djb

Big honking tires! But you do get used to the soft ride, especially over rough surfaces. Without knowing your weight, use my experiences as a reference, but playing with different pressures is worth doing. The big plus to them is the flexible sidewall which equals a really nice ride that can fool you into thinking they are slow, but not necessarily.
Just be careful and don't run up against sharp stuff like pointy rocks etc, use common sense. As I point out in the reviews,I'm very impressed by the life I've gotten out of them.

re grips, Ergon grips are more expensive than others, but my experience over the decades commuting on mtb bars is that they make a difference.... their shapes really are better and distribute weight better over your palm. Mine have the bar ends, and to me this is crucial as using the two different hand positions is key to hand comfort, changing up regularly is the key.

cheers

spinconn

Yeah, and I like soft rides, plus the tires they are replacing are MTB 2.2 tires so they will look skinny to me. Thanks for the Ergon advice, any tips on flat pedals (I don't do clipless anymore)?

Tourist in MSN

I bought my first Greenguard Marathon in 2012, not sure how new they were.

The photo is my pre-Greenguard Marathon on the folding bike so you can see what the tread looks like, and yes the thorns were all removed before I got back on the bike. It took a while to remove them all.

djb

Curious, that's a very different tread pattern than mine. So who knows. No matter.
and yes, you got good and thorned there. I kept expecting to have lots of situations like that during some of my trips, but must have just been lucky.
Would sometimes see farm workers putting their bikes upside down to check for thorns in Mexico, but all in all I was lucky.

djb

Lost track of this, re flat pedals, sorry no opinions. Only use them on my winter commuter. Others will have a better take on it than me.
Non slippy is a real priority for me though.

hokiefyd 

Race Face Chesters are good candidates for flat pedals. You can get them in a ton of colors to match any style, they're light, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're available pretty much everywhere. They come from the MTB world, and they're very often recommended as a good all-around flat pedal.

Papa Tom

Flat pedals are ANOTHER component I spent WAY too much time researching before I finally pulled the trigger on a set of Odyssey Twisted PC Platform Pedals that cost less than $20. (The ad in the link lists them at $13.99.) I've had them on the bike since May of 2015 and every single time I put my feet on them, they turn the cranks and propel me forward. What else could a cyclist need?

There are literally hundreds of flat pedals just like these, so don't kill yourself looking for this exact brand and model. I like them because they have a large platform and the pins really hold the soles of my worn-down sneakers, mile after mile after mile.

spinconn

Thanks much guys, I'll check them out. Now I just need to get in shape for longer rides.

djb

Regular riding and gradually increasing distances is the main thing. Making
​​​sure seat height and bar adjustments are good. And making small changes if necessary.

spinconn

Down to the last item. Got my Brooks saddle on, and my Topeak rack and bag, and my Marathons, and took it for a short 7 mile ride. My MTB now looks like a light tourer to my uneducated eye, and my goodness does it feel different. I like it and plan on doing a long ride tomorrow or Monday.

I used the tubes from my OEM Bontrager knobbies, which were 29X2.2 and they seem OK but I need to get at least one spare tube and I think I will go ahead and get two.

I need some suggestions for a good match of tubes for my Marathon Supreme 29X2.0 Kevlar Folding tires please.

Tourist in MSN

Touring, I always carry two spare tubes along with patches. Never needed the second one on a tour yet. But a few times had a valve stem pull out of a tube or something like that which was unpatchable. But around town, only carry one spare tube.

Papa Tom

Chances are you have enough space between your seat post and your new Topeak rack to squeeze in an extra tube, stuffed into a sock and tied down (old shoelace?) securely. Then you can keep a second one inside the Topeak bag.

Be sure to toss a pair of disposable rubber gloves into your bag. As you probably already know, roadside repairs can get very dirty, which can be really sucky if they happen a long way from a place to wash the grease off your hands. Be sure they are a decent thickness or they will just tear the minute you touch ANY bicycle component.

You haven't asked about the most important accessory for touring yet. What are you doing for music on your bike?