Hi!
Looking for some help comparing the Smart Sam Plus to the Marathon Plus MTB as a rear tire for off-road riding. I want something that has more grip on the trail, especially on climbs, but also that has good puncture protection and decent rolling resistance and preferably low noise level on pavement. The Marathon Plus MTB is great on pavement but lacks the off-road traction that I want. I wonder if the Smart Sam Plus is enough of an improvement or if another tire is out there that hits the sweet spot of good rolling resistance and noise levels on-road yet still has good off-road traction.
I've a Specialized Tero X that I ride mostly on pavement but also like to take on trails to have some real fun. It came with Ground Control trail tires that were great on trails but pretty noisy on pavement. I'd still be riding them except that I got three flats on the rear tire in under 800 miles. So, I decided to get something with better puncture protection and more suited to mostly urban riding with spirited trail riding along with some other treacherous surfaces sometimes. I did a bunch of research and ended up going with Schwalbe tires to replace the Specialized Ground Controls. I put a Smart Sam Plus in the front and a Marathon Plus MTB on the back since the Marathon has the higher puncture protection.
The Schwalbes roll a whole lot faster and are silent on pavement. I was really surprised at how much rolling resistance improved on pavement, astonished really. The trade off comes once I go off-road. There is a little less confidence going around turns at speed, but the real difference is going up inclines on loose or slightly wet terrain and forget about mud. The Smart Sam Plus up front seems to be holding its own. But the Marathon Plus MTB is not really an off-road tire. Sure, you can take it off-road and it does way better than a slick tire would. But I find myself avoiding mud and losing traction on steeper inclines or those with loose surfaces far more than before. It's almost good enough off-road but I find myself losing traction in the rear far more than I did with the Ground Controls, which was almost never.
I would just swap the front and rear tires so I could test out the sam as a rear tire myself, but my bike is a mullet set up so that's not an option.
Anyone out there ride the Marathon MTB and Smart Sam off-road and able to offer any comparison notes? Will I see a noticeable improvement with the Smart Sam Plus as rear tire over the Marathon Plus MTB? Other tire suggestions welcome.
Cheers
Looking for some help comparing the Smart Sam Plus to the Marathon Plus MTB as a rear tire for off-road riding. I want something that has more grip on the trail, especially on climbs, but also that has good puncture protection and decent rolling resistance and preferably low noise level on pavement. The Marathon Plus MTB is great on pavement but lacks the off-road traction that I want. I wonder if the Smart Sam Plus is enough of an improvement or if another tire is out there that hits the sweet spot of good rolling resistance and noise levels on-road yet still has good off-road traction.
I've a Specialized Tero X that I ride mostly on pavement but also like to take on trails to have some real fun. It came with Ground Control trail tires that were great on trails but pretty noisy on pavement. I'd still be riding them except that I got three flats on the rear tire in under 800 miles. So, I decided to get something with better puncture protection and more suited to mostly urban riding with spirited trail riding along with some other treacherous surfaces sometimes. I did a bunch of research and ended up going with Schwalbe tires to replace the Specialized Ground Controls. I put a Smart Sam Plus in the front and a Marathon Plus MTB on the back since the Marathon has the higher puncture protection.
The Schwalbes roll a whole lot faster and are silent on pavement. I was really surprised at how much rolling resistance improved on pavement, astonished really. The trade off comes once I go off-road. There is a little less confidence going around turns at speed, but the real difference is going up inclines on loose or slightly wet terrain and forget about mud. The Smart Sam Plus up front seems to be holding its own. But the Marathon Plus MTB is not really an off-road tire. Sure, you can take it off-road and it does way better than a slick tire would. But I find myself avoiding mud and losing traction on steeper inclines or those with loose surfaces far more than before. It's almost good enough off-road but I find myself losing traction in the rear far more than I did with the Ground Controls, which was almost never.
I would just swap the front and rear tires so I could test out the sam as a rear tire myself, but my bike is a mullet set up so that's not an option.
Anyone out there ride the Marathon MTB and Smart Sam off-road and able to offer any comparison notes? Will I see a noticeable improvement with the Smart Sam Plus as rear tire over the Marathon Plus MTB? Other tire suggestions welcome.
Cheers
