I love the idea of effective puncture protection and the Marathon Plus seems to have that in spades. However, people will often add that it "rides like wood." If I put a two-inch tire on my touring bike, will the relative wide-ness of the tire and the lower air pressure make a noticeable improvement in the ride quality? If not, do you all have any suggestions for that perfect mix of reliable puncture protection and decent ride quality?
I ride 85% pavement and 15% gravel.
by CT1274
12 Comments
Depends on what you have on there right now. They definitely are pretty harsh feeling, but compared to road tires (25-32c) they’re definitely more comfortable. I wouldn’t say they’re rock hard, but you’ll get a bit more road feel compared to a lighter casing like gravelkings in the same width.
I’ve done a lot of touring on 50c marathon E plus, which is about as thick and heavy as it gets. And the ride is still really good if you keep the pressure somewhat low. About 1-2 kph slower (for same perceived effort) than my friends bike on 37c Vittoria terreno zero’s. So not a massive difference, but something to consider
I like them a lot. Have them on both of my hybrids. I ride about like you, some gravel.
I have that tire 32 width on my touring tire and enjoy it. There are smoother tires out there but these are smooth enough for me and never a flat over about 1200 touring miles and triple that training and day rides.
I transitioned from a 47mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus to Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 40mm.
Not only was my ride significantly more plush with the thinner Pirelli, but I also ride much faster with the same level of effort.
Answering your question: If wider does make them feel softer, they are still very harsh.
I wouldn’t ride them even if they were free. Sealant works great. Hell, even Tannus Armor is better if you absolutely refuse to ever fix a flat. Frankly, with the speed difference, you can easily save more time on faster tires than you would lose fixing a flat.
Id suggest Marathon Green/guard & 47mm width. A lot lighter, cheaper & more supple than the Plus but with still great puncture protection. Ive done 5000 km/3000miles without puncture on the rear, cycle touring.
I tour on a 35mm Marathon Plus on 650B wheels. I would go wider if my frame permitted. I feel they ride fine. More importantly, I love the confidence they provide on sketchy roads and paths. I think u/kahjtheundedicated is right that you forfeit 1-2 kph but I don’t care; the faster I tour, the more stuff I miss. Also, I think the speed loss is only on the flats. While climbing, I’m limited by power to weight and going downhill my speed is limited by safety.
47mm = 1.85 inches so you still have a spare 0.25 inches or about 6mm
I suggest trying lower front tyre pressures first. I found the standard Marathons (32-622) run at 5 bar were very harsh and felt skittish in corners. Dropping pressure to 4 bar improved both the ride and cornering.
I can say my 26×2″ marathon pluses felt pretty plush at 2 bar (minimum suggested pressure). Sluggish, but plush.
I put these on my old racer. They were so difficult to get back off it due to the armoured layer. Was close to impossible