Specialized Trigger vs Schwalbe Marathon E Plus

[Nxkharra]

First let me be clear. I am not by all means expert in tires and reviewing them so this is just commentaries of a bike enthusiast who has owned few bikes in life with various types of tires.

The main reason I switched to Schwalbe Marathon E Plus, from Specialized Trigger which came on my Specialized Vado 5 was that I had a flat last week and am not a fan of fixing flat by the side of the road.
Marathon E Plus promises One of the better puncture resistance in the industry which attracted me. Will report on this later when I have ride them enough.
Today I rode 31 miles. Have variety of conditions. Wind behind and front, rain (although it doesn’t rain where I live in this part of California), sun, cloud.
The road was smooth black top, chopped asphalt, cement, and some debris from wind. No dirt or gravel.
I did have some climb and some downhill.
The main comment about this comparison can be summarized as the difference between riding a sedan with top of the line Michelin tire vs riding a Jeep with all weather good tire.
If this gives you the idea no need to read on...
With E Plus I could feel the bumps on the road.
Noticeably lazier than Trigger.
More solid ride. Feeling you are riding on tire vs air.
Good cornering. Good grip in all the conditions mentioned above.
The ride was 31 miles in Turbo mode with 29% battery remaining. Not in a position to compare miles per battery usage. But it seems a bit more battery usage??
There was no worrying going through everything.
My previous tires were 7 months old with 1,600 miles on them with only one flat last week. Not sure if this is normal.
The front tire was in great shape and rear tire had some signs of wear.
The option could have been to replace with the same tire and keep doing it at the same interval. But I decided to make the upgrade and not worry about having flats for many more miles to go.
I will update you as I ride these tires more for whatever worth. I am sure there are some experts out there who will give us much better review and comparison.
I will creat a new thread on this also so friends can comment.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have to tell you that I intend to use the Electrak 2.0 Armadillo on my Vado until these are worn and possibly will replace them with Electraks. The reason is I am very happy with the large air volume and with agility of these tyres; the grip is fantastic under different conditions, also during the mild Winter we have had. I'm not sure about the puncture-resistance of these Specialized tyres. I intend to fill them with Michelin Protex Max tubes (I hear it is hard to get them in North America).

I put Schwalbe Marathon E Plus 40-622 on my Lovelec Diadem e-bike. It is a hub-motor classic hybrid e-bike, the touring style. It turns out the Diadem, despite of weaknesses of the hub-motor e-bike (poor climber, slightly uneven pedalling assistance when you are occasionally coasting and start pedalling again) is very efficient on the battery. Also, the spare battery cost is half of the Specialized one. So if I fancy riding the imperial century, I can just buy one spare battery more easily. The Diadem feels heavy and far less sporty than the Vado but both bikes have their uses.

The only two surfaces where I experienced very poor grip of the Marathons were: loose crushed stone and the sand/loose soil. I cannot say if other tyres would be better under the same conditions. And I haven't ridden the Marathons in wet conditions. Otherwise the grip of the tyres on all other surfaces including dry dirt was excellent. What I love about the Marathons is these are completely silent. Sometimes, the bike speed is equal to the downwind speed and there is no wind noise at all. The only thing I could hear was a delicate whizz of the hub-motor and nothing else. It doesn't happen with many tyres.

For comparison, the Electraks produce a low hum which is not unpleasant but some noise can be heard with these tyres.

There are some comments related to the weight and "laziness" of the Marathons. Well, with the Lovelec it doesn't matter. The Czech e-bike behaves as a good old mule When it gets onto, say, 20 mph, it will keep the speed for many miles. OTH, the Vado is very agile, it accelerates and decelerates fast. Sure, "fast" tyres are more important. Yet, the promised puncture protection of the Marathons means a lot.

 

[Captain Slow]

I have an odd fascination with tires so I'm really interested to hear long term impressions. I have no idea why I'm so fascinated by tires, it's not like I buy them all that often. I only ride about 4,000 to 5,000 km's a year so generally only buying a new set of road tires every 2nd year.

 

[bellandbottle]

I had a slow rear puncture on my new(ish) Vado 4 last week, and found a pinhole on the inner tube under the tyre tread. I decided to investigate the Trigger Sport brand, and found quite a number of users complaining about punctures, especially from path flints in the wet. As it happens, I've been riding a bit of the time on paths of this type, and examined the tread under a bright light - there were quite a few places where the tyre was sliced partly open.

Although I carry a full kit with me, I really don't want to be changing a rear tube on an ebike without a stand, so opted a couple of days ago for a Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour (47-622), and have just had a couple of rides. It is not as comfy as the Trigger, but seems to roll well, and have made a decision to change the front as well.

