Winfried

Hello

After replacing the stock Schwalbe Impact Streetpac (47-355) with Schwalbe Marathon Plus (35-355) on my folding Birdy, I noticed that one of the tubes that was fine is now losing air.

I guess I didn't insert the tube properly and somehow damaged it :-/ Maybe it was too large for those new, thinner tires.

What brands and models would you recommend that would fit the Marathon Plus?

Schwalbe recommends those:
Thank you.

Andrew R Stewart 

The 40-355 tubes are the closest fit on your list. I would not go any larger a diameter a tube. I am dissapointed that you can't find a 35-355 tube from Schwalbe as they make that size in a tire. With care the 40 wide tube should be able to go in the 35 wide tire. get a few though just in case. And try to find the cause of the old tube's flat, it might guide you to what went wrong the first time. Andy.

LarDasse74

Also, once you have found a reliable tube size, get a good vulcanizing patch kit (the kind with separate glue and patches). A properly patched tube is as good as a new tube.

fietsbob

Yup. back in my day tubes looking like polka-dot with all the patches, held Air.. it's all about surface prep ..

mconlonx

Be more careful installing tubes. If you used a lever for the last little bit, you probably pinched the tube against the rim with the lever, puncturing the tube. How tough was the install with the new tires?

If you have to use a lever, take time to keep pushing the tube up into the rim, and never let the lever flip up past vertical from the rim (parallel to the axle) -- stop it from flipping up, and pull the lever out sideways, toward the rim.

surreal

Something to keep in mind re: marathon plus tires: They're scrawny on the inside, as there is a lot of extram material at the "cap" of the rubber. Meaning, they are skinny on the inside and fat on the outside, if that makes sense.

I've got no experience with the little guys, but i run 26x 1.75 marathon+ and i tend to run downsized tubes with 'em.

Winfried

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

I did have a hard time fitting the tire, and then "closing it" (for lack of the right word) after inserting the tube. I did use a lever, although I know from a YouTube video that it should be avoided since it can end pinching the tube and cause a puncture, which is probably what happened.

I'll make sure I keep the lever horizontal, no further than parallel to the axle.

In case Schwalbe doesn't make smaller tubes to fit the 35-355 tires, what other good brands do you recommend?

"downsized tubes" = same wheel diameter but smaller width so there's room left when pumping up the tubes?

surreal

I'd grab the schwalbe sv-4, which is purported to work with a 355x28.

That schwalbe is a 35mm on the outside, but probably closer to a 30 or 32 on the inside. A lot of meaty rubber between the tube and the outside world...

hth
-rob

Winfried

Thanks for the tip. I'll get some 28-355 18x1 1/8 instead, then.

Myosmith

I've had very good luck with Specialized tubes, the regular ones, not the ultra-lite. Schwalbe has also been good to me. Q Tubes are less expensive (by a buck or so) and I can't say I've had any unusual problems with them. The brands that have let me down are Bontrager and Michelin.

Winfried

Good to know, thanks.

pierce

tubes that have been used with larger tires tend to be pretty stretched out, and will likely have folds and wrinkles when put into a smaller tire casing, this makes clean mounting even harder.

Recumbomatic

I have 20" (406) Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on a new old bike I just purchased. The tire beads would not seat evenly, giving the wheels a slightly oval shape, and I would feel a bump with every rotation. Looking at the reflective stripe on the sidewall, you could tell one section of the tire was seated a little lower than the rest. I tried everything: Deflating and massaging the tube, new rim strip, talcum powder, dish soap, over inflation. FINALLY, a pro mechanic used some special tire tongs to twist the tire until the bead seated! I didn't even know there was such a tool like tire tongs...

pierce

I've always been able to do that with my thumbs when the wheel has just a few PSI of air in it. inspecting and adjusting that bead seat is part of my tire installation procedure.

Winfried

Good to know. That could explain why I had a problem using the old tube with the Marathon Plus tire.

I have the same issue. What's a tire tong? Google didn't help. Is it like a lever?

https://www.aliexpress.com/compare/co...ire-lever.html

400trix

The only presta valve tubes for 355's I have found are from Schwalbe. They do recommend a 4 for the 35-355, not the 5 that you have listed, though.

Recumbomatic

Found it on Amazon, they're called tire seating pliers.
https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Tire.../dp/B003GO227G

Even with the pliers, it took two guys, a lot of effort, and several rounds of inflating/deflating to get my rear Marathon Plus seated correctly. I had to firmly hold the wheel on a table while the mechanic twisted the tire with the pliers until the bead seated. Spraying the tire bead with Simple Green helped some.

Winfried

I had to use three tire levers to undo the tire and reach the tube



Strangely enough, a test in the sink showed no air getting out. I don't understand why the tire got flatter after just riding around the neighborghood.

Regarless, I'll the slimmer SV4 tubes just to be safe.

Winfried

For science's sake, I removed and pumped up the original tube that came with the Birdy... and no puncture.

Conclusion: Getting thinner tires means getting new tubes that fit.

Winfried

I noticed it's easy to get the tube pinched by the tire around the valve. Pushing the valve in before inflating as explained here did the trick.

However, I don't understand what this other article means:

ksisler

FurReal(sic); Glad you mentioned this as I was about to spring anew on it. I run the same 26" x 1 3/4" on most of my tandems and fully agree that the ideal tube is one size down from the obvious due to these tires being very thick vertically and in the sidewalls. Love these tires though...not a flat or fail in years of riding...

Winfried

I had a hard time putting the smaller tubes in the Marathon Plus, but I test-road them and they seem to work OK.

sreten

Hi,

It means get the tyre over the rim near the valve, work your way round
both ways. For the final section push the tyre near the valve into the
centre of the rim and pull the tyre over the rim opposite.

Changing my 20" tyres I only need the levers to get started. The rest
I can do all by hand, exploiting pushing the bead into the rim centre.

Getting a tyre off and on a wheel, second and first bead is
easy using the same principle which most do automatically.

Note the last bead is impossible to do by hand for a lightly
inflated tube, you have to let it right down to allow the
tyre to move into the centre enough.

rgds, sreten.

ksisler

Continental tubes (easy to find on Amazon) seem to do well and are available in lots of valve lengths... and go with the size the tire maker recommends or one smaller as it is true the M+ is smaller on the inside due to the thickness of the tire (which is why the tire is so reliable). /K

Winfried

Thanks for the infos.