Taylors7558

I'm curious what the max size is. The 2020+ Roubaix officially supports 33c but I've read that some tires offered in 35c can fit. I'm looking to get as wide as possible, and the Marathon Plus is offered in either 32c or 35c (as well as others not relevant to this discussion).

Any insight is much appreciated! I don't have the bike in hand yet so trying to prep for getting it, and I've been very happy with Marathon Plus tires in the past.

Iride01 

Do you have those tires on other bikes? Measure them and see how true to stated width they are. Even if they are a different size it'll give you a relative number to go by. At least a little better than a guess. Note the rims size you have them mounted on. Sometimes that makes an ever so slight difference for those wanting to be accurate to fractions of a millimeter.

If you have acess to a Roubaix then you can look at it and see where the closest point on it is that the tires might rub. Many times the seat post is the rub for the rear wheel. Tires grow in diameter by about the same as the width is increased.

Taylors7558

None currently, no. Sold all my bikes and trikes and waiting for this bike to come in. My riding buddy has the same tires on his, but he has the 38c version and his rims are completely different.

I may just have to wait I was just hoping to get them ahead of time. The bike comes with 30/32s on it, which is another source of confusion for me.

veganbikes

I would be curious why Marathons? They are more of a heavy duty touring tire not a nice road tire. I appreciate the want to go wider but Marathons aren't really top of the list for a road bike unless I was getting tons of flats. If you want the better ride you want a nice soft supple tire the width is good but a stiffer tire will not be as comfortable.

Taylors7558

I'm open to suggestions. I've never had a flat with them, and before them I used mostly Michelins (Pro4 Endurance, etc) and would get flats monthly at least. Riding is primarly on fairly rough bike paths that are not kept up at all, or public roads, which also are not well kept.

First I want something that is fairly puncture resistant. It needs to be better than the Pro4s at least. Secondly I want it to be comfortable. Hence trying to go a bit wider. Obviously the bike is already geared that way so just trying to supplement further. Certainly open to suggestions on which tires would better fit these two priorities.

badger1

If the tires on the new bike are 30/32s, they are likely Specialized Roubaix Pro tires. I've been using these for years now, in that size; they are an excellent compromise between (low) rolling resistance, smoothness, and puncture resistance. They also last pretty well. The 30/32 refers to how they are constructed: they use a nominal 32mm casing, on which the tread portion measures a nominal 30mm. You might want to give them a try.

Just a thought.

Taylors7558

Thanks! That's exactly what they are from my understanding.

Maybe I'll just ride them first and see how they do.

I'm going to be doing RAGBRAI in July so hoping to spend more time riding and less time fixing flats.

badger1

Cheers! Yes, I would give them a try if I were you, for a while at least. In my experience they do seem to approach the set of compromises you are looking for.

staehpj1

Riding a nice supple tire is a joy. The Marathon Plus is the opposite of a supple tire. Additionally it is crazy heavy.

Fixing a flat now and then isn't the end of the world, but if you want a flat resistant tire you can get something like the Continental Gatorskin that is kind of mid way between a high performance racing tire and a dead feeling flat proof tire. I have run them on a number of long tours and found them acceptable.

Really, choose a tire that offers decent weight and not too many flats. FWIW, your one flat a months doesn't sound that bad if you ride much.

Your wheels are tubeless ready right? If so, I'd go tubeless and carry some plugs and maybe a tube for RAGBRAI. On my MTB for daily trail riding I had weekly thorn flats until I went tubeless and then went without any flats for the life of the tires other than one flat when I as low on sealant. I was still able to ride home on it without plugging it. The next set of tires are doing great as well. Sometimes I lose some air before they seal, but they never go flat on a ride. They have been trouble free as long as I keep sealant in them.

t2p

have you considered the Marathon Supreme ?

or maybe another Marathon model ?

( wow there are a number of Marathon models )

( do they still make a Marathon Supreme ? )

Supreme weighs significantly less than the Plus (and other Marathon models) - rolls relatively well - and still has great puncture resistance

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance...n-supreme-2016

.

surak

It was easy to set up my 2019 Roubaix's wheels tubeless, just had to buy the right DT Swiss tubeless valves. I put Schwalbe Pro Ones on 3 years ago and only ever got one flat, which sealed on its own. Bought a nicer wheelset last year, set them up tubeless with Continental GP5K S TRs, and haven't had a flat yet.

Before, same bike on same routes got multiple flats on the tubed Specialized tires that came with the bike, as well as tubed GP4K ii and Michelin Pro 4 Endurance. I don't see the point of running slow and heavy puncture-resistant tubed tires anymore. Only reason I'd ever go back would be to use up the inner tube supply that accumulated back when I was regularly buying more to keep 'em stocked.

The Chemist

Even a standard Marathon isn't bad. Considerably less heavy than the Plus, still with excellent puncture resistance, and reasonably fast (I can average 29km/h over 100+km on my 35C Marathons, which is about 1.5km/h slower than I do on 28C GP5000s).