Wanderer

,

I have Schwalbe Marathon Supremes and absolutely love them. They don't have much "tread", but are wonderful on everything except snow and ice. Traction is wonderful, ROLL IS AMAZING! Flat protection is something I only dreamed about before I started buying them. They are very stable going straight or cornering. I like 35 and 40 for my bike! I run mine between 80-90 PSI!

CliffordK

I rode a Marathon Plus (700x25) on the rear for about a year. Unfortunately in my case, I picked up a large piece of glass the first week the tire was on the bike which left a large hole in the tire which ultimately gave me enough problems that I eventually took the tire off.

My impression is that a thick tread is very good for protecting from some things like thorns and probably goatheads which may never quite poke through, but tends to be subject to larger cuts when they do pick up glass, or one runs over sharp objects. Perhaps also less compliance of the tread of the heavy tires pushes them down on sharp objects harder.

I've had bald tires that never picked up glass because there was nothing left for the glass to stick to.

The Marathon Plus tires have two things. They have a moderately deep tread (not like some thinner tires that the tread just wears off quickly, and is more for looks). I think they also use a very soft rubber. The rubber wears faster than other similar tires, but also has excellent grip.

My testing comprised mainly of climbing my own driveway. Relatively steep. Paved. But, since I've gone car-free, the needles tend to sit there for a while.

When wet, I have a lot of troubles standing and doing the climb without my wheels spinning. Standing puts the weight forward off the rear wheel. Sitting works better, putting more weight on the rear, but I can't pull as strongly. I was able to break the Marathon Plus (700x25) loose, but my impression was that it still maintained more traction while spinning than any other tire that I've used so far. Most other tires spin like on ice once they break free. The Marathon Plus seemed to give me about 50% traction when spinning.

Now, there are at least 3 competing tires:

• Marathon Plus
• Panaracer TourGuard
• Michelin Protek Max, and Protek Cross Max.

I haven't had enough experience with the three. I have a Panaracer Tourguard on the front of my cargo bike, and so far, so good. The Protek Cross Max tires look tough, but I haven't mounted one yet. In my case, the 700x25 Marathon Plus is a good size for my use, and the others may not support that size.

sweeks

I second this. I have these tires on my road bike and have been very happy with them. No flats, either, though they're not quite as puncture-proof as the Marathon Plus.
Steve

Flip Flop Rider

agree 100%. I also picked up a glass chunk that flatted me, and also a wire and a nail. I guess the shear size/width of the tire contributes to that. That and I've ridden lots of miles on them

superpletch

I have been using marathon supreme hs469 tubeless 700x35 and they are awesome. roll fast to keep up on tarmac, great on gravel, and have no traction issues. with tubeless you can run lower psi which offers more grip and comfort without forsaking speed. I used them on Pacific coast tour and still run them at home. I have only had one flat and that was a drywall screw in through tread and out other side of sidewall, if I had more than one co2 cartridge or a pump it would have sealed once i removed screw. thank goodness I always cary spare tube.

ricrunner

I have Marathon tour plus 700c x 35mm, slightly different tread pattern to the marathon plus, although have not used that tyre. The Marathon T Plus is only on the rear tyre as that is all I could afford at the time, I have a generic Kevlar tyre on the front but it doesn't carry as much weight. I have not had a puncture on either in 6000klm and the marathon feels reasonably grippy and operates it seems to me better on the gravel roads I use which is 70% of the time. The front tyre is terrible on lose pavement pebbles but alright on gravel. In the wet I don't notice the rear tyre slipping at all nut the front is not good, but have to stick to the fronts as have 2 to use up. Will than go for Marathon Tour Plus allround that is if I can still get them. I love their puncture protection. As a side: I also use puncture resistant tubes, they are much thicker, heavier and dearer, but I don't like fixing flats ever!

Doug5150

I have used Marathon Plus tires for a long time, mainly on a 26" bike.

They are very very very puncture-resistant, but they do that by using a lot of tread rubber. They are heavy and they feel sluggish. If I deflate them enough to be comfortable (IMO) the rolling resistance is rather high. I have them on my around-town/commuting bike because I don't want to worry about flat tires (and for that they work great) but I would not put them on my long-distance bike. They feel too sluggish to me.

The most-dependable way to make tires more puncture-resistant is to just make the tread rubber thicker, and the Marathon Plus tires have an extra layer of 1/4"-thick rubber. The risk of this is that if they are under-inflated then they may de-laminate. There has been a few instances of that happening but it's pretty rare.

If you are interested in the 26" x 1.75" size, then there is a China clone called the CST Salvo that is a much-less-expensive copy. I've not tried it but others say it is equivalent. It is only available in that one size however.

hillyman

Great tires and they get very good reviews. Plus gives your bike that new tire smell

Dark Arrow

I just googled CST Salvo and there were numerous 700c size tyres with that name. ???



Currently I have Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres 35mm rear and 32mm front 700c. My wife and I ride in all sorts of weather. We unfortunately ride in the heat more than anything but do get caught out in the rain at times. I've not felt any slipping in my tyres. We have not got any punctures either. All our riding has been on paved or gravel roads
(not outback gravel) I have close to 2000 km on my tyres and she has around 1000km. The Marathon Plus tyres are wearing well so far.

Bear

Paul Barnard

I am running Hardcase on several of my bikes right now. One set is especially slippery. My last crash resulted from spinning a tire accelerating out of a wet corner. I am not particularly strong and have spun the tires on wet pavement several times. It's very hard not to lock them up braking in sub-optimal conditions. I love Hardcase for their performance and puncture resistance though. I spent 30 minutes one afternoon pulling shards of glass, pieces of metal and sharp gravel out of the Hardcase tires on my city bike. The protective belt had stopped it cold. I can't really help you with your question, but I certainly can relate to your Hardcase concerns.

Doug5150

And so there are!
They have made some additions it seems.
After consulting the Google oracle I also see at least 700x32 and 700x38. Also now the model is called "CST Salvo RS", where there was no RS before.
Anyway.... I've seen the 26x1.75 tires a couple years back IRL. The 700c's are relatively new.

Dark Arrow

I wonder what the RS stands for lol ???? Reasonable copy of Schwalbe

Bear

BBassett

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ya kill me! LOL!