Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

1.75 vs 2 Schwalbe Marathon tires

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

1.75 vs 2 Schwalbe Marathon tires

Old 12-17-17, 07:21 PM
  #1  
scale
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,532
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 9 Posts
1.75 vs 2 Schwalbe Marathon tires

I built out a nice touring rig out of an old mtb frameset. I am trying to decide on tires. I dont know how far i will tour yet but i want to take some small trips this next summer.

I am wondering what the actual width is of the 1.75 vs 2 schwable marathon actually is. I have 26x1.25 tires on it now and those will be too skinny for touring while loaded.

I know the Schwable Marathon 26x1.75 is about $30 per tire and the 2.0 is about $40 per tire for the hs420 GreenGuard model.

Without seeing them mounted, it is hard to visualize how wide they are. I know tire sizes by manufacture can vary wildy. I picked up some 700x25 gatorskins recently nad they were narrower than the 23c ones i was replacing.
scale is offline  
Old 12-17-17, 11:07 PM
  #2  
MarcusT
Senior Member
 
MarcusT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: NE Italy
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 755 Post(s)
Liked 590 Times in 334 Posts
For what it's worth, my Schwalbe 26 X 1.5" are 42 mm wide. My bike was designed for 1.95", so it leaves room for the fenders. I find them wide enough for my touring needs.
MarcusT is offline  
Old 12-18-17, 08:44 AM
  #3  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,094

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3417 Post(s)
Liked 1,434 Times in 1,119 Posts
I did not caliper my Marathon (with Greenguard) 26 X 1.5 tires, but they are also labled 559 X 40mm, thus I consider them to be 40mm wide. (I am not disagreeing with MarcusT who did measure his at 42mm, I am only going by the tire rating.) I use these tires on my 26 inch wheel touring bike for trips that are mostly on pavement. I do not have a good close up photo of my 1.5 width tires, but the photos attached are with those tires.

On trips that were mostly on good quality gravel like rail to trails routes, I use (now discontinued) Marathon Duremes on front and Marathon Extremes on rear, both rated at 2.0 or 50mm wide. (The Duremes I use are the non-tandem versions, the tandem ones have a stiffer casing.)

And where I want to be prepared for bad road conditions or single track, I run 57mm wide Marathon Extremes.

I do not own any 1.75 width tires to compare with.

Regarding the question do you need 1.75 or do you need the 2.0? My 1.5 width Marathon (with Greenguard) is wide enough for most types of touring, I have loaded my bike down with a lot of food and camping gear (as shown in photos) and find them to work just great on pavement. Although I have used 2.0 for gravel trails I am sure that the 1.5 width would have worked almost as well on such gravel trails. But, I do not see any downside with the wider 1.75 or 2.0 width either, both 1.75 and 2.0 would work fine on pavement too.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
20IMGP3535.JPG (128.7 KB, 278 views)
File Type: jpg
20IMGP0078.JPG (113.8 KB, 271 views)
Tourist in MSN is offline  
Old 12-18-17, 11:33 AM
  #4  
scale
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,532
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 9 Posts
Interesting. Thank you. I show my paselas are 28.8mm at 26x1.25.

It seems the 1.5s would give me another 12mm+ and that should be plenty i would think. 90% paved roads and trails and the occasional dirt road / fire road is my plan. Id rather not have to deal with flats.

Thanks for the feedback.
scale is offline  
Old 12-18-17, 05:44 PM
  #5  
bwgride
Slow Rider
 
bwgride's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 1,043
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 38 Post(s)
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I have Schwalbe Big Bens (26x2.15) are 55mm wide on my 21mm rims. I estimate marathons would be of similar width.

My Marathong Green Guards are 26x1.75 and are 40mm wide on 19mm rims.

P.S. In tests, they both show similar speed, so I tend to use the wider tires.
bwgride is offline  
Old 12-18-17, 06:47 PM
  #6  
fietsbob
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NW,Oregon Coast
Posts: 43,598

Bikes: 8

Mentioned: 197 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7607 Post(s)
Liked 1,354 Times in 861 Posts
I have marathon in 1.75 width in 26" & 20 " (559-47 & 406-47..
good durable tires

marathon Plus blue band in 349-37 seems to lose tread to the flat protection band , as it showed blue patches under

a thin layer of black tread rubber, just off tread center...





...
fietsbob is offline  
Old 12-18-17, 08:22 PM
  #7  
Happy Feet
Senior Member
 
Happy Feet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Left Coast, Canada
Posts: 5,126
Mentioned: 24 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2236 Post(s)
Liked 1,313 Times in 706 Posts
I also have 26x1.75 marathons and like them a lot for rugged touring. They don't roll as well as Pasela's IMO but my Pasela's also pick up the occasional flat. The marathons seem bombproof.

