I was pleasantly shocked at how smooth and great handling these hard wearing tires felt on the road. It changed the whole feeling of my 1969 Raleigh Sprite from a 6 to 15 mile coffee bike to a daily choice bike for 20 to 40 mile rides. I am now in the process of changing all my work bikes tires (including the Ebikes) to Schwalbe Marathon and Marathon Plus.
I had read a lot of reviews before I purchased these tires. I needed something for Seattle. I have had these for a couple months now in the middle of Seattle winter weather. I give these 5 stars. I am impressed. Thank you.
Although I've just installed these, I already love them. They seem very high-quality in all regards. Very thick & durable-feeling under the tread, solid bead that seats nicely, and they look great on my bike. My only issue is with the way these tires were twisted up into a square box of a width roughly half the diameter of the tires. I wish I could attach images here so everyone could see how mangled up one of them was. I left the tires out for 14 hrs before installing, just to see how permanent the folds in the rubber would be. After that time, the structure of the tires looked almost entirely normal, so I went ahead with the install. After airing up, they look nearly perfect. I expect, due to the quality of the material, that I won't have any issues with these tires, but I'd much prefer to have had them shipped to me in better condition. Will consider paying more to another retailer for my next set for this reason alone.
This tire seems to do long term durability very well. Almost zero flats due to the flat protection built in. Tire roles easily. I'm quite heavy and the rear tire sidewalls give out before the tread does. Rear tires last about a year and a half in regular service. I ride 10 miles or more every day. My front tires go for years and usually the sun finally gets them. I use Pedro tire irons and can get them on the rims. They are a tight rim fit but doable. I split my riding between street (asphalt), and dirt/gravel roads. It was a happy surprise when I found out they were fine dirt/gravel road tires. Of course we are not talking about huge amounts of off road traction or flotation. Hard dirt and gravel roads are fine at a moderate pace.
Used this tire for long distance riding - 1,000 plus miles in 12 days over backroads and highways, including shoulders covered in nasty debris - no flats! They were mounted on a 1972 steel farme Nishiki Semi-Pro that was loaded with touring bags front and back. These tires are awesome!
We put these tires on my wife's Raleigh Olympian,they can handle anything,like sand patches,loose gravel or anything else that'll squirt your bike out from underneath you.
I plan to buy another set if they're back in stock.
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.
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.
I was pleasantly shocked at how smooth and great handling these hard wearing tires felt on the road. It changed the whole feeling of my 1969 Raleigh Sprite from a 6 to 15 mile coffee bike to a daily choice bike for 20 to 40 mile rides. I am now in the process of changing all my work bikes tires (including the Ebikes) to Schwalbe Marathon and Marathon Plus.
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.
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!!
Second set of Schwalbe Marathon road tires. They are among the best I have ever ridden. Well made and durable. I like the tread design and reflective sidewalls as well. I have been changing all my bikes over to Schwalbe Marathons.
I have owned a Motobecane grand Jubilee for 40 years and written it constantly. Needless to say, I have gone through many sets of tires. None are as smooth rolling and comfortable as this Scwalbe 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.
