Exceeding Schwalbe Marathon tire load rating - Touring on a triple tandem
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Exceeding Schwalbe Marathon tire load rating - Touring on a triple tandem
Does anyone have any experience with exceeding the load ratings on Schwalbe tires? If so, did you have issues?
We are taking our triple tandem on tour and our total weight will be around 500-510 lbs. Our Schwalbe Marathon tires (26” x 1.5”) have a load rating of 100kg (220lbs) per tire. This means we’ll be exceeding the load on the rear tire for sure and possibly on the front tire too. I have not seen a load rating from any other tire manufacturers and had I not come across the rating for the Schwalbe I would have just assumed I’d be fine. The max tire pressure is 100 psi so I’m pretty comfortable that it will be fine from that perspective. I contacted Schwalbe and was not able to get any useful information from them other than “Don’t exceed the load rating”.
If anyone has experience touring with a setup in the 500+lb range I’d be interested in hearing what you used for tires and if you had any issues.
Thanks!
We are taking our triple tandem on tour and our total weight will be around 500-510 lbs. Our Schwalbe Marathon tires (26” x 1.5”) have a load rating of 100kg (220lbs) per tire. This means we’ll be exceeding the load on the rear tire for sure and possibly on the front tire too. I have not seen a load rating from any other tire manufacturers and had I not come across the rating for the Schwalbe I would have just assumed I’d be fine. The max tire pressure is 100 psi so I’m pretty comfortable that it will be fine from that perspective. I contacted Schwalbe and was not able to get any useful information from them other than “Don’t exceed the load rating”.
If anyone has experience touring with a setup in the 500+lb range I’d be interested in hearing what you used for tires and if you had any issues.
Thanks!
#2
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Can you fit something a little wider? The Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26 x 1.75" and Michelin Protek (Cross, Max, Cross Max, or "") 26 x 1.85" should support 250lb per tire. Their sidewall ratings are 95 and 87 psi, respectively. At those widths and pressures a 250lb load would be right at 15% tire drop.
If you're limited to 1.5" tires, stick with the Schwalbe Marathon. I think that's the strongest option.
If you're limited to 1.5" tires, stick with the Schwalbe Marathon. I think that's the strongest option.
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We have toured on a triple with 32mm tires
We rode our triple successfully with 32mm tires. This is roughly the same dimension as a 1.25 inch tire. These were Avocet slicks, which are no longer available; however, I did not consider Avocet tires to be particularly robust. The photo shows are typical touring setup. I never bothered to weigh this arrangement, but together with riders we were around 485 pounds.