I've ridden on my Marathon Plus tires in Ireland and for the last few years. But they are slow and heavy...a brief look at weight comparison seems to show that they are about twice as heavy as most other touring tires.

But there seem to be so many other options, half of which all seem about the same. I can't really tell what the difference is between any of them and each have their group of loyal followers who promote them. I think my Marathon Plus tires are overkill...especially when I think I rode on Gatorskins from London to Rome back in the day with only a single flat (which was due to a torn nipple).

Does anyone have a recommendation? I will be riding mostly paved roads with some gravel sections. 700x32 is my preferred tire size too.

I use Gatorskins. I just tried the Gatorskin Hardshell.

Agree with Raybo, consider the std Gatorskins or Hardshell Gatorskins, also the std Marathons 420, and from Vittoria, the Randonneur or their Voyager Hyper. All very decent options.

I have only done mini tours, bike camping trips, and my daily commute on my Vittoria Hypers. I've been running them for about 4 years, although they were called something else when I started.

I looked through my order history, and I would say that I have been replacing them every 3 or 4 thousand miles. Rough estimate because I don't keep very careful track of my mileage.

They replaced my Marathon Plusses and were immediately a hit. Supple and fast rolling and so much lighter than the Plus (as every tire is). The first was on experiment, and after a few weeks I ordered a 2nd, so I could get rid of the Plusses entirely. I was determined that they felt good enough to ride on that I would suffer through the flats. But that didn't really happen. I probably get more flats on the hyper, but that seems to work out to be one or two flats a year rather than 1 or 2 every 2 years. I originally thought that having a "flat-proof" tire would outweigh all other considerations, but it didn't take long for me to change my tune.

If I were flatting out every month or so, I might consider switching to something with more protection, but the Vittoria Hypers have been great, and I haven't considered ditching them yet.

Sorry, that's Vittoria Voyager Hyper. Used to be Randonneur Hyper, I think. I will say that I have gone wider on these. I think my first set was 32, and somewhere in there I was on a 35, but now it's 700 X 38 (which has a published measurement of 622-40). I liked that first set enough to stay with them, but going with a wider tire was also an improvement for me.

Vittoria Randonneur II City Tire

Vittoria Randonneur II

I have a set of 700 x 32s and love them. Great handling in wet and dry, haven't ever worried about riding on streets, paths, and crushed/packed gravel(short distance). They are available all over the place, but I got em on sale for $21/tire during a nashbar sale, so I linked that here.

I like gatorskins and think they are a pretty good compromise for weight, flat resistance, and ride feel.

I agree about the Gatorskins and the standard Marathon tires being decent touring tires. I switch back and forth, depending on the type of conditions and location where I'll be riding.

My wife and I are doing a tour off the beaten path in Eastern Europe, and I wanted something with a little more tread and durability. I am using the plain old 32 mm Schwalbe Marathon tires. About half the weight of the Plus's.

I've been riding on Marathons for about a month, and have often thought about putting my 32 mm Gatorskins back on the bike. We've put a lot of miles on both the Gatorskins and the Marathons. In my experience the Schwalbe tires seemed a little tougher, but definitely heavier. Anything in the U.S., unless going through much goat head territory, I'd use Gatorskins.

We used 28 mm Gatorskins for a cross country ride which included some gravel stretches. They did fine, except in goathead areas. Thirteen flats for 2 bikes in 3700 miles; more than half were from goatheads.

28 mm Ultra Gatorskins.


32 mm Schwalbe Marathons were a good match for this trip. We had about 400 miles of this type of riding.

Here's a newer one that I would like to try, a new version of the Specialized Armadillo tire, for the 32mm, comes in at only 430g and if it truly has the puncture resistance of the original Dillo, might be well worth a look. The original was much like the Marathon Plus in that it was fairly heavy and imo, rode terribly.

Specialized Bicycle Components

I've used regular marathons also.
I also use liners.
It seems marathon "plus" weighs 6 more oz per tire.
The liner seem like they weight nothing. ( i don't know the figure)

you get extra protection and regular marathons are lots cheaper than the "plus".

I have had bad experiences with thorns so I like the liners.

The liners are also transferable to the next set of tires.

Another vote for Gator Hardshells. The extra sidewall protection gives peace of mind on rocky paths, but otherwise they feel almost as fast as regular Gatorskins (which I summer commute on).
I also have Grand Prix 4 seasons for wet autumn/spring commuting, and would very happily tour on them (might well do so next tour). They are slightly softer than the both the Gators.

I'd only consider putting my SMP's back on if revisiting desert goathead regions... they are tanks :/

Want light Tires , learn how to mend punctures . the weight in the puncture resistant features is removed.

I too managed to avoid punctures on a tour in Europe.

Rely on luck and being very aware of where your tires are , to avoid stuff that causes them to be punctured.

I've been using these (622-32) for the last 12-18 months and while a little heavier than the Contacts, aren't objectional.

Brad

PS https://www.conti-online.com/www/bic...ngPlus_en.html

I found that the number of problems I had with goat head thorns went way down when I learned what the plants look like and where they grow. Staying on the pavement when at all possible and removing thorns before getting underway if I do pull off the pavement, I found that I got very few flats even on the Southern Tier where there are definitely lots of goat head thorns. I'd rather fix a flat once in a while than to ride a stiff heavy tire like the Marathon Plus.

