Schwalbe Marathon Plus Review - BikeRadar

Just put these tyres on my all purpose MTB with child seat fitted and kids buggy. Mostly for road and cycle route/fire road riding. Quite heavy but great traction and a really nice fixed feel on the road. Does pull up quite a lot of muck when going through puddles so mud guards recommended. Feels indestructable. Very well made, very comfy ride. Should last forever.

I have had the Marathon Plus 700x25s for 3 months. Not a single puncture after 2200km. There is a hole on the rear where something took a bite out of it that would have caused a flat on any other tyre. I cannot remember going 3 months commuting in London without a puncture. The weight increase is not as great as I imagined. The ride was a little weird at first but now I'm very happy with it. No problem getting them on (didn't even need levers!). Great grip in the wet. These are really great commuting tyres particularly if you live in an area with poor road conditions and a lot of debris (ie London). I was going to use them just in the Autumn / Winter but I think I'll stick with them year round now. Highly recommended.

Fitted these tyres 18 months ago (ish). Never had to change take the wheels off since, and I've hit some pretty nasty shards of broken bottles on my travels. Always maintained a high pressure 60psi to reduce rolling resistance and can't complain

i have some a pair of 37 mm on my commuting bike, they are heavy but they sturdy i carry some heavy loads, and i haven't had a problem since fitting the tires. i kept pinch flattening the tires, even at 100 PSI before.

the tires grip well, even make a good effort on wet grass/mud. they define bombproof.

Not able to find quickly a standard Marathon to replace rear tire (26x1.75) of my moutain bike used as commuter, I switch to a Marathon Plus (keeping a standard Marathon at the front).

Because of the thick anti-puncture belt, Marathon Plus is more rigid than standard one and provides harsher rides; traction on wet road is slightly inferior.

Swapped these tyres to different rims at the weekend...In the process I was shocked at the amount of glass shards buried in the rubber and I've not pciked up a puncture. Truly amazing tyres...I've also got Marathon Supreme on my commuter bike which I use to commute 24miles a day, again, I've had no punctures in the 6 months they've been fitted. I would recommend Schwalbe everyday

Never had a puncture in thousands of miles of commuting.

Superb tyres.

These can often be purchased with a good discount on the web (I think I got a pair for around £42 700x35).

Good for commuting

I've used them for about a year (8000km) with no punctures

Very very heavy and difficult to get on and off the rims

I have them in the 28mm flavour

I have these tyres on my bikes for a good while now. They are still prone to puntures as I had two, one was a piece of glass that went through the blue band and recently I had a one inch nail through the back tyre. So nothing is indestructable.

Now onto my second set, and I can not remember ever getting a puncture, 700x 25mm bought off a well known auction site, for around £20 per tyre.

Recently purchased a Specialized Rockhopper fitted with Specialized Fast Trak control tyres 26 x 2.0 (supplied with the bike) tried to use the new bike for my daily commute 11 miles each way, mostly tarmac cycle track, two punctures, one morning, one evening.

I can not recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres highly enough, well worth the money..

Fantastic tire. Great for commuting. Given the UK weather in Feb - snow and ice, even performed well there too. Also seem impervious to punctures - and I've ridden over a few chunks of broken bottle without any problems.

Great tyres. After getting on average one puncture a week with my Pro race 3s I changed for these in the thinnest 700x25c size for my singlespeed. Not a single puncture in 6 months during my commute of 10 miles a day 5 days a week across SW London in all conditions. I now revel in gliding across rubble and shards of glass where other commuters dare to lay their tread. They take getting used to as give strarnge feedback when going along painted lines on the road and were a pain to get on the rim at first. Don't get me wrong, these weigh twice (approx 500g) that of a normal race tyre and take a bit of effort to get up to speed but when you never puncture, that's a good price to pay. Who cares about the extra half kilo when we commute with all that work gear in our rucksacks? Thoroughly recommended as a fast, grippy, hassle free commuter tyre.

Punctured on ride home from the bike shop! Not a good start considering that I had wanted Specialized Borough CX Armadillo Elitres but the bike shop couldn't get them.

I bought a pair of these tyres last Friday from a local bike shop. The next day I rode my bike for 15 minutes (on a fairly clean road) and I then discovered a puncture in the front tyre. Just bad luck?????

I went from an average of 1 puncture per ride with my old Specialized tyres to 0 punctures ever with these Schwalbe bad boys. They are as tough as old boots but by jaysus if they don't half slow down rolling performance. They can be pretty tricky to fit but there's a nack to it and it becomes easier after the first time.

