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Good tire for gritty, wet urban commuting

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Old 05-10-25 | 03:56 PM
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Good tire for gritty, wet urban commuting

Commuting in Seattle means riding over sharp metal debris and broken glass, and also wet slippery roads, slick metal grates, etc. So I'm always trying to find the magical unicorn that is highly puncture resistant but also soft and sticky on wet roads.
The last decade or so I've found Schwalbe Marathon Supremes good (wonderfully compromise wet grip and puncture resistance) but now I need to replace my tires and... the Supremes are discontinued
Considering alternatives including Marathon GT 365, Green Marathon, and Continental Urban Contact (in 700x35/37/40c).
Any thoughts, experiences, or suggestions?
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Old 05-11-25 | 03:12 PM
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I feel your pain,loved those tires. Still got one last set.

Panaracer T-Servs are very grippy with good puncture protection. I like the Contacts on my Brompton,but it doesn't go out in the rain,so I can't speak to wet grip.
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Old 05-12-25 | 02:20 AM
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I have a fixie wire 23-622 Schwalbe Marathon with Green guard tyres.

this where I usually commute but not my video ...


I have since switched back to a MTB as I have a child and bags on the back (30-35kg or so) with a standard 57-559 tyre.

I'm still running the Schwalbe Smart Sams from when I bought the bike in 2010, with only somewhere around 5000 miles on them.

Lots of debris was picked up on the fixie and the green is showing in several area (lots of glass and debris on the streets ... also lots of changing paving types with rough edges).
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Old 05-12-25 | 05:51 AM
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Continental Contact Plus are great for urban commuting. Very puncture resistant and very durable.
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Old 05-12-25 | 07:53 AM
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Schwalbe and Continental are two top brands. I'm extremely picky about tires, and I prefer top brands. There are others. My own preference is for Continental and Panaracer over Schwalbe, but that's meaningless, and it's mostly because I have more experience with Panaracer and Continental, not that I've had bad luck with Schwalbe. The trick is to choose the best model for you, not the brand.
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Old 05-14-25 | 09:32 AM
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Good for you, wearing out a Marathon tire is no mean feat!

I thought the Supreme was superseded by the Marathon Almotion or the Marathon Efficiency. According to BRR they are very, very similar with the Efficiency having a slightly thinner tread cast in race-compound rubber
Schwalbe Marathon Almotion Addix vs Schwalbe Marathon Efficiency
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Old 05-17-25 | 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
I thought the Supreme was superseded by the Marathon Almotion or the Marathon Efficiency. According to BRR they are very, very similar with the Efficiency having a slightly thinner tread cast in race-compound rubber
Not similar in weight,the Supremes were lighter. One of the things I liked about them.

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Old 05-17-25 | 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by splitpeasoup
the Supremes are discontinued
Looks like there's still some NOS available:
https://www.amazon.com/Schwalbe-Mara.../dp/B000S2TTLQ
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Old 05-18-25 | 08:24 AM
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Originally Posted by dynaryder
Not similar in weight,the Supremes were lighter. One of the things I liked about them.
I looked again... The Supreme tested by BRR was a smaller size than the Almotion or Eff. 37mm vs forties. At similar size the difference is peanuts. Especially compared to the distance from here to a regular thick Marathon
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Old 05-18-25 | 02:17 PM
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No,when they got rid of the Supremes,I checked my size and the Almotions were about 100gr heavier.
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Old 05-18-25 | 04:45 PM
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Originally Posted by dynaryder
No,when they got rid of the Supremes,I checked my size and the Almotions were about 100gr heavier.
The tubeless ones are about 100 gr heavier but not the regular clinchers
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Old 05-18-25 | 11:52 PM
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Well they're not lightweight but good old Marathon Plus work well for me in similar conditions (and some gravelly country lanes) - I laugh at broken glass at the kerbside and shrug off old nails and pieces of wire in the lanes
Despite their weight they actually roll a lot better than you'd think too... so long as I remember to put some air in them from time to time
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Old 05-27-25 | 06:59 AM
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Continental Urban Contact, no question. Have them on both of my commuters, including the one that I ride in all weather. Reasonably light, reasonably quick rolling (I average 27-28km/h on my commutes), incredibly durable (over 7500km on my current set and still good as new), puncture resistant (not a single puncture in all that time) and decently grippy in the wet. Not only that, but decently priced as well. I personally wouldn't choose anything else for commuting.
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Old 06-01-25 | 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by splitpeasoup
The last decade or so I've found Schwalbe Marathon Supremes good (wonderfully compromise wet grip and puncture resistance) but now I need to replace my tires and... the Supremes are discontinued
I am sorry to hear that, those remain my tire of choice.
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Old 06-03-25 | 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Bluejohn
Well they're not lightweight but good old Marathon Plus work well for me in similar conditions (and some gravelly country lanes) - I laugh at broken glass at the kerbside and shrug off old nails and pieces of wire in the lanes
Despite their weight they actually roll a lot better than you'd think too... so long as I remember to put some air in them from time to time
So much this. Seriously. THISSSSSSS /THREAD
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