(25 customer reviews)
I use this and its 20 version on my bullitt cargo bike. When you are delivering 300 pounds of cargo on unforgiving tarmac, the last thing you need is a flat. These arent 100% full proof, but I struggle to think of any time these tires let me down. Rolling resistance is low and mileage is high.
I commute year round, in the Portland OR area. I have logged over 4000 miles in 10 months. Even rode 3 miles on a flat, slayed the tube, but the tire is still performing. Schwalbe Marathon Plus are the best tires You get what you pay for.
I have used these tires for several years both for regular riding and touring. Great tires for touring both because of the resistance to flats and the load carrying capacity on the back of my recumbent.
This the local, Tucson. Trike tire of choice. Its one of the very few that stand up to our road debris, thorns and rough roads. So far no flats in 2000 miles since I switched from Schwabe Racers to the Marathon Plus.
If you value reliability, and riding without worrying about flats, there is no better tire than these. I've put thousands of miles on this tire now, without a single flat....in goathead capitol of the country (NM). People whine these are heavy and slow. I've never noticed. Will let you know if I ever change to anything else (hint I won't!).
Especially if you're doing loaded cross country touring, you'd be crazy to even consider anything else.
I put two Marathon plus 1.75 inch tires on my recumbent tandem for a cross country bike trip (Newport Beach, CA to Yorktown, VA). Total vehicle weight (including riders) was about 450 lbs. These tires held up very well. We logged hundreds of miles on the expressway shoulders out west. I had to weave in and out of the shredded tires frequently. Only two punctures the whole 3400 miles. I pulled a dozen wires out that didn't cause flats. No problems with goat head thorns when in New Mexico. On some occasions the debris, gravel and sand on the expressway shoulder was so thick the tires weren't touching the pavement. These wide and durable tires just kept on going. There are many miles left in these tires.
My coworker told be about these tires a couple years ago and once I rode them I have not switched back. I used to ride Gatorskins and would get about 5 flats within 2500 miles before replacing. My marathon plus tires have lasted about 3000 miles and I have only had two flats in about 10,500 miles one was a sharp piece of metal that made a 2 slash and the other was a small needle that made a slow leak in the tube. I ride mostly on the road with a lot of construction and broken glass, some parts of my 20 mile commute is on bike trails.
I've put over 5,000 miles on my pair of Schwalbe M's, and they refuse to quit!
In all of that riding (3,000 miles of it on self-supported, loaded-down tours, and much of that on gravel and dirt roads), I have had to replace four tubes. ONLY FOUR! And two of those were recently, only because my rear tire (which bears more weight, especially on tours) has become so worn down that the tread is nearly gone, leaving a minimal rubber layer before stuff comes up against the Smart Guard layer. I realize it's probably a good idea to replace a tire before it gets to this point, but they're so dang tough that I rarely think about it.
The other two punctures were courtesy of a construction-grade staple (long!) and an unfortunately placed puncture by unidentified road debris that found the sidewall (which isn't protected by the Smart Guard layer). I know I've ridden over much more junk out on the roads than that, and I commute in Salt Lake City, Utah, where goat head thorns are a-plentiful. But the Schwalbes eat that stuff for breakfast.
I think the rear tire may have had a minor manufacturing defect - on a particularly hot day riding across southern Nevada into Arizona, a big, blister-like bubble formed on the exterior sidewall of the tire. I stopped because I heard the tire rubbing against the chain stay where it had bulged out. It was just a big bubble in the rubber. I crossed my fingers and punctured the edge of it with a knife, and a bunch of air escaped and it went down immediately. It was totally visually unnoticeable by that evening - the rubber just tightened back up and smoothed out. My only thought is that maybe a little pocket of air had accidentally been left in that outer layer of rubber during manufacturing, and then the heat from the road (southern Nevada in July!) had warmed it up enough that the air expanded and made a heat blister. Kind of weird, but it fixed easily enough, with no issues afterward.
One-off heat blisters aside, I love these tires. I trust them as far as I can ride them, which has been pretty far.
Bought a set of these tires to replace OEM mountain bike tires. They have not disappointed me at all, thoroughly enjoying the smooth rolling action on city pathways in the US and Canada. Now I'm not the last rider struggling to keep up with my friends.
I had the same problem as the reviewer who hated the tire. After installing and inflating the tire, it looked warped and bulged out at one point, and I could feel the bulge as I rode. Sadly, I made the mistake of blaming the tire and tossed a perfectly good and very expensive tire. I discovered that it was not the tire, but installation error on my part that caused the problem, because I had the same issue with a totally different model of Schwalbe tire.
Maybe the tires are slightly oversized, so that on slightly undersized rims there is a problem, but I did note that they slipped on without needed levers, which struck me as odd. Incidentally, both were on 27 inch rims, though they were totally different bikes. I discovered the issue because you can see that more of the tire is exposed where the bulge occurs, clearly indicating that the bead was not fully seated. I was incredulous at first because I assumed that the tire would blow of the rim or something, but it didn't. Fortunately, a mechanic at the LBS cued me into the trick, and I have since been able to correct it.
Go slowly, and make sure that you have the tube pushed fully up into the tire (can be hard to tell- you may have to pull the tire away from the rim all the way around and make sure you can see the rim tape.) Put a little air in, then go around again pushing the tire down onto the rim. As you inflate, repeat this step, stopping to deflate and push the tire back down if the bead tries to pop up. It took me a little patience and time, but the good news is that the tire will eventually conform to the rim shape with riding, so you don't have to deal with it if you later have to remove and re-install.
This was a minor inconvenience that was well worth the general high quality and durability of Schwalbe tires. They are comfortable, handle well, and are generally very durable. One thing I really like is that they don't have the super thin rubber coating on the sidewalls that has been a problem for me with other brands like Conti, Panaracer, and Michelin, which expose the thin sidewall fibers and lead to sidewall blow-outs before the tread is even half worn. It doesn't matter how great or technologically advanced your flat protection is if it doesn't actually protect the vulnerable sidewalls.
The problem for me is the value. Great tires, but it isn't just a trade-off on weight for durability. They cost the same or more than the tires that have both great sidewalls, long wearing rubber, and lower weight. If you are touring across the country, or have a really long, rough commute, the schwalbe is a great tire, but EVERY tire can get flats, no matter what the anecdotal praise of the reviewers says. (I rode them for 3 million miles over razor blades and glass without a si
I have these on a bike with rear hub motor. bike weighs over fifty pounds but will do 28mph, so I definitely want a tire that can handle this safely. These are certified for e bikes. Tires are grippy, ride well. so far they are resistant to flats (about 200 miles). On this bike and my other hybrid I was getting flats from thorns almost every time I would ride. Increased weight offset by not using tire liners or slime.
For it's weight I was pleasantly surprised by its fast rolling. Pumped to it's minimum pressure they did cause more rattles than my previous tires, but they performed the job that I wanted, flat protection on Sacramento's bad roads!
I dident get a chance to use this 26" on my winter recumbent. But I do have a 20 on the front. First day out. Tire got a huge cut in it. Down to the tread. But the tire did not fail. Wet traction is great. Rolling resistance is what you would expect. I think these tires will suit my winter rides perfectly.
I have got 150 miles on my Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Excellent feel while on road bike path and dirt trails.
Will buy a back up set . My be a while before I have to change them. Great tire.
