Tire Comparison

[Electric Bike Company]

We here at EBC strive to find the highest quality materials that we can source to build our bikes. This includes everything from our handlebars all the way down to our choice in tires. Recently, we conducted an experiment on the Top 5 rated tires [Kenda, Maxxis, Schwable, Continental, & Rhino] to see if their claim of "puncture resistance" actually rings true. Watch our latest video to see which tires are the most puncture resistant!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

We here at EBC strive to find the highest quality materials that we can source to build our bikes. This includes everything from our handlebars all the way down to our choice in tires. Recently, we conducted an experiment on the Top 5 rated tires [Kenda, Maxxis, Schwable, Continental, & Rhino] to see if their claim of "puncture resistance" actually rings true. Watch our latest video to see which tires are the most puncture resistant!

Not a fair comparison I must say.
The Schwalbe's you tested are regular bike tires. The one you used was Schwalbe Fat frank with the lowest K-shield protection.
If you take apart the Marathon Plus, you will see a large blue "smart guard" rubber.

They have a whole range of E-bike specific tires.
Almost all branded tires are made in Indosensia or vietnam or China.

 

[Ebiker01]

No Specialized , Vitoria Or WTB tires ??

 

[FlatSix911]

Not a fair comparison I must say.
The Schwalbe's you tested are regular bike tires. The one you used was Schwalbe Fat frank with the lowest K-shield protection.
If you take apart the Marathon Plus, you will see a large blue "smart guard" rubber.

They have a whole range of E-bike specific tires.
Almost all branded tires are made in Indonesia or Vietnam or China.

I agree... a very poor comparison of protection levels, Apples vs. Oranges.

Schwalbe makes some of the most durable bike tires available... level 5-7

Here is an excellent guide to their 2019 tires for EBikes:

https://www.schwalbe.com/en/catalogesflyer?file=files/schwalbe/userupload/PDF/Kataloge/2019/EBIKE_2019_English_low.pdf

 

[Browneye]

Next level down is 'level 4' - "raceguard" - a double nylon fabric layer that prevents punctures, for 'light sporty tires'. That's what I have on my 'Big Apple' balloon tires.

And the whole Schwalbe e-bike tire lineup in PDF: https://www.e-biketires.com/en/home.html

 

[Eric Kuyper]

I'm with the group on this one, specifically on the EBC I have found the performance of the Marathon GT Tour to be superior to the others listed, and the puncture resistance has been fantastic. Tire feel can be subjective, but let's not quibble on facts and if you are going to do a comparison, make sure you are comparing either the best offerings across brands, or at least what would be considered to be similar offerings between manufacturers.

 

[J.R.]

Of the five, I've owned the Continental, Kenda and Schwalbe with the best of their flat protection. From my anecdotal experience the Schwalbe is far superior than the other two. The Kenda lasted less than 2000 miles before the carcass had a complete blowout under mid pressure. Probably a manufacturer's defect, but I'll never own Kenda again.

 

[Nomad]

I had another thought are the puncture materails the same?

 

[Solom01]

Yeah, I hate to sound mean on this, but I don't know what this test was supposed to show. As far as I know there isn't necessarily any correlation between the thickness of a material and puncture protection. You could have a vest stuffed with a layer of straw and another with a thinner layer of Kevlar. I know which one I would want on if someone were to try and shoot me.

 

[FlatSix911]

Next level down is 'level 4' - "raceguard" - a double nylon fabric layer that prevents punctures, for 'light sporty tires'. That's what I have on my 'Big Apple' balloon tires.

And the whole Schwalbe e-bike tire lineup in PDF: https://www.e-biketires.com/en/home.html

Correct, Level 4 protection is RaceGuard... Schwable recommends only for some gravel, road and race eBikes.

 

[Nxkharra]

Just changed tires on my 2020 Specialized Vado 5.0 (Trigger Sport Reflect, 700x47mm) to Schwable Marathon E Plus. Also changed the inter tubes to Shwable.
Easy on. Heavier and not as lively as the original tires. Good cornering. My main objective is puncture resistance. Will be updating you on this.
the reason I did this now is that I had a flat in my rear tire which was 6 months old and 1,600 miles. Not sure if this is normal.
the front tire was good shape but the rear was showing some wear.
btw when I called Schwable customer support to ensure correct sizing I found one of the best customer support person to help. Very fast shipping. This is their newest tire just released.

 

[Mulezen]

^ The 2.0 E Plus I assume? I have a new Trek on lockdown at the shop. I have been waiting for the 2.15’s to come into stock to substitute. Is the size difference meaningful?

 

[Nxkharra]

Not sure about the version. I will post pictures of the labels to see if it means anything to you. These were just released.
it is the same size as my previous tires.