Marathon Plus RLX 26x1.35 Bicycle Tire, Black Wire Beaded

I didn't want to wait until I had 8000 miles on the 26" X 2" Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire to write the review. Certainly, if there is any problem, I'll update my review. This is my first Schwalbe tire purchase but it won't be my last. I was reluctant to spend so much on a bicycle tire. I bought a lot of bike tires when they were $5 per tire, and now a decent tire is $20, and the SChwalbe is a lot more than that! Buying quality only hurts once. Honestly, I'll probably get 3-4 times the mileage out of this Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tire compared to the $20 tires, making the Schwalbe the less expensive tire in the long term. This isn't a racing tire. This is a reliable commuter tire. This is the tire to buy when you need to get to work on time and not be on the side of the road patching a tube in the rain. My initial reluctance to buy such an expensive tire evaporated when I received the tire. It looks like a motorcycle tire, and an expensive one at that! This tire screams excellence and quality. I bought it for an electric bike conversion because changing the rear tire on an electric bike with a rear hub motor is a pain. There's a lot of weight back there (hub motor in the wheel and the batteries and electronics in a steel box on the rear rack) and I wanted a puncture resistant tire. I have a new $20 tire on the front. When it wears out, I'll replace it with another $20 tire I have in storage, and when that wears out, I'll replace it with a Schwalbe Marathon Plus to match the rear tire, which will still be going strong! Nothing but Schwalbe tires after that! Also, the reflective strip in the tire's sidewall seems a bit gimmicky but it's actually very functional. It looks like a thin light colored sidewall pinstripe in the daytime, but it really pops when illuminated by headlights at night. Check out the picture that was taken with on my phone's camera with the flash enabled.

From the factory my CrossCurrent e-bike weighed a hefty 60lbs, and then I turned into a heavy hauler utility vehicle, lot's of accessories, a heavy duty trailer, all the heavy u-locks, and me and were looking at 260lbs bike weight pulling 120lbs going 20mph in moderate traffic. The OEM tires kept getting flats. Three flats the first trip to the grocery store. I was getting flats every time I got on the bike and every trip put noticeable wear on the tires. These bad boys saved my sanity, from the moment I put them on my bike the my issues with flats ended and I was finally able to have a great trouble free ride. The handling, wear, and comfort are great, and they look fantastic as well. I went two months before having another flat, amazing considering the weight on the rear tire and the terrain. After that I put a Tannus Solid Tire on the rear, not because I was disappointed with this tire but due to the weight and the difficulty of working on a wheel with a hub motor. The front tire I kept and it has been flat and trouble free for five years, amazing tread wear!

This is an excellent tire. After a few years of changing flat way too often on our local bike paths in and around Santa Barbara, California, I switched all our bikes to this tire and now flats are very few and far between. Five bikes, ten tires - all Schwalbe Marathons.

I got these to replace some old slicks. I'm a Clydesdale+ commuter on a 2001 Cannondale F500 who rides 75-100 miles a week. I don't want any other tire under me from now on.Pros:* Smooth riding. It was like getting a new bike when I first put these on. Smooth and comfy ride.* Good grip on pavement. After 3 years and thousands of miles in California conditions, I've never had an issue with traction, wet or dry.* Bulletproof. On my old tires I was getting one or two punctures a week, even with inserts. I haven't had a flat yet in those 3 years and thousands of miles (knock wood, cross fingers).* Super visible. I ride in the dark almost exclusively. The reflective strip was a new thing for me. I won't ride on the road without them any more.* Long lasting. I'm a super Clydesdale. These tires are wearing really well. Later this year I expect to swap front and back tires to get many more miles.Cons:* Very tight fitting. The beads are very stiff and very tight on the wheel. When I first installed them, I thought I'd snap my plastic tire levers. Makes me worry about a roadside flat. Bike mechanic friend tells me that they stretch the beads a little before they install them. Hasn't been an real issue yet.* Sipes pick up gravel every once in a while. Not a big deal, but for a rider used to slicks and lots of flats, the sound freaked me out for a while.* Absolutely no grip on dirt or leaf litter. To be expected, but I had a few shocks before I learned my lesson.

One of them worked really well for 2500 miles. Then the steel bead reinforcement came loose and punched through the sidewall. It still had more than 1/2 the tread. Hopefully, the same thing won't happen to the other one. (The other tire is still good.)