I’ve got the stock Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres that came with the bike. I’ve had it 6 months or so and got my first puncture on my commute home. I ride a lot so I don’t feel too hard done by really, although 6 months isn’t great.
Question is, what would be a decent, more puncture resistant option to the Marathon Racers? I use my bike a lot, I commute on it (London) and it comes away to Europe with me on cycling excursions.
I’ve read about Marathon+ and contis etc but I’m new to Bromptons having ridden exclusively road bikes all my life. Would be grateful for the advice.
by SuomiBob
20 Comments
My racers are rubbish, so I’m swapping over to the Conti. Everyone says they’re better in every way, so go for those.
2Bikes4Adventure made a nice video about brompton tires few years ago. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1i1W6xy8hM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1i1W6xy8hM)
Sacrifice to the puncture demons.
I changed the tires for Conti urban contact and the tubes for Schwalbe when I had my first puncture. No issues since. The contis roll much better than the stock Schwalbe tires.
Learn how to fix punctures too, lots of instructional videos on YouTube
I learned how to fix punctures and replace tyres when I got my used c-line with conti urbans. It’s a good skill to have on long rides away from servicing, obviously.
When you’re in the middle of the city on a commute and a deadline.. They got annoying real quick.
Switch to marathon plus. It’ll save you so much more headache and restore your confidence in the bike.
Schwalbe Marathon Plus and no more punctures
Not a single puncture in five years with Marathon Plus on my Brompton, but they are are slow and rough-riding
I find fixing punctures to be fairly easy breezy
getting 16″ tires off and on again, not so much
I did use the Continental Urban tyres for a while, and they do roll well.
But after two punctures I did the inevitable and swapped to marathon plus tyres, no more punctures.
Cannot recommend the conti’s enough – made it feel like a different (smoother, faster, better ) bike
I’ve been very happy with the conti urbans.
I had the marathon plus for a while but the urbans are nicer to fit and ride.
I loved the weight and feel of the Contis, especially on a P line, but I got a flat on the rear wheel after just a few weeks. Maybe it was just a freak occurrence? Anyway, I replaced it with a Green Marathon and left the Conti on the front wheel; no flats since.
On my other Brompton (my 6 speed C line), I put on Marathon Plus tires because it’s my “touring” bike where I really don’t want to deal with flats on long rides where I could be far from civilization. Also since I’m not carrying it up and down stairs like my commuter, weight is less important. But the Marathon Plus is really friggin heavy. I would not want that on my P line. Yes, the likelihood of getting a flat in city commuting is higher but I can just fold it up and take a taxi/Uber/subway/bus to get where I need to.
I use Marathon Plus for riding in that London.
one puncture in six months isn’t a bad sign of a tyre at all. have u double-checked if the pressure was right this time, and the tyre seated properly on the wheel?
having said that, Conti Urban Contact is a fantastic tyre. fast on tarmac, light and responsive in feedback especially when u run high pressure. however it has high tendency to break on the side wall if run under-pressure especially the tan wall version
The first time I fixed a brompton puncture it almost killed me. Worth watching a video and do it somewhere warm if possible so the rubber is supple (tricky in London ofc…)
I find fixing punctures to be fairly easy breezy
getting 16″ tires off and on again, not so much… lol
> I’ve got the stock Schwalbe Marathon Racer tyres that came with the bike. I’ve had it 6 months or so and got my first puncture on my commute home.
The exact thing happened to me, 6 months, rear wheel as well! I was only a few miles from home and got the bus. Actually I had to take 2 buses, maybe I should have walked.
> I ride a lot so I don’t feel too hard done by really, although 6 months isn’t great.
Punctures are mainly due to chance, I wouldn’t change my tyres just because I got one puncture, I tend to use tyres until they’re worn out. The Marathon Plus is a thick, heavy and slow tyre, you will go slower by one or two sprocket teeths!
People recommend the Marathon Plus tires but the guys at the official Brompton shop clearly explained their drawbacks : they take too much space on the wheels which could create problems with mudguards and such. Also they’re harder to install.
Because of this I was told to buy the Marathon instead of the Marathon Plus.
Continental Urban contact at about 90 PSI. IMHO it’s a much better ride and I haven’t had a puncture since switching, years back