It is a bit of a shame because I liked the ride of the Trigger.

 

[Nxkharra]

I had a slow rear puncture on my new(ish) Vado 4 last week, and found a pinhole on the inner tube under the tyre tread. I decided to investigate the Trigger Sport brand, and found quite a number of users complaining about punctures, especially from path flints in the wet. As it happens, I've been riding a bit of the time on paths of this type, and examined the tread under a bright light - there were quite a few places where the tyre was sliced partly open.

Although I carry a full kit with me, I really don't want to be changing a rear tube on an ebike without a stand, so opted a couple of days ago for a Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour (47-622), and have just had a couple of rides. It is not as comfy as the Trigger, but seems to roll well, and have made a decision to change the front as well.

It is a bit of a shame because I liked the ride of the Trigger.

@bellandbottle you and I are exactly aligned. See my review above. I like the ride on Trigger better. Smoother and livelier but don’t like to fix flat specially on the rear tire and in the field.
having the suspension fork and seapost makes the ride comfortable on Marathon E Plus but still feel the difference in ride.
My puncture came after 7 months of use and 1,600 miles. Not too bad.

 

[Nxkharra]

I used to be to take my hands off the handlebar (present I am in Tour de France) and zip up or...with the Trigger
I realize it is a DONT..
I am not able to do so with Schwalbe as easily.
I noticed the Trigger is flatter surface and Schwalbe is more pointed in the middle.
In case that is a factor for your choice.
I let all the things Trigger used to give me go for puncture resistance of Schwalbe.

 

[bellandbottle]

I used to be to take my hands off the handlebar (present I am in Tour de France) and zip up or...with the Trigger
I realize it is a DONT..
I am not able to do so with Schwalbe as easily.
I noticed the Trigger is flatter surface and Schwalbe is more pointed in the middle.
In case that is a factor for your choice.
I let all the things Trigger used to give me go for puncture resistance of Schwalbe.

As always, these things are a compromise .

You are a brave man to take your hands off anyway!

 

[Kam1936]

I used to be to take my hands off the handlebar (present I am in Tour de France) and zip up or...with the Trigger
I realize it is a DONT..
I am not able to do so with Schwalbe as easily.
I noticed the Trigger is flatter surface and Schwalbe is more pointed in the middle.
In case that is a factor for your choice.
I let all the things Trigger used to give me go for puncture resistance of Schwalbe.

@Nxkharra. Original stock Triggers, did you have reinforcements with thick pucture resident tubes and liners? 1600 miles is decent. MP, some claim 5 - 10 thousand miles never getting a flat.

 

[Nxkharra]

@Nxkharra. Original stock Triggers, did you have reinforcements with thick pucture resident tubes and liners? 1600 miles is decent. MP, some claim 5 - 10 thousand miles never getting a flat.

No reinforcements.
The new Schwalbes are almost twice as heavy (609g vs 1150g) and with rotational force you really feel the weight. But peace of mind...as the new tires are supposed to be much better puncture resistance.

 

[Nxkharra]

As I mentioned Above I have decided to go with the recommendation from Schwalbe rep to inflate the tires to 55psi rear and 50psi front. I usually run at 60 psi.
I just checked the pressures after two runs on the new tires. The pressure was off by few psi?? I adjusted the air and took the bike out for a quick test. Much better ride. Not sure why they lost air. May be new tires??
I also adjusted the suspension seat post for a softer ride.
These two adjustment made a big difference. Also forgetting the feeling of the old tires and getting used to the new tires...
I will be experimenting with the air pressure and seat adjustment and will report status.
Hope you are not getting tired of my updates. Just trying to share what I learn in case it benefits anyone.

 

[Mulezen]

I’m waiting for the 2.15’s to come into stock to replace the Bontrager ones that came with my new Allant9
I almost ordered the 2.0s but thought it might be too far a drop for the 2.4s...at any rate they’ll fill the fenders better

 

[Kam1936]

As I mentioned Above I have decided to go with the recommendation from Schwalbe rep to inflate the tires to 55psi rear and 50psi front. I usually run at 60 psi.
I just checked the pressures after two runs on the new tires. The pressure was off by few psi?? I adjusted the air and took the bike out for a quick test. Much better ride. Not sure why they lost air. May be new tires??
I also adjusted the suspension seat post for a softer ride.
These two adjustment made a big difference. Also forgetting the feeling of the old tires and getting used to the new tires...
I will be experimenting with the air pressure and seat adjustment and will report status.
Hope you are not getting tired of my updates. Just trying to share what I learn in case it benefits anyone.

