Podolak

Hurray for me. My Schwalbe Marathon XR tires arrived last night. I bought them for my Marin Novato. I opted for the 26 x 1.6 size. I was looking for a good 26 x 1.5 and I decidedthis was close enough. I primarily ride the Novato in the winter which is why I went with the XR instead of the Plus.

I will admit mounting was a bit difficult. I had to use three tire levers but I did eventually get the rear tire on. I didn't get time to mount the front due to family obligations. Pictures will follow after the job is complete.

Tyrell

3 tire levers!?! Hope you don't have to fix a flat before you replace the tire!

Podolak

Hopefully the Kevlar protection will work wonders for me. I have already worried about fixing a flat on these suckers while on the road. Maybe they will loosen up a bit for me. We'll see.

Tyrell

Letting the tires warm in the sun helps to loosen them up a little bit. Although if you're stuck with a flat in the dead of winter...

kwrides

Did you order them directly from Schwalbe? I ask because I ordered tires from them on line 2 days ago and never got any kind of email notification that my order was complete or that they had shipped. If you ordered from Schwalbe on line, did you get either of these?

Looking forward to your review and pics.

Podolak

Actually I ordered them from Peter White. They are cheaper there and he is great to deal with. Um...plus he is the only one I could find with them in stock. They took about two days to arrive. I am pretty close to NH though.

Podolak

OK, I mounted the front tire last night. It actually went a lot better. It was still tight but I only had to use two levers. Either this tire was a little more flexible than the first one or I gained some amount of experience after mounting the first that helped me get it on.

I just wanted to let everyone know it doesn't have to be as bad as I made the first one sound!

kwrides

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely buy here next time.

Podolak

Pictures as promised...

kk4df

And why does winter make this the appropriate choice? Enlighten me. I have a set of Marathons (not Plus).

kwrides

Nice tires. The reflective strip really stands out in the pictures.

Oil that chain!

I had a Marin road bike that I really enjoyed. I made the mistake of riding carbon and ended up selling it, but it was a great bike at a great price.

Podolak

In my environment it is a little nicer to have a wee bit of tread for the slush and snow that is often in Syracuse during the Winter. It doesn't help with ice of course. I have considered spikes but haven't been able to bring myself to it.