SchwalbeMarathon 700c Tire (HS 420)(Return to Product Page)

I am now riding 80 miles a week in SW Florida. Lots of construction trash everywhere. Some contractors in Florida try not to take any trash back to their shop. The trash just happens to fall off their vehicle in route. I was getting two flats a month, urban riding with a pair of Bontrager XR1, 29x2.00. Riding these Schwalbe Marathons with the green guard strip built in, I have zero flats in 6 years. (Knock on wood.) I was a pro at changing my inner tubes in a ditch.

Now, about Bike Tires Direct. In this new but less than ethical world of 2023, BTD is a breath of fresh air. So respectful, professional, and honest, it just feels good to support them. I am a picky customer. BTD never let me down, not once. Biking would not be the same without BTD in my world.

50 years of serious cycling miles. These are real life tires. I have been through the light weight racing tires. They are great too. I just prefer to spend more time riding and less time patching with the Marathon Green lined tires. 14,000 miles on my last pair of these in the 47mm size. I am giving these 32mm a try now with more pavement on my exercise loop.

Bike Tires Direct has been perfect to deal with. Being a critical customer, I can say Bike Tires Direct gets 5 stars also.

I have these mounted on a pretty nice older touring bicycle that I use as a commuter. The wheels have been replaced with modern mid-range wheelsets. I had been using a different model of Schwalbe tires until recently so I can't comment on long term reliability yet. Size is 700cx35

Tires seem well made with no obvious defects and were round. I had no problems mounting them without tools. I have read the reviews and I realise that tons of people have had problems getting these on. Maybe Schwalbe fixed the problem and over compensated? I was actually worried whether these were seating properly.

These are the Toyota Corolla of bicycle tires. Not especially nice. Definitely not sexy (see reflective strip sidewall). Cheapish, but not actually cheap.

Just completed cross country ride from Seattle, WA to Jacksonville FL. No flats and the tires don't look like they have even been ridden yet. A friend asked me if I had already replaced the tires when I got home, they still look new!

So far almost 500 miles on these tires and they've been great. Previous tires were getting flats on a regular basis due to shards of shale. These just keep rolling on. I did a tough ride on an old railroad road bed which had about ten miles of the old coarse rail ballast still exposed with some fines to fill it in. That was ten miles of possible pinch flats, punctures, and kicking my tires off track. I was worried about punctures but the Schwalbe's laughed it off. I'm sold.

I gave up motorized transportation 8 years ago for several reasons. BTD is the only company I purchase tires from because their prices are the best, their customer service is immediate on the phone and very fast via email even on a week-end, their products and Mechanics Reviews are honest and very helpful in decision making although Schwalbe Marathon's are the only tire I use! Taylor is particularly customer oriented, honest, and knowledgeable in matching a customers riding experience with particular tires that would assist the customer to enjoy their riding experience whether its regular city riding or around the world. I have ridden across the US a couple of time, east-west & north-south, ride 6 days a week when not on the open road, have ridden 1000's of miles on Schwalbe Marathon 700cx35 tires and never had a flat period. I'm 69 yrs old and a cancer survivor and can still ride 50-65 miles a day and ride unassisted for months at a time-) Check out the Schwalbe video on youtube straight from the factory and prepare to be impressed especially the last 3 mins!

Ride to your dreams ... keep your head on a swivel ... and may the wind be at your back always

I recommend these people over any other online entity because of their knowledge, experience, customer care, range of products, and their pricing. You'll enjoy the experience of purchasing quality products from this company. Look no further

The roads where I ride are rough, so I swapped the standard 700x32C tires on my hybrid for the max the bike could accommodate with these 700x38C Marathons. Great ride and great handling. I run them toward the low end of their pressure range for the rough roads and the higher end for the smooth trails. I did lose one to a metal spike after hitting post-hurricane debris, but I don't think any tire would have withstood that. Although some people claim they're hard to get on and off, I really didn't have any problem doing the roadside tube replacement after the puncture. Sadly, I still had to replace the tire because the metal went through the tread and out the sidewall, so I didn't trust that weak sidewall anymore. I had no questions about replacing with another Marathon. These are great tires.