I've had the 28mm Marathon Plus tires on my cyclocross bike for over 3 months, riding mostly on the road. So far I've logged nearly 1600 miles without a flat -- previously I averaged one every 2 or 3 weeks. While this tire will certainly not appeal to weight weenies, there are those of us who are willing to trade that for the satisfaction of being able to roll through broken glass, piles of leaves and any other debris without worry of a puncture -- fun! Also I no longer have the need to carry a spare tube, which has compensated somewhat for the weight factor. Another note: the Marathon Plus is not the easiest tire to mount, but this is also mitigated by the fact you will probably not have to do it again until your next set. The only thing I truly dislike about the tire is the reflective strip -- I could do without that.

Changed to a pair of these on my singlespeed from the factory fitted much more grip, but at a heavy (literally) price.

These have deadened the ride completely I feel like I am riding a different bike, in a bad way, and I am now looking into what should go on next.

I wanted grip and punture resistance but I am not prepared to ride on these tires when there are other options on the market, having said all that though to their credit they do feel bomb proof.

Just bought 2 of these from Spa Cycles - excellent service - received within 2 days of ordering.

But, have spent a very unenjoyable 7 hours of my life trying to get one of them on.

Have a Specialized Sirrus Sport which had 700x28 tyres on.

Have tried to put 700x28 Schwalbe Marathon = on.

Will not go on - can get all the way round on one side and then can't get the bead on the othner side to stay. Have tried sting, washing up liquid but does not work.

Only thing I can think of is that that whilst both rim and tyre states 700x28, the rim also syas 622-14, the tyre says 622-28.

Will that make a difference????

I have around 6 different sets of tires in my garage, ranging from Bontrager Hard Case – Vittoria PAVES, all of which have flatted constantly and put me off riding for a few months as the bike was so unreliable I would spend more time repairing punctures than actually riding. My Mrs also didn’t take lightly to me calling her out at 5am in the morning to come and pick me up from in the middle of nowhere.

However, I have owned the Marathon Plus for 2 months now and ride every day through country lanes scattered with debris and shards of glass and thorns washed out from the farmers fields.

I have pulled several long thorns and shards of glass and flint out of the Marathon Plus, however they have not penetrated the tube! Any other tire and they would have DEFINETELY flatted.

Trust me, if you are having problems with constant flats like I was experiencing, you will be thrilled with the Marathon Plus, I now have a reliable bike that I actually enjoy riding and training on at 5am in the mornings!

Changed to M+'s from Conti Contacts a year ago. no punctures at all. Rolling resistance is claimed to be no greater than a conventional tyre, and I can't tell if it is or is not. A bit difficult to fit, but when you've done it a few times, no problem. Certainly heavier, but as I ride the bike as opposed to carrying it, it doesn't matter. As I don't have to carry a pump and spare inner, this somewhat cancels out the additional weight. If you are really worried about the weight, loose a few pounds to compensate!

These are great if you can fit them. The 26 x 1.35 size goes onto my DT rims OK, and the 16" size is fine for the Brompton (if you replace the plastic factory rim tape with 10mm Velox, which sits neatly in the well of the rim). The 700 x 25 size on narrow road rims totally defeated me though.

In use they do what they're supposed to - I've just commuted through the worst winter for 30 years on the 26 x 1.35 version, glass-strewn psyclepaths and all. Rolling resistance isn't noticeably worse than an average tyre, but I can really feel the extra weight when pulling away from traffic lights.

The reflective sidewall is a silly idea. If you have rim brakes it is quickly obscured by black sludge from the rims. I have an unbraked rear wheel (fixie) and that gets obscured just as quickly by mud from the lanes. Maybe it works if you live in the middle of a city, use disc brakes and never encounter mud, I don't know.

Just bought these tyres today as I'm sick of getting punctures! I was a bit concerned about getting them as I've read many reports stating they are heavy and difficult to fit. They do take a little bit longer to fit but nothing too bad. As for their weight, I did a 6 mile ride today to 'test' them and had no issues at all. If they are as puncture resistant as I've read, I'll be a happy man!

I fitted a Marathon Plus 3 days ago to replace the rear Road Cruiser tyre that came as standard on my Dawes Tanami. I've done a around 60 miles commuting, and I can't really tell any difference to the handling/weight, although I do carry a fair bit of weight on the bike. Fitting was straightforward, although tyre levers are essential, whereas I could change the previous tyre by hand.....hopefully though, my tyre removal days are now over!! ??

