Schwalbe Marathon 27" Tire

Riding around Detroit it's important to have a tough tire. I love the reflective strip-it makes me very visible to cars coming from the left or right.

I use this tire on an older 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe that I use for touring, since most of my touring weight is on the rear I only use this tire on the rear and use a lighter touring tire for the front. I've only put 250 miles on the tire since I got it this last month but I did learn that for a heavy tire it doesn't feel heavy on the road, it must have less rolling resistance than other tires of this weight class. I also didn't get to test the puncture resistance of the tire and hope I don't have to but I did put in a liner strip for extra precaution since I don't want to be fiddling with taking off the panniers if I were to get a flat. The tire has a built in reflective strip on the sidewall which actually works quite well when I aimed my car's headlights at it.

There is one downfall to this tire, but I didn't fault the tire for it since I was expecting the problem due to thick stiff sidewalls, and that is it's very tough to put on. I made the job a bit easier by placing the tire next to my wood stove for about two hours to get it quite warm but not hot, then with soapy water I tried to put the tire on but it was still quite tough to do the last 6 inches but I do have a couple of tools that made it a lot easier. The first tool is a set of Soma Steel Core Tire Levers, these won't snap in two when the going gets tough like all plastic ones can, the second tool is a VAR tire lever, this tool is what I used to get the last 6 inches on and it does it rather easy...but not really! but easier than using levers only.

I bought this tire based on over a hundred reviews that I read that were all positive, so I don't expect to have any issues with it either in flat protection or long tread life, or traction issues. I do touring on mostly pavement but sometimes I ride on gravel so I needed a tough rear tire. The tire I bought was NOT the Marathon Plus, it was the Original with GreenGuard, the Plus is even more puncture resistant than the one I got but quite frankly I'm not sure why someone would need that sort of the protection the Plus offers unless you were doing some sort of cross touring. My touring tires I had on the bike before the Marathon didn't flat and they were lighter, in fact I'm using the old rear tire as a spare.

Anyway choices for a touring tire for a 27 rim are very limited to just two, the one I had on before was considered a light load bearing touring tire, this Marathon is a heavier load bearing tire.

If by some chance I run into issues as the miles pile on I will report back but I seriously doubt that will happen based on all the positive reviews I've read.

Great for combination of speed and durability. I ride Rails to Trails that are often dirt and gravel. These tries offer stability in sand and still perform well on paved road.

I have not put these tires on yet. I have used two other schwalbe marathons for about 8 years and no flats at all during that time, riding about 8 miles a day.

8 years, 8 milesday no flats.

Handling good.

Shock absorbtion good.

weight heavier than other tires.

I've been using these for several years for daily commuting and the occasional long road trip. They last and last and flats are truly rare. Excellent traction, too. I wouldn't use anything else.

So, I searched for new tires to out on my Panasonic Sports Deluxe with Araya rims. 27 1 14 size. I primarily commute 2 miles RT per day, with some 5 to 10-mile trips each week. These Schwalbe Marathons have been fantastic. I've had them a month and a half. I've rode over broken glass, annoying pebbles, and sticksleaves with no trouble. No flats so far. I pump up to 80psi with the straight (no bead) Araya rims. Love the reflective strips - they look great on my bike and I feel safer. I highly recommend them.

this tire has a nice smooth, comfortable ride. it was easy to mount on the rim, and i like the reflective strip. i believe it is worth it. i highly recommend this tire & would buy it again.

Cross country touring with no flats and average road handling response.

In my area there is a problem with thorns causing flats. My rides are on paved roads. Over the years I averaged at least a flat per month usually during the fall season. Then over a three week period in September, I had three flats. Decided I needed to find a more thorn proof tire. I found these Schwalbe Marathon, Green, 27 tires that should meet my requirements for thorn proofing and ordered a set. After two days they arrived. They really look great. However, installed with problems. The rear tire would not turn. Had to remove the rear brake light bracket to obtain tire clearance. With the bracket removed there is plenty of clearance but will have to find another bracket that will fit above the brake. Front tire installed and seemed to be all right but while setting the brakes with the wheel spinning I could hear a clicking noise. Finally discovered noise was caused by the top of the tire making contact with the fork stem bottom. There is only about a 132 or less clearance at this point. The small (new rubber finstits) projections above the tread make the noise when hitting the bottom of stem. They should wear off after a few miles. The front brake actually has about 116 clearance. The overall diameter of the tires more than fills my bike frame. This is a 23 Frame, 1976 Schwinn Super LeTour 12.2 road bike with 27 wheels. Original wheels are 27x 14 Araya alloy rims and Schwinn Super Record 27x 1 18 tires and plenty of clearance. Be aware this could effect your bike the same.

