Marathon tires. Schwalbe. Tires. Wheels.

[Westinghouse]

I just paid $38.00 for a Marathon tire made in India. I passed up a Continental Plus that cost $60.00. The dealer said Schwalbe is a German company and makes a superior tire compared to Marathon. Does anyone know about Schwalbe vs. Marathon? I have 700 by 28-35 mm wheels. The dealer said the rims will take a 37 mm wide tire. The 700 by 37 tire seems to seat properly on the rim when inflated, but a 35 mm wide tire seats unevenly, and is very loose on the rim compared to the 27 1/4 tires I am used to using.

[FredHiltz]

... The dealer said Schwalbe is a German company and makes a superior tire compared to Marathon. Does anyone know about Schwalbe vs. Marathon? ...

Hi Westinghouse,

Go back to the Gear Talk list of thread topics. Type Schwalbe into the search box above the list and click Search. Do it again for Marathon. These will show you dozens of opinions. You need to sort out "superior" for what? Brisk handling? Long wear? Puncture resistance? Light weight? etc.

Fred

[John Nelson]

I think there may be some confusion here. When people talk about Marathon tires, they are almost always talking about Schwalbe Marathon tires. Although it's possible that somebody else makes a tire also called Marathon, I somehow doubt it. It's also possible that Schwalbe Marathon tires are made in India (even though Schwalbe is a German company).

Also note that Schwalbe makes dozens of different tires across a wide range. In my opinion, Schwalbe is a very good tire manufacturer, but that doesn't mean that every tire they make is suitable for all purposes.

Also note that Schwalbe makes a dozen different tires that carry the "Marathon" name. Schwalbe Marathon is a family of tires (only one of which is simply called the "Schwalbe Marathon", which is the low end of the Marthon family).

There is no "best" tire. The most important thing is to buy a tire that is suitable for your intended use. And there are many, many possible intended usages.

[staehpj1]

I don't know if the marathon you bought is a schwalbe, but some of the schwalbes are listed as using "india rubber" could that be what you have?

[Westinghouse]

You are right. I got it confused. The tire I got was the Continental Contact for $37.00. I have read only two reviews of the CCs. They were favorable. One said he could get 4000-5000 miles out of a pair of CCs. The srore owner said the Schwalbe tires were superior. I suppose they are. I just want to cycle from coast to coast without having to buy and replace tires along the way.

[JimF]

You are right. I got it confused. The tire I got was the Continental Contact for $37.00. I have read only two reviews of the CCs. They were favorable. One said he could get 4000-5000 miles out of a pair of CCs. The srore owner said the Schwalbe tires were superior. I suppose they are. I just want to cycle from coast to coast without having to buy and replace tires along the way.

Westinghouse: I cycled the TA back a few years ago on Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, including my Bob. No flat (except one at the start due to a faulty tube patch by me). Have been riding the same tires (guessing about 6k miles) since. Still no flat. They are heavier than many (800g), as would be expected of a highly puncture-resistant tire. The difference in weight between it and a less resistant tire probably ends up as less than 1% of the total weight of a loaded touring bike and rider.

[hmoore71]

... The dealer said Schwalbe is a German company and makes a superior tire compared to Marathon. Does anyone know about Schwalbe vs. Marathon? ...

Hi Westinghouse,

Go back to the Gear Talk list of thread topics. Type Schwalbe into the search box above the list and click Search. Do it again for Marathon. These will show you dozens of opinions. You need to sort out "superior" for what? Brisk handling? Long wear? Puncture resistance? Light weight? etc.

Fred

Fred I keep seeing you replying to questions like this. I understand why but it is not a real friendly way to address some one's question whether they be newbies or otherwise. And yes it is just my opinion.

[paddleboy17]

I just paid $38.00 for a Marathon tire made in India. I passed up a Continental Plus that cost $60.00. The dealer said Schwalbe is a German company and makes a superior tire compared to Marathon. Does anyone know about Schwalbe vs. Marathon? I have 700 by 28-35 mm wheels. The dealer said the rims will take a 37 mm wide tire. The 700 by 37 tire seems to seat properly on the rim when inflated, but a 35 mm wide tire seats unevenly, and is very loose on the rim compared to the 27 1/4 tires I am used to using.

I used to run Continental tires on all of my bikes (I have Schwalbe's on my touring bike now).  I also used to have a mountain bike that had WTB rims.  It took 2 men, with careful coordination to get those tires on that rim.  I believe that WTB rims tend to run big, and Continental tires tend to run small.  When I replaced that bike, I made sure the new bike did not have WTB rims.

My point is that tire and rims standards are not as good as one would think they should be.  Cars don't seem to have that problem.   It is possible that your rim runs small and tires that you bought run big.  I could not tell from your post, but it sounds like you thought the 35mm wide tires and 37mm wide tires were made by the same vendor.  It could be that the 35mm wide tires you bought are defective.

If you don't like the way that the tires fit, then explore returning them for a tire that does fit.