Thanks for the info. I don't have a lot of experience with bikes. I've only owned two in my life. Both in the past year. I did upgrade to marathon plus tires on my other ebike because I was getting flats frequently with the stock tires. Marathon Plus definitely fixed the problem but I noticed that the tread design is a magnet for picking up gravel. Also, be careful in the rain, running them at a lower Psi should give you better comfort and traction. On the other hand, Triggers handle well in the rain, more agile and don't pick up gravel like the MP. I hate to give them up. I did get Thorn resistant tubes and liners in the Triggers when I first got my bike. I'm hoping they hold up because I'm not mechanically inclined to change out flats. ( I know I need to learn) I leave that to the lbs and my insurance if it happens. Road side assistance up to 35 miles with Velosurance. Thank God for that.

 

[Nxkharra]

Thanks for the info. I don't have a lot of experience with bikes. I've only owned two in my life. Both in the past year. I did upgrade to marathon plus tires on my other ebike because I was getting flats frequently with the stock tires. Marathon Plus definitely fixed the problem but I noticed that the tread design is a magnet for picking up gravel. Also, be careful in the rain, running them at a lower Psi should give you better comfort and traction. On the other hand, Triggers handle well in the rain, more agile and don't pick up gravel like the MP. I hate to give them up. I did get Thorn resistant tubes and liners in the Triggers when I first got my bike. I'm hoping they hold up because I'm not mechanically inclined to change out flats. ( I know I need to learn) I leave that to the lbs and my insurance if it happens. Road side assistance up to 35 miles with Velosurance. Thank God for that.

I have the same insurance and towing coverage. When I had the flat on the rear tire last week I thought about calling them but then I decided to fix the flat as I was on the bike path and I didn’t want to have interface during these times. I am very curious how the roadside assistance works. What type of car or truck do they bring? How do they put the heavy bike in the car or truck?
I learned from a YouTube video to carry patch kit in addition to extra tube. Using patch kit (as opposed to changing the inter tube) eliminates the need to take the wheel off hence no anxiety specially for the rear wheel.
Of course if blow out then you have to change the inter tube.
I did switch the Triggers to the Marathon E Plus myself at home and using the bike stand. I was nervous (I am not mechanical inclined either) but worked out well and was a good practice in case I have to do it in the field. My challenge is putting the wheel on the rear back in.
I have ordered a pair of handlebar jacks to be able to put the bike upside down on handlebar and seat without damaging the display and handlebar. This should make it easier to work on the bike in the field. Hopefully I don’t have to worry about fixing flat with the Marathon E Plus anytime soon but with ebike you never know what could come up and like to be prepared.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I just checked the pressures after two runs on the new tires. The pressure was off by few psi?? I adjusted the air and took the bike out for a quick test. Much better ride. Not sure why they lost air. May be new tires??

That's normal with typical inner tubes. The tyres have nothing to do with that. That's why I changed to the Michelin Protek Max that maintain pressure for 6 months but these tubes are unique.

 

[Nxkharra]

That's normal with typical inner tubes. The tyres have nothing to do with that. That's why I changed to the Michelin Protek Max that maintain pressure for 6 months but these tubes are unique.

Not normal to loose few PSI in few days. Hope this was only for the first time I inflated the tires and attributed to them being new.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

OK but it is not the tyre for sure.

 

[Sierratim]

Not normal to loose few PSI in few days. Hope this was only for the first time I inflated the tires and attributed to them being new.

In a conventional tube (vs tubeless) setup the tire pressure will drop a lb or more per day. It's the tube, but no need to worry. Considering the low precision of most retail tire pumps, there's no need to do anymore about it than pump up before every ride!

If you use CO2 inflators (as I do) the pressure will drop much faster. Pump up with air at your first chance.

 

[Nxkharra]

OK but it is not the tyre for sure.

Agree. I meant new setup which includes inter tube. I wonder if the new inter tubes are causing the loosing of air!

 

[steve mercier]

It is not a surprise to me that there seems to be agreement here that flat suppression is priority one. Adjustments can be made for comfort in advance but a puncture almost always ruins a good cycle day unless it happens at home or in front of repair shop. Once I had a flat in front of a car tire shop and my joy turned to resignation when the guy said his tank was under too much pressure and would explode my tire. I do not know if he was just blowing me off ( pardon the pun) but I ended up walking home.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I made a wheel of my daughter's wheelchair explode from overpressure while in Copenhagen on Sunday. Luckily the Danes are a cycling nation and the wheel got fixed early on Monday.