Schwalbe Marathon: A Commuter’s Review

[@rochester212]

Marathons(plus) are very heavy and difficult to mount, however once you do you will never take them off because they never wear out and they never suffer punctures. I got mine literally from the dumpster, the former owner got bored with them and discarded them.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

That’s pretty impressive. They are not very exciting tires, but they are very reliable.

[@donaldwalter1317]

I’ve used Schwalbe Marathon Plus for years on my touring bikes. I’ve had a few flats but not many and due to nails, tacks. They have proven to be a SOB to install/ uninstall. Have recently purchased a Continental Contact Plus to use on my gravel bike. Their structure is nearly identical to the Schwalbe tires and are even harder to install/uninstall. I had ordered 650Bx50mm but they fit to a 46mm width at 10psi lower than max pressure. These two brands of tires I think are still the best tires for loaded long distance tours mostly on pavement. 7:14

[@amandajane8227]

I bought the marathon plus. I saw how amazing the reflective rim was on my partners bike doing a night ride. I just had to get tires with that reflective rim. I don't understand why it isn't mandatory. At night the bikes look like sideshow rides with the reflective wheels revolving.

[@mickleman52]

I see a lot of people on here complaining about how hard these are to mount, for good reason, however no one is talking about how the tire gets easier to mount with age/use. Brand new, they can be a real pain in the butt to mount. My first time mounting a set it took me something like 45 minutes and a lot of cursing per tire (note: I heard using a ziptie to hold the tire in place during the first mount is a great way to cut down on time/cursing). However, after putting some miles on them, they break in and are no more difficult than any other full bead tire to get on/off. I just had to patch a flat while out biking, and spent more time looking for what caused the flat then I did getting my tire on/off. Now wish me luck, as I have to replace my front tire as the side wall failed (after like 5+ years of use though so can't complain).

[@johnmckeeman1794]

Been using marathon Green Guard. For more than 3 yrs had 1 puncture that got tyre on the sidewall Can't complain. Definitely recommend.

[@poelaertpieterjan]

Using the marathon supreme for my commutes. Very decent protection and rolling resistance is very low.

[@scythe1092]

I've been using Schwalbe Big Apple Plus on my trekking bike, and during the ~4000 km so far I had 2 punctures. And I use it on dirt road 30-35%, so it's a really nice pair of tyres.

[@joerivas8313]

Do those tires also have the 3mm puncture protection? Didnt see anything about it having it

[@EntropyOCD]

I just got these in 25mm. They are the right tires for urban roads. The cheap tires my bike came with had flats every week.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

I wish you many happy miles on them David!

[@Narcostic]

Did you get the plus or regular marathons? I'll also buy in 25mm for urban roads. maybe in 28mm. Any thoughts?

[@misaelramos83]

I use Marathon Almotion TLE Addix on my commuter touring bike and they were very easy to mount, haven't had even a little bit of a a puncture in the 1100 miles I've had my rear tire and now it's on the front as my Bontrager GR1 TL has finally worn out and the bike feels very good with both sturdy touring tires now on there. Much nicer under load. No signs of wear on the older tire.

[@mo-215]

Agree....the Almotion is a great tire....very comfortable, good grip , and lightweight commuter tire.

[@MarkusFolkesson]

As I think I mention on your other video, my favorite is Continental RideTour, but I think you have a point that if your roads are decent, you doesn't need the extra puncture protection on marathon plus.

[@emilen2]

I have the 365 on my MTB 26" eBike and I'm quite dissatisfied with the rolling resistance and wear. I have practically limitless power (around 3kW BBSHD) but both top speed and energy usage (Wh) take a noticeable hit. They do have good grip in the cold wet season and they sound great when accelerating.

[@grintalcycles8266]

I have used the Schwalbe Marathons before, and they are good all around commuting tires. Since I tend to do longer rides on the way home I prefer the Continental Gatorskins most of the time. That being said the Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires are my go to when there is snow and ice on the ground. They go on my winter bike around the end of November and stay on till mid -March.

