Micheal Blue

The cold weather Marathon Plus tires are off and Marathon Racers are on. What a difference in weight! The downside is that now I have to pay more attention to the road...

Seattle Forrest

Do you feel that your bike is more responsive (mainly accelerates faster) thanks to the rotational inertia?

toastytoad

Do they make a totally slick marathon type tire? Im rocking the 38c marathon plus, and really have no need for such a deep thread but still want the puncture protection and curb jumping ability?

Andy_K 

My summer tires (Conti 4000S) only weigh about 35 grams less than my winter tires (Conti GP 4 Season), though I'm starting to wonder if I need to get snow tires for the spring.

ThermionicScott 

In my case, it was a tremendous difference. Went from stiff, studded Kenda 26x2.1" tires (2-3lbs each, plus a heavy-duty tube in the rear) to supple Panaracer Pasela 26x1.75" (just over a lb each) with regular tubes. The bike got a lot faster and easier to ride all of a sudden.

Booger1

I don't go that far,I just change from dense winter air to light summer air.......

storckm

I, too, went from studded tires (Nokian W106) to smooth (Pasela 700cx35) about two weeks ago, and the difference is huge. Mainly the studs, I think.

Micheal Blue

Yes, when you don't have to continuously spin extra one kilogram of weight, it is noticeable.

Micheal Blue

Marathon Racers are pretty much slicks. The tread is really just cosmetic. I don't jump curbs, so cannot comment.

AdamDZ

I had 2.0 Marathon tires on my bike. I just got skinny and slick Kojaks, but I haven't installed them yet. Should be fun. I just hope my rims are not too wide

rumrunn6

perception = reality. if they feel lighter & faster then they are. sometimes the perception is more valuable than the empirical data would suggest. I think I used that word correctly ...

ThermionicScott 

Empirical data like max and average speeds going up by a couple MPH?

Resistance to acceleration is a little harder to measure...

Andy_K 

This is so true. I read all the time about how things like weight don't matter "unless you're racing". The fact is, if I'm not racing then how it feels becomes much more important than the fact that in theory I'll be gaining less than 0.1 mph or whatever. If I'm not racing, who cares what my speed is. I want the options that make it more fun.

Scheherezade 

My winter and summer bikes feature almost no differences in terms of speed.

56cm compact road frame w/ 700x35mm marathon winters

vs.

60cm traditional road frame w/ 700x32mm marathon plus

I think this either speaks to the speed of the winters or the slowness of the pluses. =)

squirtdad

OT: did you put your summer air in? my brother worked a gas station that also did mechanic work. One little old lady would com in in the spring and have the tires totally flatted and reinflated with summer air (she watched to make sure the work was done) The process was repeated in the fall.

rumrunn6

been riding on 27x1 1/4 and 700x28 for a long time and used wider and studded for winter, now have 700x23. worried at 1st they wud b too narrow for me but 1st ride felt pretty comfy but swifter. can wait to get some real stats to see if my perception is perceptible to a device.

tarwheel 

That's called rotating the air in your tires. Any decent mechanic can do it!

david58

Well, I sure hope she uses nitrogen today! Not only do you get your air change, but you get to pay for the stuff!

I want nitrogen in my bike tires so I can have the fancy colored valve caps...

Greyryder

Reminds me of a girl I went to school with. The other guys in the class convinced her she needed new muffler bearings. Everyone had a good laugh, when they found out she actually went to the auto parts store to get some.

Erick L

The best part of removing the studded tires is having a quiet ride again.

no motor?

Had my first ride with the summer tires this morning and it sure felt faster. I don't care if it's not, cheap thrills like that are a good thing!

Micheal Blue

You don't feel any difference between the studded Marathon Winters and Marathon Plus tires? That's really weird. I use both in winter (Winters when it's slippery and Plus when it's just plain cold). With the studded tires on my commute (19.5 km one way) is noticeably slower.

Micheal Blue

It is simple physics that a tire weighing 350 grams will require less energy to power than a tire that weighs 890 grams, given their tread is similar. Whether this shows up as increase of speed or just spending less energy pedaling, the difference is there. Even if you don't want to believe simple mechanics, if what you say were true, pro cyclists would be using Marathon Plus tires, because they would offer the same speed while protecting them from punctures.