Tire Question

[Ctyboy33]

My apologies in advance if this question has been answered. I am leaving in a few weeks for a ride down the Pacific Coast Trail Vancouver B.C. to San Diego, CA. Was wondering which model of Schwalbe Marathon tires I should run on my rig for this ride. I'm on a 56cm LHT, which runs 700c tires and I'll be fully loaded for a self sufficient tour. I guess its between the Extreme, Supreme, XR or Plus? I'll be sticking mostly to the ACA map, which I believe is pretty much paved roads with minimal off road riding. If I am wrong about that, let me know. What do you guys, or ladies, suggest? Thanks in advance.

Best,

Dave

[staehpj1]

If I understand your route correctly that would be the Pacific Coast Highway, right?  If so I personally would use a tire suited primarily to decent roads, like something nearly slick.  I am not especially a Schwalbe fan due primarily to having been soured on them by the Marathon Pluses that I recently took off after only a few hundred miles because they rode like anchors.  In fairness some of their other tires are probably very good, but I'd avoid the Pluses unless puncture resistance is your main and nearly only criteria.  Personally I prefer something with a lively ride and if I have to fix a flat once in a while so be it.

My tire of choice would be the 28 mm Continental Ultra Gatorskin.  It has a nice lively ride, is fast, durable, and pretty puncture resistant.  I used them on my spring tour carrying about 30 pounds and they were a joy.

[Ctyboy33]

Yes The Plus seems on the heavy side and may be unnecessary for me. However, the Marathon Supreme might be quite nice despite the price. They are much lighter then the Plus and able to hold a load and have a nice tread. Anyone have experience with these? How do they compare?

[Ctyboy33]

Also, how fat should I go? 700 x 35? Waht do you guys run for a loaded tour?

[paddleboy17]

The Schwalbe Marathon line is overly complicated.  Too many tires named Marathon.

I have the Marathon XR on my Waterford.  It does well for me.  Running bicyclists off the road is a time honored sport in Michigan, so I tend plot tours that maximize my use of rail trails.  And I have a job that only lets me get away at most a week.

The Marathon XR does well on dirt.  You did not say 100% perfect pavement, so don't rule out riding on a wet dirt road from your equation.  You could probably go with something with a less aggressive tread pattern.

Schwalbe does not measure its tire carcass like any other tire company.  So be warned, that a Schwalbe tire will be bigger and fatter than you think.  Waterford sized my bike for 38mm tires.  I can barely fit a 35mm Schwalbe tire.  Yes, Waterford make their forks with a tight crown, so there is not a lot of clearance.  But Schwalbe tires run big.

I think you will do just fine with a 35mm tire, you may have fit issues with a 38mm tire.

[Ctyboy33]

What about Marathon Racer? Anyone run these on a tour? My buddy just got these for our tour on the LBS recommendation. Are these ok?

[bdegroodt]

Hi,

Been following this RSS feed and thought I'd add a bit I read yesterday on tires:

http://epicureancyclist.com/?p=855

Safe travels!

BD

[John Nelson]

I guess its between the Extreme, Supreme, XR or Plus?

Here's my take.

Chose the Plus if you place a very high value on puncture protection, and little value on anything else.

Otherwise, choose the Extreme if the majority of your riding will be on unpaved roads.

Otherwise, choose the Supreme if you place a high value on low weight.

Otherwise, choose the XR. When in doubt, choose the XR.

[Ctyboy33]

I think I've ruled out the Plus. I don't think I have much need for something that heavy. I probably don't need the Extreme either since I will be on a majority of paved roads. I have, however, added the Marathon Racer into the mix. Anyone have any experience with these? Are they good for a loaded tour? I guess its down to the XR, Supreme and Racer. Since I am going to run fenders I assume I can't really go much wider then 35, so I'll probably get 700 x 35's.

[johnsondasw]

The whole route is paved.  I rode almost the whole thing with $30.00 Bontrager 700x23c road tires and had one flat, just out of Santa
Cruz.  And the tires weren't even brand new when I started.  I have also never changed tires for any paved road tour in 30 years.  On the Pacific
Coast ride, I was hauling a trailer, so all the weight wasn't on the bike tires, but on all the other tours (all were shorter than that one), I was using panniers.  Anyway, I wouldn't change anything, unless I anticipated lots of dirt/gravel roads. 

[Ctyboy33]

I understand that you wouldn't change anything, but I am not changing tires. I am putting tires on my bike from nothing .. there is no change. I'm just trying to decide what works best for me is all.

[John Nelson]

The Marathon Racer is a perfectly acceptable touring tire. Compared to the Marathon XR, it sacrifices a bit of puncture protection and durability for speed. It's also somewhat less expensive than the XR. It's a tradeoff you'll have to make, but both options are good. I think if I was planning a 4000-mile trip and hoped to make it on one set of tires, I'd stick to the XR. But if your trip is shorter or you're willing to change tires, the Racer is fine.

[Ctyboy33]

Thanks all .. I ordered a set of Supremes. I figure it will give me the speed similar to the Racer with the security of puncture protection. I'll have to recover a bit from the price, but hopefully it will give me piece of mind.

[John Nelson]

Just FYI, a few months ago, I ordered a pair of Marathon XR and a pair of Marathon Supremes, both in size 700x35 and both from the same vendor at the same time. When I got them, I weighed them on my kitchen food scale. As you might expect, the actual weights didn't exactly match the advertised weights, presumably due to manufacturing variations. Here are the numbers:

Marathon XR: Advertised=590g Actual=497g
Marathon Supreme: Advertised=440g Actual=431g

So the weight difference between the two was not as great for my tires as the difference you would expect from the Schwalbe specifications.

[Ctyboy33]

Just FYI, a few months ago, I ordered a pair of Marathon XR and a pair of Marathon Supremes, both in size 700x35 and both from the same vendor at the same time. When I got them, I weighed them on my kitchen food scale. As you might expect, the actual weights didn't exactly match the advertised weights, presumably due to manufacturing variations. Here are the numbers:

Marathon XR: Advertised=590g Actual=497g
Marathon Supreme: Advertised=440g Actual=431g

So the weight difference between the two was not as great for my tires as the difference you would expect from the Schwalbe specifications.

Thanks for that info .. How would you compare the two tires? Considering I will be strictly on paved roads would you agree that the Supreme makes the most sense for me? I figured as long as I was sticking to paved roads the Supreme would have the advantage as far as speed and rolling resistance with a similar amount of protection.