[@Cycling.Doughnut]

Hi. You think the Winter model would be also a good option for winter season w/o the snow, but lets say for riding between -5C to +5C, where there is no snow, but roads and/or cycle pathways can be even partially covered with ice?

[@grintalcycles8266]

@@Cycling.Doughnut The regular winter tires without the studs would be fine as long as you don't have plenty of ice. They run a softer compound that gives you pretty good traction at the colder temperatures.

[@Cycling.Doughnut]

@@grintalcycles8266 So finally got the Marathon ones, already fitted onto my single speed. Just waiting for all of the snow to melt down and dry out a bit :) thnx!

[@AdvKhaled]

I have used tyre-liners for 3-4 years and only had one puncture in that time frame. Today I bought and installed Schwalbe Marathon but still installed a tyre-liner with it.

[@Vegan_Touring_Cyclist]

I have a pair on my Brompton in a 16" size, and it is not easy to mount them at all ... :D

[@simseven4967]

Using mount fluid will solve your problem✌🏻

[@simseven4967]

Schwalbe marathon are really good tires, never had a flat tire with them, mounting can be tricky but mounting fluid or soap solve the problem✌🏻

[@naturamico]

Lovely video. Super work. Thank you, my Man.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

Cheers Massimo! Thanks for coming by!

[@zauliuz]

Bought these tires, it's a big boost from stock 'Kenda booster'. First it was strange visually, from 700x45c to 37-622, but it looks thinner. Now waiting better weather, to properly test them. Also one more thing, it was easier to put on/off tire (broke presta valve, so had to change inner tube) than wheel :)

[@paulb9769]

I really wish they would also make them with out the reflective stripe.

[@billigerfusel]

I too hate being seen by cars. Suicidal greetings from Europe 🖐️

[@Dad007]

I'm looking forward to the tire comparison video!

[@NoName-jq7tj]

It’s not fine on an urban commute. I purchased these by mistake & have had 13 flats in one year. That’s Budapests’ Margit Hid I believe.

[@davidmiragaya3410]

Good video. I have the speeder 100 like you. One questioin. Can I fit the 700x40c? is your tyre 700x38c? thanks

[@BikeCommuterHero]

My tires are 32mm wide. This is the largest tire you can fit if you have fenders. Without them you can go up to 37.

[@WeileWorld]

What is the best money can buy?

[@oscarpow]

What size are these tires? 700x35c? Which city is that? Budapest? Beatutifull city!

[@ShayGlenn]

Brilliant.. thanks for this. What City do you live in?.. looks really nice.. really good cycling infrastructure.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

It's Budapest. Interesting that you should say that because the cycling infrastructure is still lacking a bit. I'm fortunate enough to have the perfect commute as my home is well connected with my workplace.

[@balazsmuller9367]

Are u from Hungary? Because the video was made in Budapest. Im curious to know how did u find the city? Thx. 😊

[@skippyyoung7872]

Love your channel! New Subscriber.

[@RideWithRoy]

Good review! I’ve just changed from Marathon to Contact Plus. I found the Marathon to be quite scary in the wet and had two crashes caused by the tyres losing grip on wet corners. So far, the Contact Plus feel very grippy but are also a much harder ride than the Marathons, especially on trails. However, it’s a trade off I’m happy to make in favour of safety. In your Contact Plus review you mentioned greater road noise with them, but I’m happy to report I haven’t noticed this with my setup. Thanks for your reviews 👍

[@BikeCommuterHero]

Hey Roy! Thanks for your feedback. I find them both really solid tires, but I'm leaning toward the Contact Plus too despite the bad experience I had with mounting it on my rim. I'm glad you left a comment since it made me check out your channel. I love your content. I couldn't resist subscribing.

[@kaferkafer2825]

Hello, I'm a bit confused by all marathon tyres) I wanted to get Marathon racer, are these the same as in the video or something else? Currently I have Schwalbe Big Apple 2,15 on my birdy bicycle, I got it second hand so the tyres looked a bit old but they seem to be really fine,to tell you the truth I'm not even sure if I have to change them right now, they're kinda soft and provide quite a smooth ride and I can speed up very well but I thought maybe marathon racer 1,5 will be even cooler)) But I wouldn't like to have a bad grip on the road)) p.s I use me bike in the city and for touring.

