noglider 

A breakthrough is when you take a tradeoff (here we have puncture resistance and ride quality) and provide both ends at once. I gather that's what's going on with the Marathon line of tires. I haven't tried one. I rode the Vittoria Voyager Hyper for a while, and that was a similar breakthrough. People criticize the tire for having no so great puncture resistant but I'm easy to please in that realm. The tire is heavy and thick, and I was super skeptical when I received it. And I put the two tires on my bike, and I said holy cow, this feels fast; how did they do this? So I do believe in breakthroughs, Auntie Em.

PaulRivers

The "Plus" version of the tire is definitely going to be a rougher riding tire.
I use the regular Marathon Winters. They're about 5 years old. They're the fastest best riding studded winter tire I've used...I'm a bit perplexed about some of the claims of bad ride quality. They are, of course, not as nice riding as my pure rubber summer tires. I don't have grip issues on dry pavement either...my opinion is they lose about 20% on dry pavement but in my experience the only thing that limits is throwing my bike around aggressively which I don't really do in winter riding anyways. Mine have held up well as well, better than the nokian 160's I put on my brothers bike. Schwalbe have lost a random stud or 2, compared the the w160's that lost maybe 4 studs in a row and I'm hesitant to let him keep using now because of that.

In the summer I've used the schalbe marathon supreme's. For a tire wider than the 25c-28c category, I think it's a great tire that really doesn't have any flaws at all. Grips well in the dry, and the wet. Rides well. Seems to last a long time. It seems to lack any drawbacks at all...except the price, at like $80/tire it should be a nice tire right?

The "regular" schwalbe marathon's that cost $30-$40/tire I've heard mixed things about. Perfectly fine tire for the price, but kinda slower and rougher riding - not "bad" but certainly not as good as the really good tires.

On my summer bike I've ridden gp4000's - everything is great about them except the ride quality is a bit disconnected from the road. I switch to use Specialized Roubaix's Pro's and they've been the most comfortable bike tire I've used (in that size):
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/ro...=230998-156469

trailmix

I just removed a set of Marathon Plus from my commuter and couldn't be happier that they are gone. They were the absolute heaviest and most unpleasant tires that I have encountered. They are not worn out but I just couldn't stand them, every pedal stroke felt like I was riding in sand and the ride was terrible. I replaced them with Michelin Stargrip winter tires and even spongy, semi-knobby winter tires roll better.
For some people, I guess the flat protection is worth it but for me it is just overkill.

alan s 

Theycallmegio

I have the traditional schwalbe marathons. put simply they are the ****.

I keep them year round on my commuter, a late 80s bianchi axis. it's a heavier, steel-framed bike so I'm not worried about the additional weight of the tire. The tires themselves are nearly puncture resistant. I used to frequently get flats riding on Chicago's crappy roads, I switched to schwalbe marathons and have been golden ever since. I got my 1st flat in maybe 3 years last night.

acidfast7

You and I must have different definitions of crappy. I find that those stateside don't even know what a crappy road surface is.

Phamilton

I've been to Chicago but never ridden a bike there, but driving I found a lot of the streets downtown to be pretty good, and more of them to be pretty bad. I spent 7 days in England but it was almost 20 years ago and neither drove nor rode a bike there, but the pavement conditions seemed to be similar to here, and yeah a lot more bricks. I wouldn't want to ride a bike on brick very much/often. In town here (Fort Wayne) we have a lot of roads with pretty smooth asphalt, a lot of roads with really old cracked and potholed asphalt, and a TON of buckled concrete around the suburbs. Back roads outside of town range from very good to very bad condition, generally asphalt. Heavy use by horse drawn carriages and construction traffic (semi trucks, dumptrucks, etc) on back roads of my commute beats up the roads and in turn the rider. Buckled concrete IMO the worst. The subdivision I live in pretty often represents the worst road conditions I encounter. Good thing it's only the first and last 1/4 mile of my commute.

acidfast7

I spend a lot of time on bricks!

This being two long examples

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7941...thumbfov%3D100

and

https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7953...7i16384!8i8192

Phamilton

Fort Wayne has a couple old brick streets somehow still. I rode them a couple times, but they're all 100% residential and I don't know anybody who lives in that neighborhood.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0877...thumbfov%3D100

Here's a good example of suburban buckled concrete, in my own neighborhood:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1478...7i13312!8i6656

acidfast7

Yeah, to be fair, I do forget the pleasures of buckled concrete from the decade or so I spent in Texas.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/10...!4d-96.3769215

Seems that school is still vacant a decade later :/

fietsbob

I expect the same rubber is used in Schwalbe studded tires as with the rest of the Marathon Line.. ( have some of the touring tires)

Suomi Nokian, tires I got , used a harder Rubber compound,, part of why they retain the studs.. so well, and wear so little..