I've been riding bicycles for over 60 years (and shocked to see that in writing.) I never paid attention to bicycling until I recently signed up for 400 mile charity bicycle trip. That's when I started to learn all about my bicycle, and OMG, what a world of information on YouTube. My 10 year old tyres were dry-rotted, the bike shop suggested I replace them. I decided to do it myself and began to research bicycle tires. I came across the Schwable gravel tires. 700 x 38. Never heard of this brand, they had 4 to 5 star ratings everywhere. I read tons of reviews on all sorts of sites, and in FB touring groups.. I bought them from this company because the price was similar to all others, and their descriptions were probably the most detailed. And they were IN STOCK. The tires are directional - that's new. They have a thorn resistant liner. Also new to me. I learned how to change them, and took 'em for many rides in prep for the 400 miler. Wow, what a nice, nice ride! And I don't have them pumped totally up. I like the tread, I like the control in turns (downhill and turns on rails-to-trails you can hit 30). The ride was and continues to be amazing. I have probably 700 miles on them in the past month up here in the Adirondack Mountains. I liked them so much I bought the same tires for my wife's bike. You know that that is one hell of an endorsement, folks. Shipping was fast, I had them in a few days. I like this tire brand, I like this company.

Great tires. I'm starting to really trust them. I can see no reason I'd need the Marathon+ version. 60 to 80 miles a week on Chicago's streets and not a single flat. Stock tires that came with bike got a flat at least once a month.

Love the reflective sidewall.

38s provide a good amount of cushion for those potholes and occasional curb hop.

On a forest bike path these are quiet tires. I can barely hear their interaction with the asphalt.

Rolling resistance feels low at 70 to 75 psi.

Already left a review. I would prefer to edit that one, but system won't let me. This is just an update and wanted to bump up from 4-stars to 5.

I wanted a more durable tire than what I had previously after getting about a half dozen flats on a few routes during the first few months of the year. Had a very big charity ride coming that would be on those sames routes. This tire fixed that problem! I lost count of how many riders I saw pulled over fixing flats on that ride - but not me this time! And the suprising thing about this tire is that it rolls so fast. Put some latex tubes inside this tire and you'll be doing great! I now have well over 1000 miles on these tires and they show hardly any wear. I will have to admit they are not flat proof (no tire is) as I did have one flat with them on a different route. Must have been something long, thin, and very sharp to be able to puncture this tire!

Overall a great all-around road touring, city, and occasional light off road tire. You'll be riding instead of fixing flats!

I bought a set of these for my commuter bike (~7mi round trip/day) after getting a ridiculous number of punctures on my stock tires. Really enjoyed having them on and felt really confident in all conditions. Rolling resistance felt lower than stock tires while also providing what felt like more grip and more shock absorption on Washington, DC's terribly paved bike lanes and roads.

The were great until one day while riding down a hill one of my tires hit something (still have no idea what it was) and that object cut clean through the tire, leaving that one destined for the trash heap. The other tire, which wasn't hit by that debris, is still going great and I love having it on. However, with how expensive these tires are at least for someone working retail the value proposition is tough knowing that the tire, despite its strengths, is still susceptible to damage. Such is life!

If you've got the funds and want a good tire, I, and so many others, think it's a good one to pick up.

Fun fact, they're also the tires that DC's Capital Bike-share program uses for their bikes!

I used to see kids to and from school by bike. With zoom-schooling, cycling became more for breaks in work from home days. Not much traffic in residential neighborhood. But I got flats now and then. Sometimes it's debris, or perhaps I did fail to fit tube properly. I went up to 25mm and then 28mm with by road bike but still.

Finally I ordered Marathon. Fitting it was a little odd. Tire seemed too big at first but fit fine once I adjust both sides and pumped the tube up.

Nearly 2 months and so far so good. Hope it last long and well.