[@mo-215]

I agree, Roy. I feel the Contacts are a much more supple and grippy rubber...and more comfortable. Mostly , I really like the grip of the Contis. The Marathon rubber is harder. Of course Marathons last forever, it's a much harder rubber and not as grippy as Contis.

[@peterkenworthy9219]

I have the marathon . 2 punctures in 6 weeks , going to switch to the plus version

[@BikeCommuterHero]

That’s pretty annoying. What kind of flats did you get? Nails or thorns on the tread?

[@peterkenworthy9219]

@@BikeCommuterHero No idea . Very very tiny pin prick type holes . I’m going to switch to the plus

[@BikeCommuterHero]

@@peterkenworthy9219 Best of luck with that! The M+ does have a thicker layer of protection. I hope it helps. I’ve just bought some sealant to put in my inner tube to see how it affects puncture resistance and riding experience.

[@peterkenworthy9219]

@@BikeCommuterHero The inner tube I’ve just put in has slime in it . I’ll buy some more tomorrow

[@kdstoffel7574]

There’s no denying the durability of the Marathon Plus, but I prefer the weight savings of the Marathon Supreme or Continental Top Contact II. Vectran belting provides 90% of the puncture protection at 50% of the rolling weight, with a more lively road feel.

[@angrahell]

The vectran belt is useless against any glass and there's a lot of glass on my commute

[@Daniel-uo5lm]

Ah, yes the classic go to tyre for almost all conditions. Good review. You've mentioned the marathon Gt; do you have any experiences with the marathon gt tour? It seems to be built the same way as the gt, but has a tread more in line with the marathon and marathon plus allowing for more off road capability. But there's almost no information or reviews on it.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

No experience with the GT Tour, unfortunately.I know Cycletraveloverload liked the GT 365 (kzbin.info/www/bejne/fV6roIiGbrhrhc0). Have you considered the Continental Contact Plus. I'm still in the testing phase, but it's quite a promising tire so far.

[@Daniel-uo5lm]

@@BikeCommuterHero Thanks for the recommendation, the Continental Contact Plus seems to be a very appealing tyre as well. I went with the GT Tour now, for my areas (~70% Road, 25% Gravel and ~5% offroad-ish terrain, all year round commuting) the tread felt the most appropriate to me. Meaning mostly slick middle and somewhat nobby sides for gravel, sludge and/or snow) With the ~70-100km that I've ridden it so far it's been doing very great for me. It feels (yea, I know, that's a very subjective thing) a good bit grippier on both Road and Gravel than the Standard Marathon I had before (Both 622-40) and rolls just as smooth and fast. Also looking forward to pretty much forgetting about punctures, as with the Standard Marathon I only had one puncture.

[@3stann78]

nice review! thanks!

[@josebonet1359]

Thanks, good review.

[@happycamper0017]

Can someone please tell me how well does it do on light off road or gravels?

[@BikeCommuterHero]

It's definitely better for grip than the Marathon Plus. If you're looking for decent puncture protection with decent off road grip, check out the Continental Contact Plus. I've just reviewed it and I think it's the best suited for that type of riding.

[@baranyiatti]

Nagyon jó videó, rendeltem is most egy párat ebből a gumiból.

[@BikeCommuterHero]

Köszönöm földi! Sok boldog kilométert kívánok!

[@bachmannobsessed2234]

My Schwalbe tyre has stretched in last 5 months since a bought the thing, can’t even fit it on the 26’’ rim just slides off where as usually a tyre is tight well this is loose as n pops out when riding

[@johnrhodes3350]

Before inflating, press wire beads down into the bottom of the rim.

[@stephenlamley541]

I dont care what protection you have a Pyracantha thorn would go through a tank wall awful thorns. Huge too literally around a inch and a half of a brutal thorn.

[@glynnburchett5554]

Will not tour with out a marathon plus set

[@ellerybice3787]

🚴🏼🚴🏼🚴🏼