Here's both plus some 26x2.15 mtb tires for comparison sake.
marathon

pasela

kenda mtb
Happy Feet is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 06:44 PM
  #8  
djb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Montreal Canada
Posts: 13,175
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2725 Post(s)
Liked 948 Times in 781 Posts
my 1.5s on a few bikes measure out to 38 or 40, pretty much as stated, these are regular marathons

but dont forget that the rim width can be a factor with how wide a tire actually is.

I have a set of 2in Supremes that officially are 50mm, but on my rims they measure out to a bit over 45mm

Ive ridden a lot on the 1.5s and at 38mm they are a lot wider than a tires I have toured on, 28mm, 32mm , but they really do have more comfort , but not as much as wider tires.

in the end, if only on pavement, and reasonable pavement, 1.5s work great, if on a lot of rougher stuff and unsure surfaces, the 2in ones give more cushion, but in the end, it really depends on lots of factors.

for years I toured on 28 slicks, so 38s work pretty good compared to 28s comfort wise and dealing with looser surfaces.
djb is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 07:41 PM
  #9  
robow
Senior Member
 
robow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,857
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 595 Post(s)
Liked 277 Times in 188 Posts
For what little it's worth, when I was running those same tires on my mtb converted tourer, I never felt that I needed more than the 1.5"ers and I spent plenty of time on crummy roads and gravel. Now if I were going strictly off road, different story.
robow is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 08:42 PM
  #10  
djb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Montreal Canada
Posts: 13,175
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2725 Post(s)
Liked 948 Times in 781 Posts
Originally Posted by robow
For what little it's worth, when I was running those same tires on my mtb converted tourer, I never felt that I needed more than the 1.5"ers and I spent plenty of time on crummy roads and gravel. Now if I were going strictly off road, different story.
Overall, I tend to agree. Ive ridden 1.5s on all kinds of stuff and they work fine. I had those 2in Supremes and was concerned about really bad roads, so went with them, and they are great tires, but 1.5-1.75 regular marathons are great all around tires that as you say, work fine on all kinds of stuff.
I may be off again this winter, and will just use the 2 in supremes again, just because I have them, and I do feel they helped the wheelset a certain amount on rough stuff.
djb is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 09:13 PM
  #11  
gauvins
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: QC Canada
Posts: 1,942

Bikes: Custom built LHT & Troll

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 824 Post(s)
Liked 134 Times in 99 Posts
FWIW, a 2" tire has twice the volume of a 1.5" tire. Roughly 2200 vs 1150 cubic inches. There are pros (easier to ride at lower pressure, which gives more grip; smoother ride) and cons (heavier, takes more time to pump to the desired pressure). Rolling resistance differences are apparently negligible.

I ride on Schwalbe Almotion 2.1".
gauvins is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 10:16 PM
  #12  
DropBarFan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,150

Bikes: 2013 Surly Disc Trucker, 2004 Novara Randonee , old fixie , etc

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 671 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 49 Times in 43 Posts
Originally Posted by djb
my 1.5s on a few bikes measure out to 38 or 40, pretty much as stated, these are regular marathons

but dont forget that the rim width can be a factor with how wide a tire actually is.

I have a set of 2in Supremes that officially are 50mm, but on my rims they measure out to a bit over 45mm

Ive ridden a lot on the 1.5s and at 38mm they are a lot wider than a tires I have toured on, 28mm, 32mm , but they really do have more comfort , but not as much as wider tires.

in the end, if only on pavement, and reasonable pavement, 1.5s work great, if on a lot of rougher stuff and unsure surfaces, the 2in ones give more cushion, but in the end, it really depends on lots of factors.

for years I toured on 28 slicks, so 38s work pretty good compared to 28s comfort wise and dealing with looser surfaces.
I switched from 37-622mm/700C-1.5" tires to 50-559mm/26"x2.0" Marathon Supremes:

cons: slight but minimal extra rolling resistance, flat-protection is not the best.

pros: roll fast for the width, actually lighter than heavy-duty 1.5"s, I've had no flats in over 2 years. Ride comfort is great & handling is safer.
DropBarFan is offline  
Old 12-20-17, 10:43 PM
  #13  
djb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Montreal Canada
Posts: 13,175
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2725 Post(s)
Liked 948 Times in 781 Posts
Originally Posted by DropBarFan
I switched from 37-622mm/700C-1.5" tires to 50-559mm/26"x2.0" Marathon Supremes:

cons: slight but minimal extra rolling resistance, flat-protection is not the best.

pros: roll fast for the width, actually lighter than heavy-duty 1.5"s, I've had no flats in over 2 years. Ride comfort is great & handling is safer.
my feelings exactly on all points. Expensive buggers though, but I bought the three I own on sale on diff occasions.
djb is offline  
Old 12-21-17, 04:28 AM
  #14  
Philly Tandem
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: SE Penna., USA
Posts: 1,167

