mothson

The other day I had a blowout while crossing a busy-ish roundabout. Luckily it was the rear wheel so I didn't lose too much control and all was well, but it did feel potentially dangerous and is a situation I'd like to avoid in the future. My tire (a Bontrager H2 comp) was ripped open so I need new ones, and I feel I will benefit from the advice of more experienced commuters.

I've narrowed my search down to the Schwalbe Marathon and the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Since I mostly just use my bike for commuting my main priority is maximising safety, and I'm kind of unsure which tire to go for. Price is irrelevant, and I'm not worried about the occasional puncture if it doesn't affect my safety.

The Marathon Plus obviously has the better puncture protection, I guess reducing the risk of a scenario like the above. On the other hand the standard Marathon tires should keep me more nimble, possible making them a bit safer on the busy/narrow/potholed roads that I'm stuck with. I also wonder if the reduced acceleration from the Plus's might make me more reluctant to slow down in situations where it would be safer to do so. Some people online have also reported that the standard Marathons are a bit grippier than the Plus's in the wet.

Anyway, I don't really feel experienced enough to judge such things - any recommendations on would suit me best, if it even matters?

sloppy12

if those two tires are the choice I would go with the marathon. both are gonna be as puncture resistant as you will find.

debade

Wife and I use the Plus for touring. I find no handling issues. Thousands of miles before the first flat if it happens at all.

stevel610 

You sort of answered your own question and I think the marathon plus would provide the greatest puncture protection. Regular Marathon a better ride.

if you were open to others the Gatorskin Hardshell or standard Gatorskin have been working well for commuters for a long time.

CliffordK

Blowouts are rare, and generally have a cause that you can point to.

For example, beware of brakes rubbing the side of the tire. Or, the tire wearing thin. Perhaps skid patches. Also, I've seen a tire that fit too loosely on the rim, or perhaps a pinched tube from install.

A little will depend on the tire size.

Michelin Protek Cross Max is one of the toughest tires I've used. And, my experience is that it had excellent traction on wet pavement, and even on light slushy snow. I put quite a few miles on them, and don't think I ever got a flat.

They were a little slower than some of my "road" tires, and not my favorite tire for "century" rides. Still, it would be worth considering for a city tire.

rivers

I use Pirelli Cinturato Velos for winter commuting (as well as general wet/grimy weather riding). They have an excellent combination of lower rolling resistance and puncture protection, plus can be run tubeless if that's your jam. They're hard wearing (currently on their third winter). Excellent grip in the wet as well and are available in sizes up to 35mm)

timdow

Either Marathon or Marathon Plus are very good choices. Both have the reflective strip around them, and both are sturdy tires that are not prone to blowout. The Plus has better puncture protection at the cost of some comfort. I personally run the Plus'es, and have only had one flat in 10's of thousands of miles. IDK about the standard Marathon's, but the Plus'es score very well in minimizing rolling resistance. You can see that here if it interests you: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ . Bonus: They also last a very long time!

pdlamb

I think it's important to emphasize finding out what caused the blowout. Short of manufacturing defects, tires don't normally blow out while Just Riding Along (JRA). If your brakes were rubbing your tires, or your tires rubbing a fender, any replacement tire will be damaged by the same thing and lead to a blowout unless you find and correct the underlying cause.

mothson

Thanks. All I know is that there was a large gash (2-3cm) in the side of the tire. I assumed this was just from a big bit of glass, which either cut straight through the inner tube, or lead to the inner tube bulging out and eventually popping.

Any tips on determining the root cause?

sloppy12

Well root cause is only important if you find something like a brake rubbing against the tire or other mechanical issue with the bike. If you slashed a tire while riding and there is no mechanical problems it doesn't really matter what caused that damage.

pdlamb

It's often tough, because you want to separate the effects of the blowout (long rip in the inner tube) from what caused it. As the tire demounts, you can get a long tear in the tube that is far away from the initial failure site, or a small hole may rip the sidewall as it explosively decompresses.

Is the outer case cut cleanly at the gash? That would support a bit of glass or metal cutting the tire. Not much you can do about that.

Is there scuffing either side of the gash? Is the wheel true, or does it wobble as it spins? If there's a wobble, you may have been rubbing against a brake (especially a brake shoe, if the brake pad is worn down), or a fork or stay, or whatever else you may have hanging on the bike.

Take a careful look at the bike; is one of the brake shoes shiny and all the others are dirty? That may indicate rubbing the brake shoe rubbed the sidewall down until it ruptured. Is the paint worn away on a fork, chainstay, or seatstay near where the tire spins? Maybe that's where the problem is.

Look carefully at the tread of the ruptured tire. Is there a slice in the tread? Or is there threads or rubber of a different color showing? Has part of the rubber peeled off? Also check the tire bead; is the bead solidly attached to the sidewall all the way around the tire? If not, it's possible the tire was damaged removing or installing it, for instance when you fixed a flat.

If you don't see any warning signs, you might refer the evidence (tire, tube, and bike) to someone experienced to help track things down. It's possible to have roadway debris slice a tire, but poor tire mounting and worn/damaged tires are more likely to cause a blowout IME.

CliffordK

A critical clue will also be the position and direction of the gash.

Were you previously aware of a problem?

Brake Rub would be just above the brake track, and generally following the track.

Rubbing on fender, or other part of the bike would also be obvious, with signs of rubbing following the direction of tire rotation.

Glass might be a very localized problem, at least partial clean cuts through rubber and threads. The direction probably won't follow tire rotation.

Blow-off may not have any tire damage.

I've also had rusted tire bead wires on old abused tires.

Overpressure? Generally there should be a fair amount of redundancy in tire design.

