edelay

Just in the last week I had calculated that in the last 4.5 years of commuting, I had gone about 20,000 kms on the 20" front tire of my folding bike. This is about half way around the earth. I even had mentioned this long life to a few people. Googling this, it seems that low end tires (like this Kenda) are expected to last 2,000 to 5,000 kms. So it looks I had an exceptional "run", I mean spin on this tire.

On the ride home tonight from work the tire started to bulge. My pride and bragging must have jinxed that tire.

The matching back tire for that Kenda was replaced after 1 year with a Marathon Racer, because of a few flats. That Marathon is still going strong with what must be 15,000 kms on it.

Anyone else with a long life tire story? What kind of mileage do you folks get out of your tires?

jur

Fronts, always carcass failure, never wore one down to the canvas yet. Rears, mixed results, sometimes carcass failure, sometimes tread wearout. My current rear on my Ti Swift has over 10,000km; because I often do long climbs with that bike the tread has been squared off. I expect that to wear to the canvas before 15,000km. The front looks like new with same mileage.

edelay

I'm going to retire my 20" wheeled folder this spring, so I won't get to see how long the Marathon racer lasts.

I've got about 5,000km's on a 16" Schwalbe Big Apple and a bit less on a 16" Schwalbe City Jet. Both look almost new.

sunburst

Glad to hear your experience with the Racers. I replaced the Kendas on a used 20+ year old BF I acquired a couple of years ago because the back was squared off and I had no idea the age of the tires. The Racers have been a good choice so far. I've got Marathons in 27" and 700c also. I've got a lot of miles on the 700x28's, but I really don't keep track. Really like Schwalbe tires.

edelay

I really like the Marathon Racer. Nice and fast. I find that when I corner sharply, it feels like it squirms a bit on the back tire. I've often wondered if that was the result of the Raceguard or if it is because the tire is sort of tallish and narrow. Do get that squirming feeling on corners?

sunburst

No, haven't noticed it on my BF. Mostly I ride the bike around town and on the bike/ped path around the bay, probably topping out about 25-30mph. I did take it up in the hills once and got close to 40mph downhill but the front end got squirrelly.