# Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tires



## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

I have been waiting for my tubeless small block 8 rear tire to wear out so I could put some 1.75 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on the commuter. Well that happened last night and this morning was my first right on the new tires. Pumped up to 65 psi, they scream. I could hold 20 mph pretty easily and actually hit 31 mph on the flats once without using the 11 tooth in the back where as with the 2.2" knobbies it took a bit more effort. I highly recommend giving them a try. I am almost as happy with these as when I finally installed fenders on the commuter.

-Simon


----------



## byknuts (Aug 9, 2008)

wait till you scooch down the line to 1.25" specialized fat boys at 100 psi!!  

ne plus ultra for fast mtb wheel'd tires that offer decent protection!
it actually qualifies as cheating when blasting roadies on your muddy mtb.


----------



## 29Clyde (Jan 15, 2010)

Funny, I went the opposite direction. I ran the 32mm Schwalbe Marathon Plus (tubeless) for commuting last year but just switched over to the Small Block 8. I agree 100% that they do roll well. I changed offices and routes this year and wanted a tire that could handle a little bit of single track and give a little more cushion on gravel. The SB8 seemed to fit the bill.

The only negatives of the Marathon plus in my eyes were that the 32mm looked pathetic on my MCR9 and they only held up tubeless for about 1500 miles before they started sprouting more leaks than the Stan's could keep up with (I tried them tubeless as an experiment and ended up running them that way much longer than expected). Probably not a fair criticism but once I gut accustomed to the feel of them tubeless, going back to tubes was a real let down.


----------



## Simonns (Mar 25, 2004)

If I had any single track to ride on my commute I would defiantly want something fatter. I didn't even think about trying to run these tubless. Most of the non-tubeless tires I have tried running tubeless didn't work so I don't really consider it anymore. And byknuts, I did kinda feel like I was cheating this morning when I was passing people on the trail.

-Simon


----------



## zaphod123 (Apr 20, 2009)

I would suggest Marathon Cross tires, they roll great on pavement but are perfectly suitable for hard packed trails as well. They're the most versatile tire I've used.


----------



## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

Is this the most durable commuter tire made? A 700x32mm version lists at 800 grams, so I'd hope so!


----------



## phirebug (Apr 20, 2012)

+1. i've got a set of both and they are my absolute go-to tires for pavement. the marathons are great for putting on miles, and they absolutely scream. I run them on a fairly light 3x hardtail, so on a flat road, it carves the road bike's advantage down pretty far. The small block 8's are my 'goofing around' tire because they grip and roll so well on concrete, but you can still jump off a curb and cut through a park. i love their grip though. no matter how far you lean the bike, or what angle you land a jump at, they just STICK.


----------

