I purchase two sets of these (one for a mountain bike and the other for a touring bike). Have about 100 miles on one set and 150 on another. I ride mainly on sidewalks, street, and paved paths. Where I live there are ruts, limbs, sand, and debris everywhere and a thin tire will not suffice. I like the tire because it can handle various terrain, and are suppose to be puncture resistant (so far so good). They can handle high pressure, bumps, rolling resistence is negligable, and I feel stable when cycling. They are also compliant as the ride is smooth.
I have a set of 717 Mavic Rims and XT Shimano Hubs on both bikes (both hand built) and neither have a hint of wobble, yet when riding or spinning the tire, I notice the tire is not perfectly even as it rotates. In other words, I can see how the pattern on the tire does not remain the same as the rim spins, and it appears the wheel is not true. When riding there is no hopping or bumping felt but would like a tire that looks straigt or even when spinning. Would have given five stars if this weren't the case.
I will see about durability and puncture resistance as time passes, no comment on that.
My original set of these finally wore down their tread. The back tire had about 9000 miles, the front about 7000. I think I would still be on them, but I left them at 35 psi for way too long after a tour with a couple hundred miles of hard-pack gravel roads. Never had a flat. Ride was grippy even on fast corners and mountain descents. Easy to mount. Just no problems at all.
I use these for fair-weather commuting on mostly roads and paved bike paths. My only basis for comparison is the Continental Travel Contacts I've been using for the same purpose for the past 6 years, so take this with a grain of salt if you're comparing to other high-pressure city tires. The Schwalbes are quite thick where the tire meets the road (enough to make the bike feel taller). The Schwalbes also take a higher pressure (100 psi, I run them at 80), and they have very low rolling resistance. The lack of treads on the outside edges means they're more stable when cornering on pavement, but less stable in gravel. The reflective sidewalls are a nice touch, they're really noticeable at night. I don't have enough miles on them to evaluate durability, but there's a lot of rubber between the bottom of the tread and the top of your inner tube, so I can't imagine them being prone to punctures. I wouldn't use them for loose gravel or off-road, but for on-road use, this is a great high-pressure, low rolling-resistance tire.
No flats yet and i ride on roads paved in glass. These were a welcome change for city riding over my off road tires on my adventure bike- now commuter bike. Look cool too and has sidewall reflectors.
I have this on my 1990 mountain bike which I have started using to ride distances. I pump it up to 80psi, and it does great for the 50-60-mile rides I've been doing. Some day I'll graduate to a road bike, but for now this is a decent substitute, and the tires are an important part of making that possible.
The tires I received and mounted on true wheels caused obvious hops in riding at anywhere from 60 to 95 psi. suspect this was due to manufacturing imperfections. I am returning them.
I got these tires to outfit my mountain bike for a trip down the west coast of the US last spring. They lasted through about a thousand miles of training, plus the trip itself which was another thousand miles, followed by on-and-off training for the rest of the year, and finally I've been using them to prep for another trip this summer - total of over 5,000 miles across 15 months with no problems at all. One of them has finally worn down and I'm back to get another pair. Fantastic tires.
I am installing these to replace the Schwalbe Marathon Racers that came on my Catrike. I have 3200 miles on the Racers and the 20 tires are worn, while the 26 tire shows little wear. These are considerably heavier and thicker on the tread, so they should wear well. My only complaint with Schwalbe are the inner tubes that came installed on the 20 tires. Both failed within the first 1500 miles. They split internally at a seam. No punctures thru the tires were found. I would not recommend Schwalbe Tubes for this reason.
This is my first set of Marathons. I have a new Cruzbike T50 with 26 wheels that take a wider tire than I am used to. These perform well, they are high-pressure, and though I know I have run over stickers and glass, I have not yet had a flat in about a thousand miles.
What a great tire! I've had a pair for a few months now for my commute bike. They ride better than I expected - they feel solid and they corner well. They seem to have good traction in the rain.
Today I heard a thwack thwack thwack from the back tire. I stopped and pulled out a 6 penny nail that was bent over and hitting the fender. The tip of the nail was in at least a quarter of an inch (a bit sideways), and no flat!
Do not use that rubber-band type rim tape though. The higher pressure of this tire will blow a hole in the rim tape at a nipple hole and then a hole in your tube. That was the only time I've had a flat with these tires.