Put these on two separate bikes. Great on the hybrid but an absolute pig to get on to a Brompton rear wheel. I Never use levers and had to use my gert big motorbike levers to help 'em on, then found they were too big and rub on the chainstay bridge (they were same size as those that came off).

I bought already 6 Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires. They would be perfect if two of them appeared not to be totally round. They give the impression as if the wheel is crooked.

I don't think I'll buy more of them.

agree with Bvbruwae Bought two of the marathon plus tyres with smartguard and the tyres appear to be out of alignment....like above said gives impression of crocked wheel.

maybe a inherent problem

Appalling. Since fitting one of these tyres, I have had more punctures in the wheel in question than with a normal tyre. The latest (and last) saw a rip in the side wall of the tyre. No glass or sharp objects in the vicinity - let alone a stinger. Would never buy again.

A pair of these tyres arrived yesterday and with trepidation, I set up the bike in the cellar in preparation for putting them on. I was thinking of Masala's "very unenjoyable 7 hours" spent trying to fit them.

Don't want to sound smug, but it took me about 40 minutes for the pair, and I didn't even need to use tyre levers.

There IS a knack, as hinted at in other posts, but nobody seems prepared to say what it is, so here's how I did it. Fit one side of the tyre into the rim, and put in the inner tube in the usual way. Get as much of the second side of the tyre into the rim as you can. So far so good - it's always the last 10 inches or so that are difficult. Here, I used a large plastic crocodile clip to pinch the tyre at one end of the unfitted bit, and so stop it pulling out as you push the other end of the unfitted bit into the rim. A big bulldog clip, a clamp, a third hand if you have an assistant - anything would do to stop one end of the tyre pulling out.

Now the important bit: go round the fitted portion of the tyre and press it right into the middle of the rim. You need to keep on doing this in between short sessions of trying to push the last, unfitted bit of tyre into the rim. The reason this works is that the rim is much deeper in the centre than at the outside, so you give yourself maximum slack to work with. Lo and behold - after a few minutes and maybe with slightly sore thumbs - the tyre should be fitted.

Ideally, your clamp/clip needs to be small and lightweight enough that you can carry it in your puncture repair kit, ready for the far off (I hope) day when one of these tough tyres lets you down a long way from home.

I didn't notice any difference in handling with the new tyres during my first ride on them this morning. As a 7500-mile a year cyclist, more than anything I value ruggedness in a bike, and this includes its tyres, so I'm looking forward to many puncture-free weeks of cycling.

A pair of these tyres arrived yesterday and with trepidation, I set up the bike in the cellar in preparation for putting them on. I was thinking of Masala's "very unenjoyable 7 hours" spent trying to fit them.

Don't want to sound smug, but it took me about 40 minutes for the pair, and I didn't even need to use tyre levers.

There IS a knack, as hinted at in other posts, but nobody seems prepared to say what it is, so here's how I did it. Fit one side of the tyre into the rim, and put in the inner tube in the usual way. Get as much of the second side of the tyre into the rim as you can. So far so good - it's always the last 10 inches or so that are difficult. Here, I used a large plastic crocodile clip to pinch the tyre at one end of the unfitted bit, and so stop it pulling out as you push the other end of the unfitted bit into the rim. A big bulldog clip, a clamp, a third hand if you have an assistant - anything would do to stop one end of the tyre pulling out.

Now the important bit: go round the fitted portion of the tyre and press it right into the middle of the rim. You need to keep on doing this in between short sessions of trying to push the last, unfitted bit of tyre into the rim. The reason this works is that the rim is much deeper in the centre than at the outside, so you give yourself maximum slack to work with. Lo and behold - after a few minutes and maybe with slightly sore thumbs - the tyre should be fitted.

Ideally, your clamp/clip needs to be small and lightweight enough that you can carry it in your puncture repair kit, ready for the far off (I hope) day when one of these tough tyres lets you down a long way from home.

I didn't notice any difference in handling with the new tyres during my first ride on them this morning. As a 7500-mile a year cyclist, more than anything I value ruggedness in a bike, and this includes its tyres, so I'm looking forward to many puncture-free weeks of cycling.

I have a pair of them.

3 years, nearly 20 000km, 0 puncture

And the surface of the tire is still in good condition.

My opinion: extremly reliable.