Excellent all-around and ultra-long-life tire. Superior traction and cornering. Has done especially well over broken glass, potholes, and gnawed macadem of Baltimore City's streets and alleys. Fine for offroad (e.g., C&O canal towpath), too. Don't need to buy again because the tires don't seem to wear.

Retrofitted to a 70's Schwinn Varsity, so even more weight is not an issue.

In all fairness, I do not own this tire. But I had the same problem as a previous reviewer in that the tires kept pushing off the rim at higher pressure. It turned out that it was'nt the tire. It was the rim. The older rims you find on some vintage bikes are straight at the lip. I could only run my tires at about 70 pounds, which is fine, but I wanted more. I found a beater bike with some decent alloy rims at a yard sale. These rims have a hook or bead at the rim lip . After switching out the rims I can now run my tires at 90 pounds with no problem.

I like the construction of this tire yet it does take my inertia to get them moving as compared to standard weight tires. One thing all cyclists who choose to ride on these tires, DON'T over-inflate these to anywhere near 90 PSI, the tires will literally peel away from the rim and pop the inner tube in a heartbeat. I have to run these at between 75-85 PSI max. due to this problem. My tires are 27 x 1-1/4 so they take less air then a convention 1-1/8 tire.

BikeTiresDirect.com had the best selection of 27 tires I was able to find for a 30 year old bike rehab. The reflective strip on the tire is absolutely great and the semi-slick tread has been fantastic for the early winter commuting.

Bike wheel

PUT A PAIR ON MY BIKE IN AUGUST OF 2012. I RODE 28 MILES A DAY ROUND TRIP TO WORK FIVE DAYS A WEEK UNTIL MID-APRIL, THEN LEFT FOR MY ANNUAL TRIP AND HAD NO FLATS UNTIL ONE IN JUNE OF 2013 JUST AS I FINISHED THE 1700 MILE RIDE FROM CORPUS CHRISTI UP INTO OHIO. WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY I SPENT!!

I have been very happy with these tires, using them for daily city commuting all summer. I had multiple flats with my old wheels and havent had any problems since I put these on. My commute route includes a lot of broken glass as I pass a very busy waste transfer point with garbage trucks coming and going (and losing cargo in the process). Didnt have any problem seating them with tire levers.

I've been riding on these tires for 2 years and that is why I re-ordered them for my sister.

I ride 50% bike path and 50% road (20-50 miles a week) and I've never had a flat on these tires. I'll never buy any other bike tire, ever again, but these.

Thanks for a great product at a reasonable price.

Road the Texas hill country,across cattle guards,road construction.dead critters and horse hooie. Great tire! No problem with a comfortable ride.

These tires are a great value, especially at the price, and given the points you can earn towards other purchases via this site. I do a lot of city riding that involves riding through sandy driveways and over terribly uneven and rough pavement or tracks with loaded rear panniers and I have not had one flat in the last 6 or so weeks since purchase, even though I routinely ride through intersections littered with small glass shards (the hazards of living in a college town). The treads are awesome, I always feel secure riding through sand and going around turns quickly. The rotational pattern is easy to spot yourself even without the helpful arrow on the sidewalls, and speaking of sidewalls, the reflective band on each one is a great addition to these tires. I can see it working just sitting in my living room with a light on. I feel very comfortably riding over grass and dirt on these, and I don't notice much added resistance in comparison to smoother, thinner tires. Even better, my old tires were a huge pain to seat and unseat, but these tires were relatively easy for me to get on and off when I was demoing a flat fix to a friend. I only needed one tire lever to unseat and nothing but my two hands to reseat. I am sure these tires will be awesome on my next tour.

After reading other reviews, I thought that I would take a chance with the Schwalbe tires. I have had them for a couple of months now. NO FLATS! This is from someone who commutes EVERY day on his bicycle. Fourteen (14) miles each way, five days a week. So far they have been worth every penny I spent on them!