Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour

I have been running Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x35c (37-622) and Peli the 26×1.35 (35-559), with great success. I think I have had only one visit in 8,000 miles and that was a stone that hit the valve and broke it.

We want to do more touring on rougher tracks and therefore we wanted to get some tyres that have more grip and room for more wear. So we settled for 700x40c (42-622) and 26×2.00 (50-559) since that is the fattest tyres we can fit on our 700c and 26″ wheels on our Long Haul Truckers. As Schwalbe says on their site about the Tour versions: A heavy duty trekking tread for asphalt, or off-road allows this versatile tyre to always feel at home, whether in everyday use, or on long tours. The robust structure is an effective damage defence that is twinned with SmartGuard, the most effective puncture protection belt for bicycle tyres.

Along with what I have read elsewhere on the net, these Tour versions of the Marathons would be the bees knees for when you are looking for a “fit and forget” touring tyre. Schwalbe are notorious for being a bit of a “bar steward” to fit new, but I was rather pleased that these weren’t.

Cycling with them around London with a little load, I can feel that they are slower and have an extra bounce to the ride. Though, fully loaded I can’t tell that there is anything different compared to the thinner and none Tour Marathon Plus’, other than a little cushion when you hit a rough patch.

I have done close to 1500 miles on my set now other than a bit of dirt I can’t see any wear on them. Peli has done fewer miles but reports pretty much the same as above.

But, these made in Germany by a German company to German quality, bombproof touring tyre, do NOT like Germany.

We were touring in Denmark last May on our brand new Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tours. We had done 350+ miles in Denmark without any problems at all. But as we crossed the border to Germany, mere metres into Germany, can you guess what happened to Peli’s 26×2.00 (50-559) anti puncture tyres?

Yup, we had a visit! Not by the Mother-of-all-Thorns, just a normal sized one which you would think these 1.1Kg a piece tyres would withstand.

Rating

I’m looking forward to put many more miles into these Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour which aren’t that hard to fit onto the rims.

Link : http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/