scattered73

Anyone have experience on these? I have been looking to change my tires on my cyclocross/commuter am currently running ritchey speedmax 35 while these are ok for getting around on pavement but they seem a little overkill for pavement purposes.

wanders

I'm sure the supremes would be great. I have been riding/commuting on the marathon plus for 2 years and couldn't be happier. They are a little heavier but look to be cheaper and offer more protection than the supreme. Either way schwalbes are the way to go.

Phil F

I use Marathon Plus; commuting for over a year with no punctures and very smooth and comfortable. They come in 1.5 and 1.75 inch.

duppie

Yes.
See my post here:
https://bikeforums.net/showthread.php...94#post5540994
Duppie

Bob T

I would like to get these to replace my armadillos as I still get more flats that I would like.

What are the marathon's like on snow and ice?

Cyclist0383

^^^

A studded tire is recommended for snow and ice.

Bolo Grubb

I just started riding Marathon Plus and really like them.

thdave

I've got Marathon Plus on the back and Marathon 2006 on the front tire. No flats in about 1400 miles. Last year, with the OEP tires on my Breezer, I had 12 flats. There is a lot of debris on my MUP I ride. I trust these tires.

I looked at the Supreme, but they didn't have the size I needed.

CliftonGK1

Think about walking up a 45 degree incline of solid stainless steel plate... in wool socks.
Wash your hands with Phil's Tenacious... and try to go rock climbing.
Bail a sinking ship... with a thimble.


I've got Marathon+ tires on my commuter, and the minute the snow coats the pavement it's dangerous.

wanders

Warm and cozy... in the garage. I'm too big of a wuss to commute in snow and ice. If I can get by with a "work from home" - telecommuting - I stay home. I don't even like to drive in it.

JeffS

I ran the supremes on my cross bike for a while. I removed them when I sold the bike and will remount them when my current tires need replacing.

They're definitely nice tires if the price tag doesn't bother you. Comfortable, tons of traction and should be pretty flat-resistant - though I didn't ride them long enough to say for sure.

They remind me of smaller Big Apples. I wish they made them a little narrower, but I wouldn't think twice about buying them for a cross/touring bike. They share few, if any traits with the regular Marathon, and especially the Plus. They're considerably lighter.

Bob T

That's what I was afraid of.....

Winters here are generally mild, and when it does go below freezing it is usually dry. There are only a handful of days when the roads are truly treacherous.

It would be nice if Schwalbe offered an "all-season" tire. Something combining the flat protection of a Marathon+ with a more aggressive tread for better traction during the winter.

greenstork

First, let me say that I'm partial commuting on tires with pretty high pressure, at least 85 psi usually but I prefer more like 100-110 psi. I was commuting on the Marathon Supremes for a while and loved them. They ride really smooth, noticeably smoother rolling than Armadillos and even many of the other marathons. They can be inflated to a pretty high pressure, plenty high enough for my commuting preferences. However, and this is ultimately why I have taken them off the bike, they lose pressure rather quickly and settle in to the 65-70 psi range after a few days to a week of not inflating the tires. This was my only beef, but for 37mm tires they are surprisingly versatile and smooth riding.

truman

It's called the "Marathon Cross"

duppie

A few notes
Most posters are actually talking about the Marathon Plus, which is an entirely different tire than the Marathon Supreme. Different Material, thread, weight, price, etc. Kind of like apples and oranges
I know because in my familiy we have both...

The comparison
-The Supreme is the high end tire in the Marathon line; the Plus is the de-facto standard tire touring bikes (some people might disagree)
-The Supreme is a lot lighter than the Plus: 430 g compared to 800g for 700x32C
-The Supreme is more expensive than the Plus: $46 vs. $30
-They get similar ratings (from the manufacturer) on flat resistance. Whereas the Plus creates it resistance by increasing the thickness of the tire tread, the Supreme achieves that by using some high tech fiber.
-The Supreme gets a better Winter rating than the Plus (again, from the manufacturer). Since this is a relative new tire, I doubt that anybody has any real experience with using the Supreme in the snow yet.
-The Supreme gets a better rating on wet pavement than the Plus
-Both the Supreme and the Plus roll smooth, although the comparison is subjective, since I haven't tried them on the same bike

Why don't you compare it for yourself:
https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires

Duppie

Jeffbeerman2

Another thread about the Marathon Supreme.

