jsidney

How good would these tires be for my purposes.

They would be on a touring bike.

I am only on good roads and sometimes sidewalks.

These tires would never see a gravel road.

I ride with both heavy loads with Jandd Expedition Panniers and fully unloaded.

I ride at a comfortable pace but I appreciate lower rolling resistance because sometimes I go very far.

Any other recommendations?

tspoon

Should be fine, in fact more than fine, people rave about marathon tires. They are very puncture resistant, although it should be noted that punctures are still possible. I myself have had bad luck, both pairs I have purchased ended up with quite substantial punctures, the sort no tire would stop.

jsidney

Which width would you prefer?

mev

I've used Marathon Supreme, Marathon Mondial and Marathon Plus in my current ride through the Americas.

Some comparisons of my experience between these three subtypes:
- Supreme has a thinner sidewall and a smoother tread. Slightly lighter but still a heavy tire.
- Puncture proof is good, but seems slightly less than Marathon Plus.
- Two most recent rear tires lasted ~4000km each before I started to get problems. One got a larger hole in riding surface. I put a boot inside but then that started rubbing tubes in weird ways and causing flats. Second developed a split in the sidewall, perhaps with lower inflation.

For what you describe, Marathon Supreme is likely good and will be just a bit lighter than Plus or Mondial. If you were going off-road through areas with a lot of thorns, I would favor Marathon Plus instead.

tspoon

I use 26x1.75, but only because the 1.5 (38mm) size needed levers to fit or remove the tire, I'm a little bit lazy The larger size was able to be fitted by hand. Your priorities are likely way different to mine, and I'm not too sure how my 26" experiences translate to the 700c sizes.

debade

My wife and I both use the Marathon Plus on our touring bikes. Thousands of miles with hardly a flat. We change them with about 3,000 miles or so.


I ride with great confidence on the MP tires.

alan s 

I have Marathon Supremes on three bikes in 26x2.0, 700x35 and 700x40. Great tires for touring and commuting. The 40s have enough volume for decent gravel riding comfort.

LeeG

They're good. Also check out the Schwalbe Almotion. Width entirely your personal preference.

djb

hey sid, I dont think you ever mentioned in the other thread how much you weigh, and how much to you "a heavy load" is--30, 50, 100lbs of load?

I could add more of my experiences with Supremes, but will wait until you give more info before chiming in more, as these numbers are a factor.

dim

ive used them .... they are very good

Compass tyres are better though

jsidney

I weight 211 right now, I wrestled 190 in college so weight is not out of line for me. Every once in awhile I have carried 100lbs on a bike but that is the exception rather than the rule. Sometimes the touring bikes have been treated like cargo bikes.

The bike the tires will be going on will never see a dirt road or gravel, it will be hard pavement only. I have another bike at my disposal for dirt and gravel.

tyrion

For pavement only (no dirt/gravel) I like 35s. 700x35mm Supremes is a great fit on my 19mm (internal) wide rims. I like fatter tires for dirt, but 40-42mm tires with 19mm rims is a little squirmy when cornering on pavement.

djb

in that case, from my experience using 2in 50mm Supremes that measured out to 45mm on my rims, and considering that I weigh 75lbs less than you and the most Ive carried is about 60lbs, I personally would recommend that you go as wide as you can, as your rims and spokes will thank you, but as it seems you are really interested in 35s or 40s, Id recommend 40s.

they are a good tire that roll along nicely, and are pretty good for puncture resistance, much better than I expected on a 2 month trip I did this year, but Im repeating myself.

djb

I would add that I went with the 50mm ones out of concerns/unknowns about road surfaces, as well as wanting to be easier on my wheelset for my trip.
When I ride 1.5in regular marathons, they do roll along more efficiently than the 2 in supremes, so Im sure 1.6 supremes will be even more efficient than my marathons 1.5, but you have a whackload more weight on your bike and wheels than me....so this comes back to wondering if wider would be better for you.
but hey, if youve used 35-40s before with the same conditions, then at least you know how your wheels holds up,but then thats up to you to know what works and what doesnt with such a heavy weight on your bike if you go with a ton of load.

good luck with your decision.

ColonelSanders

I would have thought those tyres are good for much more than3,000 miles, so how much tread is on the tyre when you replace it?

debade

oops. my wife said 4-5 thousand. The tires still have life. We change some sooner as some of our tours are long enough that we are willing to change a tire so we will not have a problem on the road.

On only one occasion has a Schwalbe been destroyed. A metal object pierced the tire through both sidewalls at the rim. No idea how it happen but we were in an industrial part of Nashville. Otherwise I can only remember one other flat.

DropBarFan

Switched from Marathon Plus to Supreme which is wider yet lighter. Supreme rolls/handles better too; OTOH I'd guess med-heavy riders would want Plus durability.

jonc123

In the 26" size, going from the Plus to Supreme will save about 2 pounds, 1 pound per tire. The Plus is a very heavy tire.

djb

that was one of the appeals to me with trying a set of supremes. A friend with the same bike has plus's on, slightly heavier wheelset, and slightly heavier components and his bike is at least 5lbs heavier than mine.

twodownzero

I just finished a 215k Brevet on the 26x1.5 Supremes. They are great tires. I haven't found anything else in a similar size that is worth looking at so it's all I have run on my 26" bike. If I were you, I'd choose size based on how much climbing you intend to do and how much weight you're going to carry. 40mm for heavier/flatter, 35mm for lighter/steeper terrain. If you can't decide, go 40mm.

J.Higgins 

I love my Marathon Plus tires, and I don't really notice the extra weight.

DropBarFan

My favorite thing about 50 mm Supremes vs 38 mm Plus is not the weight-saving but the far safer handling on fast bumpy descents. 50 mm Supremes swallow up road imperfections that caused alarming bounce with narrower higher-pressure tires.

J.Higgins 

Aye. Mine are the 50mm, and I consider them to be the perfect choice for my area. My local roads are narrow and typically in poor condition. Its just one thing you have to live with in a tax-free state.

Yan 

My last Marathon Supreme lasted about 4000km before developing a gash in the sidewall. I was in the middle of a tour and replaced it with a cheap Giant tire.

FrenchFit 

I've used both the 26 x 2.00 and 700 x 35 Supremes. I have been riding the 26" for many years, on my third set.

I did not adjust well to the 700s on a fast tourer, sold them on eBay. My experience with the 700s Supremes was they were remarkably slow and prone to flatting, I think you could do better.