Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus 700c Tire (HS 396)

I've ridden a lot of winter tires in the past 20 years. These are my daily commuters and have been for years.

What I love is

1) flat protection ( have you ever replaced a tube at 10 degrees Fahrenheit? The weight of SmartGuard is well worth avoiding that scenario )

2) Decent rolling resistance ( for a studded winter tire )

3) Good handling on most of the ice I encounter

4) Good on snow up to 2 or 3 inches, depending on the type of snow ( I ride the 40c )

4) They hold their spikes much better than most tires I've used

5) More quiet than other snow tires I've used

6) Decent handling on pavement for snow tires ( you won't be leaning hard through corners no matter what snow tire you use... but these are OK, and the benefits are well worth that sacrifice )

7) It's really awesome to be able to ride in conditions where it would be impossible or suicide with non-studded tires, and these are good at that.

Where it's limited is

1) Rutted glare ice ( stuff that's frozen smooth & solid after people have ridden walked on it ).

The Marathons are great for most of what I do, but on rutted glare ice you need something wider ( I loved my Ice Spiker pros, and am now using Dillingers on a fat bike )

2) You'll need to take a little care on lakes and ponds. You can turn, but these aren't going to do as well as Schwalbe's Ice Spiker Pros

3) Climbing is a lot more work. That's unavoidable with snow tires, and not a fault of the Schwalbes. For me the security on snow and ice, the flat protection, and the fact that the only other option is not riding at all, make the tradeoff a no brainer. And let's not forget the conditions in which turning at all is impossible without snow tires!

3) The siping on the rear wheel wears down after about a thousand miles or so, but I can't really tell if it matters.

4) When the snow gets deeper than two or three inches ( depending on the type of snow ) you'll need mountain or fat bike tires. It's not Schwalbe's fault, and its a tradeoff I'm totally OK with since these are perfect for my commuting needs. Schwalbe does make studded mountain bike and fat bike tires!

5) I don't like cornering on snow tires ( Not Schwalbe's fault ) but it's a trade-off I'm more than willing to make for the benefits & safety these tires offer.

I usually run these from December to mid-March ( Boston area ) and commute 12 miles each way. I also do mixed-surface riding ( trails in the woods and fields ) and ride an unsalted unsanded bike path as well.

When it comes time to replace these I'll be buying the same thing again, as I have for the past several ( 8 or 10 ) years.

Second review. Quality tire. Worked great on icysnow covered roadsbike pathstrails. After 500 miles of some of the worst winter riding conditions the Minneapolis and St. Paul area has seen in quite some time these worked fantastic!

Only missed 3 rides those were roads that had glare ice. On glare ice I would prefer the Ice Spiker Pro but those conditions only happened a few times this winter.

Used the 700x35's on 18mm rims with slime tubes. Ran them around 45psi until the refreeze season started then 65 psi.

No flats, no studs lost. No visible signs of wear other then the studs are shiny. Not too noisy for the most part.

Sure made this winter riding season a lot more enjoyable. Now bring on summer! getsome!

Worth the money if you are planning on winter riding on roads, bike paths, etc. Plenty of icesnow packed conditions here this season and these grip pretty good so far. Great for getting out of the fat tire ruts on the bike paths. Seem to roll well even at lower pressures range. Used Nokian A10 & W106's for many years plus the 45Nrth Xerxes recently and these are far superior ( Using the 35c model ). Have not had a chance to ride them on straight up glare ice yet but the way this winter is going I'm sure the opportunity is coming.

No negatives that I can see. Happy I've switched to these.

Excellent traction on ice and packed snow.

This was my second pair, the first went on my bike two years ago and these went on my wife's bike. I use them daily commuting and recreational riding during the winter months. I was worried that that the studs wouldn't hold up on dry pavement but they are very hard and durable, and I no longer worry about that. They do add a lot of rolling resistance, but going fast isn't the point of putting these on your bike.

I replaced some 700c x 36mm studded tires with these 700c x 50mm and am very pleased at the traction and stability improvement. On plowed gravel roads, but still with 1 - 3 of packed snow they are the perfect tire. I imagine on plowed asphalt roads, with the occasional small drift to plow through they would work equally well.

I bought size 35mm and mounted them on 19mm internal width disc rims (cross bike). The mounted width was 35mm 50psi. Got them from BTD during Black Friday sale.

I only have a few hundred miles on these guys, but so far so good. Are they a tad heavy? Yes. But you dont buy these tires thinking youre going to race a crit (unless its on a frozen lake). They roll better and are quieter than expected and on ice they are like Velcro. Roll resistance-wise I would put them on par with the previous Continental non-studded winter tires I had mounted (37mm). Although we havent had a ton of snow so far this winter so far, but they do clear out nicely in the .5 icy snows Ive had a chance to give them a go in. I will say they arent the smoothest of rides they feel exactly as look. A small price to pay IMHO for state of mind winter riding.

I ride a single speed mountain bike 4.5 miles to a high school in Bend OR where I work and these tires are excellent, they provide traction on snow and ice, and the studs on the road do not make a lot of noise.