Another bunch of replies about Marathon Plus

And still no one with feedback who has ridden them for any number of miles with real feedback on flat resistance

I'm currently torn between getting these or Armadillo Elites to replace my too-fat big apples. I've actually ridden armadillos and know they work, and the elites aren't that heavy, so will probably go that way.

Schwalbe would do themselves a big favor if they gave a bunch of journalists these tires so someone besides Schwalbe had something good to say about them. (or they could mail them to me, I'd post about em here )

makeinu

Wouldn't this be a property of the tube rather than the tire?

greenstork

To clarify, I have working tubes, there's no puncture or anything. All tires gradually lose air and fall back to a comfortable range. For example, I inflate my Conti Grand Prix's to 100-110 psi, but they're back to 85-90 in no time but it takes them a good couple of weeks to go down from there.

greenstork

I never had a flat running the Marathon Supremes for about 1,000 miles. I've ridden on armadillos and regular old marathons and these supremes are in a class of their own in terms of smoothness of ride. They seemed very very solid in terms of puncture protection, like all marathons.

diesel_dad

I have ridden about 2000 km on Marathon Supremes on my Surly LHT. The tires are smooth, fairly light and very flat resistant. I have never lost traction on any surface. I'd have to rate them as one of the best, albeit expensive, tires I have ever ridden. Overall, they are definitely better than Marathon Plus.

If I had one beef -- why not make them in 28-622 instead of 38-622. Then you'd have a real winner!

The Smokester

Again, it's not the tire that looses pressure. It's the tube.

greenstork

I feel like I'm belaboring the point, but I understand that all tires, tubes, whatever -- gradually lose pressure over time and the Supremes became too soft for my liking. If they had started at a higher pressure, I probably wouldn't have had as much of an issue, but their max psi (on my particular tires) is 85 psi. Fine for me fully inflated but like all tires that gradually lose air over time, they simply got too soft, too fast for my liking.

My experience is that tires, tubes, whatever, lose that first 20% of pressure much faster than the next 20%. I do believe that the Maximum PSI of the tire is a factor in this. YMMV.

bwbass

I've got probably 750 miles on my supremes, 700 x 35. Like everyone else said, very light, very smooth rolling, nice ride. Not a flat yet, and wet traction is incredible - they just never slip (for me). Haven't gotten any snow or ice to try them on yet, though.

JeffS

I just noticed today that the Marathon Supreme is now listed in a 32c size. Previously, the 35c was the smallest.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/37

Rayxt

I've just retired a Marathon 700 x 35 (with the Kevlar belt) after 2 years and 5,000+ miles on London roads, which are a carpet of broken glass - no punctures. Ran it at 70-85 PSI on back then the front.

On the back I've had a Marathon Plus for 10 months, done 2,600 miles - 1 flat from a sharp piece of steel which would go through anything - and caused a micro slow leak. There are no significant cuts, nicks or groves in the rubber.

The Marathon Plus is NOT (in my experience) a tire to ride on snow or ice. Put any traction (or braking) force on it and it will slide out from under you in an instant.

Snow or ice for any great period is not a problem in London otherwise I would choose another Schwalbe tire with a different tread.

As I discovered from Schwalbe, once you start seeing nicks, cuts and bits of glass and rock embedded in the tire surface, you have worn through the outer hard wearing rubber compound and your tire is effectively at the end of its working life, ie, you can look forward to punctures every second day.

Once you see the 'blue' Smartguard on the Marathon Plus it's time to buy a new one.

Spa Cycles, Harrogate have them at the best price I ever found - GB£20 each