Bikes: Too many! Santana tandems and triplet; MTBs; touring bikes

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 84 Post(s)
Liked 15 Times in 11 Posts
I use the 26x1.25 Marathon Greenguards on my single touring bikes, and have never had an issue with them, even on highly mixed surfaces (GAP, C&O, etc.). On our touring tandem we run the 26x1.5 Marathon Greenguard. Again, plenty of tire width for loaded touring IMO, at least on varied surfaces. If you are doing a tour totally on dirt, gravel, or whatever, then maybe the larger tire would be beneficial.
Philly Tandem is offline  
Old 12-21-17, 05:31 AM
  #15  
wahoonc
Membership Not Required
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: On the road-USA
Posts: 16,855

Bikes: Giant Excursion, Raleigh Sports, Raleigh R.S.W. Compact, Motobecane? and about 20 more! OMG

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 15 Times in 14 Posts
1.75's use the left over money for beer!

FWIW my "road" tour bike uses 32mm my converted MTB 1.5 or 1.75 depending on what was on sale when I needed tires. Currently running the Performance Bike Shop Forte Gotham 1.75.

Aaron
__________________
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(

ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.

"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"
_Nicodemus

"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"
_krazygluon
wahoonc is offline  
Old 12-22-17, 07:53 AM
  #16  
scale
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,532
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 9 Posts
i will probably go after the 26x1.5 at this point. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
scale is offline  
Old 12-22-17, 08:58 AM
  #17  
djb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Montreal Canada
Posts: 13,175
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2725 Post(s)
Liked 948 Times in 781 Posts
Originally Posted by scale
i will probably go after the 26x1.5 at this point. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
Don't think I mentioned here, but I have a pair of regular marathons 1.5 that have roughly 10,000kms on them and still have reasonable life left. I find them to be a very good value for money tire.
djb is offline  
Old 01-03-18, 09:23 PM
  #18  
scale
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,532
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times in 9 Posts
Just for reference, i ended up with the 26x1.50 HS420 Marathon tires and they measure 36mm inflated to 60psi (100psi max). I have pretty narrow rims from VELOMINE which likely accounts for not getting the full 40mm out of them. They appear much wider than the 1.25 paselas i removed. Those were about 28mm.
scale is offline  
Old 01-03-18, 11:37 PM
  #19  
djb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Montreal Canada
Posts: 13,175
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2725 Post(s)
Liked 948 Times in 781 Posts
Re 60psi, depending on your weight, try lower pressures because the ride quality really improves. I have a commuter bike that I ride a lot, it has the same tires but 700x35 that measure pretty much 35mm, and I usually have about 40psi front, 45 rear, and at these pressures they roll along nicely but have nice give over the rough pavement on my commute.
I weigh 140 lbs max but always have at least one pannier on with locks, lunch etc etc.

Just experiment and see, but often trying 5psi less here and there can make a real comfort difference.
djb is offline  
Old 01-04-18, 12:57 AM
  #20  
geoffs
Full Member
 
geoffs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Sydney
Posts: 322

Bikes: Co-Motion Mocha Co-pilot, Habanero custom commuter, Seven Axiom SL, Seven Axiom SLX, Blom Track

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 79 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
Unless you're going to be riding on a considerable amount of gravel I would be suggesting you have a look at the Schwalbe Supremes instead. The reduction in rolling resistance is huge. We go from averaging 27-28kmh on the flat with Marathons to 31-32 kmh with the Supremes. Makes a big difference if it's a long day
geoffs is offline  
Old 01-04-18, 04:43 PM
  #21  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,094

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3417 Post(s)
Liked 1,434 Times in 1,119 Posts
Originally Posted by scale
Just for reference, i ended up with the 26x1.50 HS420 Marathon tires and they measure 36mm inflated to 60psi (100psi max). I have pretty narrow rims from VELOMINE which likely accounts for not getting the full 40mm out of them. They appear much wider than the 1.25 paselas i removed. Those were about 28mm.
I commented above that I did not caliper mine, just assumed the rated 40mm was about right. After seeing your post, I just calipered it at 38mm wide. Pressure was low when I measured it, the bike is in storage so I did not pump them up. That was measured on a Salsa Gordo rim (no longer in production), inner rim width is 21mm.

Loaded touring I usually run about 80 psi in rear, around 65 psi front. But I usually go for a week or two before I add pressure, so I suspect at times I am 15 to 20 psi below those values before I get around to topping them up again.
Tourist in MSN is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jessbikescanada
Touring
43
11-21-15 12:29 AM
sprocketss
Touring
53
10-28-15 03:59 PM
Louis Le Tour
Touring
30
05-29-14 07:43 PM
combatdecoy
Touring
5
07-23-13 02:02 PM
john426
Touring
7
05-23-12 03:05 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.