Used a 622-40 tire , on a 9 month bike tour,* their A9 a studded utility tire just minus the studs.. when I came home they still looked like new..

* SW Ireland, to NE Scotland.. in 97..





....

fietsbob

Red brick pavement and Trolley tracks under the pavement in many parts of this town, which was the Salmon Cannery to the world..

Phamilton

That was more or less my logic, why I didn't differentiate between different models of Marathon in my query. I didn't research, but I suspected their compounds/construction wouldn't vary a ton between different "sub" models of the tire. I appreciate this feedback, thanks.

Nightdiver

I don't know why you would assume that. They clearly list a "winter" compound as being used in their studded Marathons. I would expect them to vary their rubber compounds about as much as any other manufacturer does for cold vs normal weather use.

rumrunn6

best way not to have skinny thighs in the spring, is to ride studded tires thru the winter

noglider 

Well, I have reasons to avoid snow and ice, but we usually have a lot of days without slippery stuff on the surface. Cold and rain and wind are nasty, especially when they come all together, but I try to be as brave as possible. I agree that cycling through the winter is rewarding even though it's not always pleasant. I watch the weather report a lot, and I ride when the weather is barely acceptable. And it does pay off in the spring. My friends who take a break through the winter struggle in the spring, and my strength is not diminished, at least not much.

Still, it might be less crazy to take up a winter sport or an indoor sport. There just aren't many other sports I like. I do like hiking, and that's easier to do in the cold than cycling.

rumrunn6

haha right, one doesn't have to use studded tires to ride thru the winter. got mine on & I'm like: "yikes, where's the ice ... I'm waiting ..."

noglider 

I have a pair of knobby tires and a pair of studded tires. I haven't had to use them. Our ice patches are small and sparse, generally. I'll try to remember that I have them, in case the opportunity to use them comes up. You ride on trails?

trailmix

We have had a record amount of rainfall this year so I was expecting some snow when the temps dropped but as soon as I bought snow tires, it quit raining and warmed up.

jeffpoulin

I bought a set of Marathon Winter tires in 2009 and still use them for 2-3 months/year. Never had a flat and the studs, although not as sharp as they once were, still work well on ice. They're not great in loose snow, though. Also, be careful as studded tires on a smooth concrete floor (like a parking garage) is pretty slippery.

My other winter bike has Marathon XR tires (predecessor to the Mondial), which roll very well and have been very dependable for 10 years.

Spring through fall, I ride Marathon Supremes, which IMO are just perfect for commuting when temps are above freezing.

fietsbob

My One set of tires, from Finland, has been good for 30 years.. and may our last Me..

spircix

I have decided not to buy any Schwalbe tyres at least in the near future. Their rubber is pretty prone to cracking and it's very prone to cuts, though I must admit that their puncture protection is superb. I was running Schwalbe Hurricane at the front and back and over a year I had maybe two punctures, which is really impressive. I have decided to give Continental tyres a try because their rubber seems to be more durable, at least on my MTB. We'll see how it works out on my commuter bike.

acidfast7

I found the Gatroskins at least not so good on the English roads that are not cleaned as well as the German roads. I would say that the puncture protection is quite good on the Marathons but the rubber does get sliced like a mofo with broken glass.

tclune

I ride Marathon Plus tires in summer and Marathon Winter Plus in winter. I have never had a flat since switching to them (from Bontrager, which would puncture at the drop of a hat.) They are slow and rough, but so am I. The one thing I worry about is that they are a bear to get on and off the rim. If I ever do have a flat with them, I may have to sell the bike for cab fare to get back home. This year I turned 70, and gave myself permission to let my LBS wrestle with changing to the studded tires. Especially with the studs, it is truly painful to mount those puppies.

rumrunn6

cue my annual, I had 2 flats with some 2nd hand Marathon Winters, in the winter, in the woods, close to dusk, due to a broken wire bead. didn't realize it 'till the 2nd flat. out of tubes, used my last Co2 cartridge & it was gonna get dark soon ... covered the wire with a band aide & bit of electrical tape. it was holding but wasn't sure if it would really hold for the 4 miles back to my car. so, since ppl were leaving the state park, I opted to play it safe & hitch a ride w one of the last fisherman I could find ... survive to ride another day, right?