Schwalbe Marathons
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Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sat Mar 09, 2013 5:31 pm
I'm still on the original Schwalbe Marathon that hasn't even done 3000km's yet.
There are at least 6 cuts in the tread that are about 3/4 of an inch long. Each cut sits on the edge of the knobby section of tyre and passes right into the green guard. The tread looks split more so than cut.
Admittedly I've been riding over some sharp rocky roads with a heavy load but I expected better than this.
The basic/original Marathon isn't an expensive tyre so it's not a major problem I just thought they were a bit tougher than they appear to be. Still, I haven't had to mend a puncture yet so the green guard seems to work.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:57 am
I know that tyre threads have been done to death but I can't find much info doing a quick forum search.
il Padrone has recommended Vittoria in the past, I think. There are several Vittoria Randonneur City/Touring models.
Wiggle have these; http://www.this link is broken.au/vittoria-rando ... tyre-2012/ and others at fairly cheap prices.
IP, which model do you use?
Any other recommendations?
Is the Shwalbe Marathon Plus any superior to the original Marathon?
I ride mostly bitumen and good trails but occassional rough stuff that appears to have cut up the Marathon originals.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby RonK » Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:06 am
For the kind of mixed surfaces you ride the Dureme might be a good choice, otherwise it's the heavy duty Mondial.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:14 am
Yoohoo, il Padrone. I know you're around here somewhere?
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby il padrone » Sun Mar 10, 2013 10:55 am
I picked up a Marathon Cross trye once..... brother what a log!! The same size tyre as my Rando Cross weighs 50% more. But they're puncture-proof you say. Well I've yet to have a penetration puncture in my Randonneur Cross, and that's with travel through known thorn country and on one occasion pulling a number of thorns out of the tyre.
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Aushiker » Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:23 pm
They are not a light tyre but coming in at 760 grams.
Andrew
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sun Mar 10, 2013 1:21 pm
Once again some good, well informed advise.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Becker_11 » Sun Mar 10, 2013 2:21 pm
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2
Nathaniel
A great adventure starts with a single step
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:00 pm
Thanks for the suggestion but if anything I thought the tyres may have been overinflated for rocky conditions. I normally run them at about 70 PSI as was the case when I suspect the damage was done.Becker_11 wrote:... seems the tyre may have been under inflated and compressed against a rock or other hard edge causing the split. Have you checked the pressures you're using against the maximum recommendation on the sidewall?
Somehow I think this rock would have sliced up almost any tire. It was lightly scattered, 40-60mm diameter, crushed blue-metal, very sharp and pointed.
It looked like this;
The trouble arose whenever I unavoidably and frequently rode over a single piece of this rock on an already hard packed and dry clay substrate.
I've seen similar rock puncture a knobby 4WD tyre so the Marathons probably did ok not puncturing.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Baldy » Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:37 pm
I did about 6000km on a set of Vittoria Randonneur Cross Pro. Touring and general around town stuff and they were good, roll well and only 2-3 flats that I can remember and that was torwards the end and part of the reason I replaced them. They still have a tiny bit of tread showing in the centre and would probably do a few more thousand km without too much trouble. I kept them as spares.
I replaced them with Schwalbe Marathon Extreme. Having bigger nobbies they don't roll quite as quick but they have been very good.Done around 3000km and are wearing well, just to the point of swapping the rear to the front to even up the wear rate a little.[some people don't agree with doing this but what would they know eh!] Both sets are 32mm but the marathons are a bigger tyre.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Tim » Sun Mar 10, 2013 4:28 pm
I might give the Vittoria Randonneur Cross a try.
Cycling Express have them for $24.95. Cheap as.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby rifraf » Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:34 pm
I've had about four punctures from memory but I find them easy to get on and off my Aeroheat rims.
With the amount of glass that seems to abound in my area of WA I'm only surprised I havnt had more punctures.
I was initially worried about the weight handicap due to them being much heavier than my initial Maxxix tyres but they have proved their worth and I've
never really noticed the extra grams.
Good luck with the choice
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby WestcoastPete » Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:22 pm
As an aside; I've never used the Vittoria Randos, but I plan to...
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby rifraf » Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:26 pm
Very hard to argue with that price especially with the good mileage that IP gets out of a set.Tim wrote:Thanks Baldy.
I might give the Vittoria Randonneur Cross a try.
Cycling Express have them for $24.95. Cheap as.