My first set of Schwalbes. Have had these on bike for about 48 hours. No issues so far.

Install was easy. Was no more difficult than any other tire.

,The tires look nice, well built. I like the reflective ring on the sidewall. Think it could even be a little wider for even more visibility.

I can't comment on the long term yet. I will be riding on these tires in Chicago all year. Reviews have set my expectations high. Time will tell. Reserving that extra star until then.

Shipping was a little slower than Amazon, but I really don't care about that. Tires got to me. Tracking package was easy. I will be ordering from this company again without reservations.

I ordered the 28 but I received the 25 instead and wanted to return them but it took forever for them to come in already. I figured it would make my Specialized Source Expert Disc roll faster with the 25's so I just went with them. Well the bike seemed to roll faster then the 30's it came with and also made it more snappy and nimble, however, the ride was way more bumpy and seem to feel every little crack, pebble, seed, or whatever was on the road or bike path. Not a very comfortable ride to the point I stopped riding it and chose to ride other bikes from my stable. That being said I bought these tires last spring (2019) and probably have less than 125 miles on them. I pulled the bike out a month ago because I really missed the bike, but not the feel of the ride from the tires but after two 6 - 14 mile rides I noticed the a lump feeling from the rear wheel and saw that the tire looked to be about to pop off the rim. I rode to a bike shop to release some of the air and then reseat the tire bead and refill it with air and the tire still looked like it wanted to pop off the rim. I reduced the air pressure and limped on back home. I took the tire off the rim to find that the tire bead pulled/ripped off from the tire itself. To not have put that many miles on these tires I was very disappointed. I was told and read that Schwalbe tires are good but I am not impressed this first time out.

Got the 700c x 42 for the Raliegh 5.0 passage better than origonals smoother faster still goes off road like a champ. If your a serious bike rider youll want these or better and will never go back to what you had.

I have been using gator skins for probably a decade. It seems like the last couple years the quality of them were slipping a bit. I started getting a lot more flats during my 10-mile each way commute. I used to go entire years without flats and suddenly it was oncemonth. I decided to start looking around for a new commuter tire and gave these marathons a try. I've had them for a couple months now and no flats so far. I'm very happy with the handling and grip as well. The traction is definitely better than the contis and the rolling resistance doesn't seem much more than the 28mm gatorskins I was using. I also tried the marathon plus. Those are considerably heavier and have greater rolling resistance than the regular marathons. For the price, puncture resistance, and weight savings I have definitely found a new favorite commuter tire. Also, that super-bright reflective band on the sidewall gives motorists no excuse for not seeing you from the side at night, which is a huge bonus for people like me who ride to work before the sun comes up.

The only negative thing I have to say about these tires is that they are extremely difficult to mount especially the first time. It took several tries to get the bead to seat properly so I didn't have a thud-thud-thud due to the tire not being concentric with the wheel.

On my first trip across the country I had 20 flat tires, on the second trip I put Schwalbe marathon plus tires on. I ended up with 3800 miles without a single flat tire, and I still got some more miles on them after I got back. My touring bike weighs 30 pounds, I was carrying about 50 pounds of gear, and I weigh about 200 pounds so they were pretty well loaded down. That was about ten years ago and I have been using Schwalbe tires every since.

The tires were excellent. The ordering process was easy and hassle free. Shipping was right on time.

My only gripe was that the tires were very difficult to get on and off the rims even while using talc. I asked my LBS for some advice and they sold me a tire bead jack and it worked perfectly. The tires are great with much increased traction and responsiveness. They are a few grams heavier than my old racing tires, but the increase in performance far outweighs the difference.

The tire compound on this just feels tougher and better manufactured than any other tire. Frankly any other tire feels flimsy and cheap. They feel good on forest paths also but loose rocks have a hard time. Combined with great cust service from BT direct, these are an excellent buy. Don't forget tire levers to put them on.

This tire can handle any type of normal debris on the road. Have had two punctures in 4500 miles. One was near a construction site and hit a 4" screw other was nearly as bad. My point this tire handles 99%>