Tread wear through and skidding would be obvious.

Harhir

I have been using Marathon Plus for years. I commute daily with additional rides on weekends. About 3K miles in total per year. I don't recall the last time I had a flat. It has been a few years.
But I also mainly ride on trails or neighborhood roads. Meaning there is not much debris on the pavement where I am riding.

CFDJ

Both of those tires would be great choices. I've been using Panracer Gravelkings I made tubeless and they've been great over the past couple months since upgrading as well. I think if you're able to make either tire tubeless you'll be saving yourself some headache in the long run.

Korina

Anybody bring up Mr. Tuffy tire liners yet?

10 Wheels

They cause Flats when they become Old.

seibaatgung

studded tires for winter?

CliffordK

It would depend on the environment. Around here we don't get enough snow and ice to warrant studs. And the days where there is plenty of snow would be days when it would be better to park the bike due to shoulders and bike lanes being covered with snow, or perhaps having snow pushed into them.

rekmeyata

Marathons are extremely heavy; do you need something that radical in flat protection?

Geez, I can wear out a set of lightweight road tires a lot of the time without ever having a flat. But if you're paranoid about flats then I would consider looking at the Marathon Supremes or the Marathon Almotion tires, not as flat resistant as the ones you're looking at but you're saving roughly 400 grams per tire! 800 grams or so is a lot of rotational weight being taken off. I have the Almotions on a touring bike and haven't had a flat in over 2,000 miles, but that same thing happens to me with my regular 240 or so gram skinny road tires on my other bike.

If you want a tire like those Marathons, you mentioned because you don't know how to fix a flat on the side of the road, then I suggest you learn how! You can go to YouTube university and learn how by practicing. Once you figure it out you won't be so intimidated by the process. You can also figure out how I fix my flats most of the time...I rarely remove the wheel off the bike!! WHAT DID I SAY YOU SCREAM?? That's right, I rarely have to remove the wheel off the bike to fix a flat! I simply find where the leak is at, take off about a third of one side of the bead with the hole about in the center of what I've removed, pull about a quarter of the tube out, again with the hole in the center of that quarter, patch and go. I had some old guy who lived in my neighborhood teach me that when I was about 9 or 10 years old, and I've been doing it that way for 56 or so years.

anga

Marathon e-Plus seems to be better than Marathon plus.
Worth a look.

Classtime 

I'd like to see a picture of this gash and the bike brake and rim set up.

Frkl

I prefer Continental Ride Tours to the Marathons. I find the Marathons, at least the 42mm I have used, are super harsh because of the very stiff sidewalls. I am not a fan boy of His Suppleness over at RH, but I do appreciate the slightly more cushy construction of the Ride Tours, since my commute involves cobble stones.

Edit, also, I noticed the Marathons didn't have a round cross section. They were taller than wide, I think because of a generator track on the side wall. Neither here not there but it was a bit strange to me.

I have them in 47mm but they run a bit narrow. I have never had a flat in years of use.

They are also, at least in my local market, way cheaper than the Marathons, since they lack the recognition.

But, yeah, figure out what happen before you put on nice new tires only for it to happen again...

rekmeyata

Schwalbe makes a lot of different Marathon models; the Marathon Plus their most flat resistant touring tire are indeed a bit harsh riding, but it's the price you pay to have an almost flat proof tire that will last 8,000 miles. However, Schwalbes lighter touring tires, the Marathon Amotion and the Marathon Supreme, are very subtle tires...for touring tires. Both the Amotion and the Supreme have lower rolling resistance than the Conti has, which is something to consider when touring with a load.

Frkl

Yes, they do make a whole bunch of different ones. A quick search at my favorite store reveals 72 different Marathon products (not including different widths of the same model). I admit to only having ridden a few of them. And to each, his or her own, as far as I'm concerned.

I have noticed, however, that the Marathon, whatever sub-model, is often presented as the only viable commuting or touring tire, with superhuman-like qualities. They are certainly good tires, but there are other good, safe, long-lasting tires. And these other options often don't carry the price premium that one pays on the Marathon. In my market, you can get a pair of Ride Tours for the cost of 1 (of the cheapest versions of the) Marathon, and I am not convinced the Marathons last twice as long. But again, everyone has their favorite tire and their own budget.

I don't place a whole lot of faith in rolling resistance numbers, no matter who does the test. Everyone has a slightly different test that produces different results because the tests (purposefully or inadvertently) favor or disadvantage certain characteristics. Only some testers actually do a statistical analysis to show whether differences are significant at all. Move this over to the real world, and if you commute with slightly maladjusted hubs or a mucky chain, or if you tour with fresh instead of freeze-dried food, then you can throw the difference out the window.

But the OP didn't start a rolling resistance thread, so I don't think it's worth arguing about here. Or arguing about it at all. Everyone has their convictions and reasons behind them.

rekmeyata

If you google Marathon Plus about how many miles they last, you will find forum discussions where actual users are getting between 6,000 to 8,000 miles of loaded touring on them. HOWEVER, I'm not too concerned about those sort of miles, or flat resistance as I am with a greater degree of comfort.

I'm not so sure myself in regards to rolling resistance test, but there is only one place that does these tests, and I don't think they're malarky, but in the real world I don't ride with a problem bike, if I did, I wouldn't spend more money for better tires to put on a bike that is wreck...just sayin, so I don't think in the real world there would be a lot of difference, but even if there is say a 5 watt difference in the real world vs the testing machine, ok, so what? all that means if I got a different tire that used 5 more watts on the test than a different brand, I would still be off by 5 watts in the real world just higher than the different brand; in other words, it would all equal out.