Give em a twirl and report back
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Baldy » Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:13 pm
I very much doubt you will get 10k out of the rear on one of these. I forgot about another set of tyres I have, so revise the km down to about 4k on the cross pros.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby il padrone » Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:26 pm
As to mileage, they seem to be the same casing as the Rando Cross, so should give the same life as the wire bead version. I have consistently had ~14,000kms. That's on all sorts of road surfaces and a lot of fully loaded touring. Maybe the 700c in a narrower width gives less life.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby rifraf » Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:23 pm
I believe "consistent" correct tyre pressure range has a lot to do with longevity in tyres.il padrone wrote:Hmm.... I was looking around for this folding version to replace the worn Vittoria Randonneur Cross, but couldn't find them in 26", only 700C. Have you got them in 700 or 26", Baldy? Ended up getting the somewhat slicker tread Randoneur Pro.
As to mileage, they seem to be the same casing as the Rando Cross, so should give the same life as the wire bead version. I have consistently had ~14,000kms. That's on all sorts of road surfaces and a lot of fully loaded touring. Maybe the 700c in a narrower width gives less life.
Regardless of whats offered on the casings by manufactures many riders think they know better.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Baldy » Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:16 pm
You might have been on it? Our main bike track here is about 15km long and has 14 road crossings. Gates on both sides of them all and some are tighter than others. So lots of braking and taking off again. Being the hoon that I am that means lots of late braking and out of saddle to get going again, half the time while still going through the gates. You can hear and feel the tyres begging for mercy
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby polishbiker » Sun Mar 17, 2013 4:17 pm
waiting for 26x20 schwalbe mondial evolution to arrive for my next trip so will see how they go.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby brumby33 » Tue Oct 20, 2015 11:20 am
Took it to my bike shop and they couldn't tell me either what the green is under the black tread rubber.....I was just wondering...is this the start of the Kevlar belt I've been reading about and how far should I let it go before replacing the tyre? At this stage I can only see about 4 small specks.
I've never used these tyres before but have read that they are some of the best you can get for these touring type bikes so I'm happy to replace with same if need be.
Someone please enlighten me
Cheers
brumby33
(Dave)
VWR Patagonia 2017
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby find_bruce » Tue Oct 20, 2015 12:22 pm
Long answer - you have the Schwalbe marathon green guard which Schwwalbe describes as "Puncture Protection Level 5" - as the name suggests the puncture protection is green & its 3mm thick.
The more commonly known marathon is the marathon plus which has "Puncture Protection Level 6" - the smart guard layer is blue & 5 mm thick.
There is also a Marathon Deluxe Evolution tyre which has a different construction of protection & the layer is yellow. I have switched to this tyre as it is ~500g lighter per tyre than the marathon plus. Cheapest price seems to be from the German stores, eg Bike24
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Kaete » Sat Oct 24, 2015 5:47 pm
I was so impressed with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres that came already equipped with my Gazelle Fuente Trekking bike I bought some four years ago, that I've since (earlier this year) added Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, front and rear, and albeit slightly wider, to my everyday commuting Giant hybrid bike as well.
The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my touring bike seem to have hardly worn at all, despite some 6000 klms or so, often carrying heavy loads, on reasonably rough bitumen roads. An added extra advantage is that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres also have a reflective strip built into the tyre wall.
kind wishes,
Kaete
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Leaf T » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:54 pm
I like the supremes too but wish I'd bought the 2" version instead of the 1.5. I've been having trouble with carpal tunnel tingles/numbness and am searching for a 26 x 2 inch touring tyre as it will cushion the ride a little. I'd buy the Supremes but I'm hoping there are cheaper alternatives especially after I had one fail with about 1200km's use. Something like the Vittoria Rando II with 2 inch width would be ideal.polishbiker wrote:my last tour i used swhcalbe supreme 26x2.0, lasted 10.000km without swapping around, had 1 puncture but was internal, really good tires in my opinion.
waiting for 26x20 schwalbe mondial evolution to arrive for my next trip so will see how they go.
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Re: Schwalbe Marathons
Postby Leaf T » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:02 pm
I think your pluses will last a long time. Mrs Leaf T has done well over 20000 on marathon green guards and they're still going strong. It's starting to annoy me. It means I can't pass on my tyres so I can try something newKaete wrote: The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my touring bike seem to have hardly worn at all, despite some 6000 klms or so, often carrying heavy loads, on reasonably rough bitumen roads. An added extra advantage is that the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres also have a reflective strip built into the tyre wall.
kind wishes,
Kaete
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