I'm not riding the southern tier nor have I come across goat head thorns. I do live in a high-alpine desert, but you have to look very hard to find anything cactus-like out here (and there is only one spot where I know they are). Most of my touring (so far) has been in Europe...and like my OP indicated, I will be in Wales in just over a month.

I did an 18-mile, 1800ft elevation gain, ride today. It was very hot - in the 80's here - and I noticed a few things. I am riding with my panniers on along with my handlebar bag, but only carrying raingear in the panniers right now (phone/wallet/snack in the handlebar bag). Just to get used to the aerodynamics and handling with such things on. I got passed towards the bottom of a long downhill by a guy on a road bike - but that was more due to not having the gears to match him (plus the added weight of my bike + rolling resistance). Then I got passed where the bottom of that hill turns steeply up for a short but killer climb. 5 roadies passed me (one got off and walked, which is where I caught up and passed him) but based on perceived cadence, I certainly seem to be putting in more effort to get up the hill. Again, all the factors of riding a Surly Disc Trucker with Marathon Plus tires all comes into factor. I imagine just one of my tires weighs more than both tires on a road bike.

I will go ahead and order those tires - the hard-shell gatorskins - since they also only look to weigh 1/3rd of what a Marathon Plus does. They should arrive early this coming week, which gives me 3.5 weeks to ride them and break them in. It will be interesting to ride the same routes and compare my times - see if there is any significant change.

OK, now you're just being cruel.

66F here & Sunny.. @2:00pm

Today is our first 100 deg day.
I chose to start my 60 day tour today.
Smart.

Does a few ounces really make that much of a difference when fully loaded? I am certain it wont make a difference for me as I am well over 300lbs. The extra "baggage" around my waistline is more likely to decrease my performance than any tire would. With that being said, I am ok with whatever performance hit I take with the "slow tires" and use the Conti touring plus tires. I used the Marathon plus tires but the tires (700x45) would not fit on my DT when using fenders so I changed them out.

Well I guess it depends on the individual usage and preferences, but...
1. We aren't talking a few ounces. You mention the 700x45 Marathon Plus. In that size we are talking about 2.5 pounds difference for two tires as compared to other lighter tires. The 700x37 Conti touring plus is a bit lighter but still a lot more than a "few ounce" heavier than some other decent choices. So you really ought to be asking "Does a few pounds really make that much of a difference when fully loaded?", and for me the answer would be a definite yes.
2. Weight isn't the only difference. The stiff sidewalls cause a much less lively ride and harsher ride. You may not care but that lively ride feel is part of what I enjoy about biking.
3. The stiff sidewalls also add to the rolling resistance, but I don't notice that as much.

I know that I definitely noticed the difference when I tried some Marathon Pluses. I think the stiff sidewalls were the worst of it, even more so than the weight, but I found the tires downright unpleasant and took them off after a fairly brief trial. I might put up with them for commuting on particularly glass strewn streets, but I wouldn't use them for normal touring usage.

+1

My Voyager Hypers aren't just lighter than my Marathon plusses, they are far more supple, and that may be as big a part of the difference as anything. But in many cases those two qualities will go hand in hand.

That said, the quality of the tires is probably more noticeable the less weight you have on them. After switching, I do believe I put the Marathon Plus back on the rear for a couple of short tours and just carried my Vittoria tire as a spare. It isn't the night and day difference I got when the bike was mostly unloaded, but it was a difference. Lately, though, I haven't bothered switching out my tire. The only real advantage of the Marathon Plusses is the flat protection, and I just don't get enough flats on my current tires to make that a selling point. But I can see where certain situations or types of terrain could convince me to put them back on.

That is probably all true. I like to travel light so the difference might be more noticeable.

Reportedly there is one other advantage to the Pluses and is long wear. I wouldn't know because I took mine off after few hundred miles. I disliked the ride enough that I'd consider the long wear more of a sentence, but for those who don't mind the ride and the weight, long wear could be a significant advantage.

This is a timely topic for me!

All your complaints about the Schwalbes are no doubt true, but boy, do I wish I had a pair now. 15 flats in 4 days made me a convert.

Here in central Argentina, one can go miles between thorn-free places to pull off the road. We went with tougher tires than we had used before in the US and Europe, the Panaracer Tserv, but they have not been up to the rigors of the roads here. And yes, we checked our tires and tubes very carefully after every flat.

We added tire liners, and things have been a little better. Everyone here says, use Slime, so we added it today. We'll see.

Really, we should just have gone with the Schwalbes in the first place

Pretty lucky with my EVO Tour tires. I think they only come in 26, but a massive amount of meat in the tread area. Roll smooth. I have put several hundred miles on mine so far (about 15 through flint shard and gravel dirt road), ran over a knife in the road, and have not had 1 flat so far. No liners either.


EVO Alpha-Tour 30 TPI Wire Bead Bicycle Tire - 26 x 1.5 - bike tires - Buy at BikeSomeWhere.com

Voyager Hypers have a way better ride and are faster than the Gatorskins and are about the same for durability.