and are impossible to remove. If you're going down that route I would recommend as Wafflycat does the bog standard Marathons which still have good puncture protection and are a lot easier to remove and feel nippier.
beancounter
Well-Known Member
- Location
- South Beds
marinyork said:
Well, it's a question of priorities. If you absolutely, positively do not want punctures (which I don't on my commute) then you fit M+ and you put up with the weight and all, and if you don't puncture you don't have to change them for a long time.
If you absolutely, positively cannot stand the weight and the soggy rolling (i.e. weekend riding) then you fit something else and just hope not to get too many punctures.
bc
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
J-Lo said:Thanks for the feedback everyone! Think im going to go with instinct and buy the marathon plus's, I doubt they will slow me down much! Its your legs that count lol, and hopefully wont get as many punctures!
J-Lo, I have a pair of M+ 700x28 that I intend to sell, they've done a couple of hundred miles. They look pristine and have not been punctured or damaged. I run M+ 700x35 on two bikes, 3.5K miles and no punctures, the 28's were for my weekend bike but have now gone to 23's on that, so won't have a use for the 28's.
If you're interested I'm confident enough on the condition that I'll send them to you and you can pay when received and happy......say £25 posted? PM me if you're interested
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
As others have pointed out, Schwalbe has measured the rolling resistance of both Marathon Plus and standard Marathons, and it is identical.
This certainly fits with my subjective experience - I find the rolling resistance absolutely fine. They are sensitive to pressure, however, and it's important to keep them topped up to close to the maximum for your fitment.
This certainly fits with my subjective experience - I find the rolling resistance absolutely fine. They are sensitive to pressure, however, and it's important to keep them topped up to close to the maximum for your fitment.
beancounter said:
It's one of degree. I find the standard marathon has all the properties that the OP was requiring without being impossible to remove. I'm quite aware that both tyres quote having the same RR but to me they feel quite different. Having done thousands of miles on both tyre my opinion on punctures is you wouldn't really tell the difference between the standard and + but you'll save money and make life easier on yourself with the standard.
The rural roads I cycle in Suffolk have loads of tiny sharp flint flakes, especially after rain when mud and silt washes off the fields. With standard Marathons, these were going straight through the kevlar belt on a regular basis; with Marathon +s not one puncture since I fitted them a couple of years ago.
Now trying Durano +s on my road bike.
John
Now trying Durano +s on my road bike.
John
The complaining tadpole
New Member
- Location
- Suffolk
Tried Standard Marathons - next to useless. Switched to M+ on 2 bikes 700x28 & 700x25, after 6 months & approx 2500 miles - no punctures. I have now swapped the 700x25 on my road bike to 700x23 Durano Plus', early days yet but they roll much better & my average speed is up by approx 1mph over my 11 mile commute! Will report back on p****ure effectiveness in due course!
Well, been out on my road bike for the first trip with 23mm Durano+s at 110psi and that will probably be the last one. 1-2 mph reduction in average speed and a completely different feel to the bike so I'd rather have the odd puncture!
It's as if the tyres absorb the force as you pedal down - there's no sense of the bike surging with each pedal revolution that I get with the tyres it came with, which are only cheapy 23mm Vittoria Rubinos.
They do roll fairly well so I'll be taking the 25mm Marathon+s off my tourer and putting these on that.
John
It's as if the tyres absorb the force as you pedal down - there's no sense of the bike surging with each pedal revolution that I get with the tyres it came with, which are only cheapy 23mm Vittoria Rubinos.
They do roll fairly well so I'll be taking the 25mm Marathon+s off my tourer and putting these on that.
John
The complaining tadpole
New Member
- Location
- Suffolk
Oh dear! 4th Commute in with the Durano + & 7 1/2 miles in ( 70 miles total ) down she goes. Of course after commuting with Marathon + did I remember any spare inner tubes or levers, not to mention a pump? And it was raining and I was running late anyway. Oh well look out Wiggle here I come ( again! )
Too much talk about how good marathons are here, finally my luck ran out and had my first puncture this morning, got too complacent and also stopped carrying pump and repair kit so had a nice walk home after a long night at work.
Fortunatly its only a couple of miles but it still took me an hour, because I took a short cut, Just under a mile from home, found a gate locked and then had a long walk back round. Something tells me todays not going to be my day.
Got to go get my dressing's changed today from falling off my bike but with my luck today the nurse will probably tell me my arms got to come off.
Fortunatly its only a couple of miles but it still took me an hour, because I took a short cut, Just under a mile from home, found a gate locked and then had a long walk back round. Something tells me todays not going to be my day.
Got to go get my dressing's changed today from falling off my bike but with my luck today the nurse will probably tell me my arms got to come off.
After today, I have come to the conclusion that Marathon+ are a load of B**!lks and too problematic. I still think they are excellent tyres though but after today's episode I'll never fit them again.
As my back tyre was wearing down a bit I thought I would rotate it with the front, which was almost as good as new still. Bad move overall, they was as hard to remove as put on, I spent about two hours trying to get them back on successfully, every time I fitted them, I would have to take them off again to repair one or two pinch punctures, about eight pinch punctures I repaired in total and I still only had managed to get one tyre on and inflated successfully. How the hell I fitted them the first time in one go beats me!
I began to think if I was unlucky and punctured out on the road, the scenario could turn out to be a nightmare if I am a long way from home, cold, dark, raining etc, so to avoid it happening in the future and guaranteeing my bike would be usable for club run in the morning, I jumped in my car and bought two new tyres of a different make.
The Marathon+ will now go on my commuter when I have worn the ones that are on it wear out as if anything goes wrong its only a 2 mile walk.
As my back tyre was wearing down a bit I thought I would rotate it with the front, which was almost as good as new still. Bad move overall, they was as hard to remove as put on, I spent about two hours trying to get them back on successfully, every time I fitted them, I would have to take them off again to repair one or two pinch punctures, about eight pinch punctures I repaired in total and I still only had managed to get one tyre on and inflated successfully. How the hell I fitted them the first time in one go beats me!
I began to think if I was unlucky and punctured out on the road, the scenario could turn out to be a nightmare if I am a long way from home, cold, dark, raining etc, so to avoid it happening in the future and guaranteeing my bike would be usable for club run in the morning, I jumped in my car and bought two new tyres of a different make.
The Marathon+ will now go on my commuter when I have worn the ones that are on it wear out as if anything goes wrong its only a 2 mile walk.
>>>>It has been quite easy for me, I have done it a few times.
Trick: massage it a few minutes by steping on its side before fitting it, that will soften it a bit.<<<<
Yes I can fit them Ok, its just trying to prevent damage to the innertube. You can also warm them up in an oven too, but out on a ride and not the comfort of your own home with all your facilities of a good work area etc it can be a different ballgame which I am not prepared to take the risk for.
Trick: massage it a few minutes by steping on its side before fitting it, that will soften it a bit.<<<<
Yes I can fit them Ok, its just trying to prevent damage to the innertube. You can also warm them up in an oven too, but out on a ride and not the comfort of your own home with all your facilities of a good work area etc it can be a different ballgame which I am not prepared to take the risk for.
