Marathon Plus Tires - Opinions

[Flickedbic]

I am about to pull the trigger on a CCS but would greatly appreciate any and all opinions on this tire upgrade.

I have heard some say it feels wobbly and makes for an unnerving ride. I definitely don't want an uneasy, wobbly ride at 28mph... but I have a 10 mile daily commute along the side of a highway full of glass and debris; flats have been a major issue and I'm not keen on dealing with all these on a hub motor bike.

I'd love to hear of anyone's opinions or experience with these Marathon Plus Tires on speed pedelecs.


Thanks in advance.

 

[rich c]

I have the 50km Energizer Pro, 700x38C, on my Haibike XDURO S RX speed peddle. Only 1600 miles on them so far, but absolutely no issues.

 

[hurricane56]

I rode this tire all of last year, about 4K miles on it with no issues. You’ll still get flats if you ride on the side of the road so be prepared to change out tubes. If you got a combo wrench when you purchased your bike, don’t forget that or else you won’t be able to remove your rear wheel.

 

[Flickedbic]

I'm specifically looking for info on the schwalbe marathon plus in 16 x 1.75 as that is what is being offered as an upgrade with free installation.

The puncture protection seems top-notch but besides what I mentioned above some people say there is less grip especially in moist conditions.

 

[JRA]

I can't wait for the time when tubeless becomes standard on e bikes. It just plain works.

 

[michael mitchell]

I've got a Marathon Plus on my CC Air. I'm at about 1500 miles, and have had 1 flat. It was a half inch, razor sharp stone that went right through the tread. This thing looked like a tiny railroad spike. It was late in the afternoon, so instead of trying to change the tube, I pulled out the stone and used a 5 year old can of bike fix-a-flat. It worked surprisingly well on my 13 mile ride home.

Handling in the rain is adequate, but if you're looking to corner like a speed demon, maybe a 50+ pound bike isn't the right choice. In dry, the ride isn't as smooth as a standard road bike on slick tires, but you're also dealing with some motor vibration and more wind resistance. That said, I wouldn't describe it as "wobbly". Perhaps those people need to true their wheels?

I'm looking at those Tannus tires as well. I'm curious about the ride quality and possible spoke stress with a solid tire, though.

 

[Dunbar]

I’ve got some Schwalbe Marathon Almotion 28x2.0 tires on my Cross Current. Great tires for the money. Not quite as puncture resistant as the Marathon Plus but they have a lower rolling resistance and I assume a smoother ride than the Marathon Plus. I was riding fast on wet roads on ‘S’ mode last night and the Almotions handled great. In ~5k miles on the Marathon Almotions I haven’t had a single puncture so they’re still pretty stout tires.

If the roads are truly as bad as you describe you probably want the Marathon Plus since the puncture resistance is amazing. There’s a video on YouTube of them rolling over a bunch of tacks and not puncturing. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with a rear flat on a rear hub motor e-bike on your way to work.

 

[opimax]

I have them on my Stromer st2 in reiterate 1.95 26 or 2.ox26 cant remember. Not sure the miles but less rolling resistance then the stock Big Ben, no flat yet. I thought the Almotion weren't available for me or i would have got them for even less resistance, I had only a couple flats in my time w/ebikes as I ride "nice" trails mainly

 

[Andy_in_CA]

I have the stock tires (Kenda) and plan to upgrade to the Marathon Plus next season. I have a 22 mile round trip commute in which I ride both on bike lanes and bike paths. I think this bike feels really solid and not wobbly at all even at 28+ with stock tires.... so any upgrade is going to make it that much better.

my .02

 

[JE92024]

I ran the stock Kendas for a 18 months before the tread wore thin and I was getting regular puncture flats. I ordered Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x45 after having read lots of good things about them here and elsewhere. When they arrived I could not get them to mount on rims without burping off at ~20psi. The problem might have been due to a warped wire bead or manufacturing defect. I returned them and went with Continental Touring Plus Reflex 700x47 and have had no problems mounting or flats in six months of use. Reflective sidewall is nice feature.

 

[youth]

I use the Marathon with the one step down from their best puncture protection. One tire had a QC issue with the sidewall slightly budging out 1mm in one spot, but I'm still using it. Got a flat recently on one of them running over some piece of stiff wire while luckily close to home. When having to mounting them on the original CC rim I'm always afraid of the tube blowing out during inflation because of how easy they slip on & off. Really have to make sure the bead is seated all around.

 

[Flickedbic]

Thanks everyone. I think I'll go with the upgrade for flat protection and just ride extra carefully when it's wet out, using the rear brake and staying off the road markings.
Maybe I can run on the low side of the PSI recommendations for better grip.

Those of you who use the marathon+ (16 x 1.75) what PSI(s) do you favor and what is your weight?

 

[Dunbar]

Those of you who use the marathon+ (16 x 1.75) what PSI(s) do you favor and what is your weight?

The wheels on the CCS are 700C. So you’re want to order one of those tires sizes. Pretty much anything from 700x32-45mm will work on the CCS rims. I would recommend getting the widest size available which is 700 x 45 and run them at 40-50psi.