Current Schwalbe tyre options

[ourclarioncall]

Just chewing over which tyre to get. Here is my options . I currently have what feels like a soft spongy 1.75 panaracer on the front and a schwalbe marathon plus on the rear 1.75

I think i want to up it to at least 2.0 . I think I would feel a bit more confident/secure with a slightly wider tyre and hear 2.0 is a good choice and recommended. I would think I would be okay with 2.0 but maybe there would be an issue with mudguards I have on 🤔 I would have to have a closer look

Maybe even wider than 2.0 would be interested but don’t know if that slows you down a bit the wider you get ?

[ourclarioncall]

Here’s the options

Schwalbe Marathon tyres

GT365 - 26 x 2.15 (wired)
rolling: 3.5 / 6
Road grip: 5 / 6
Off road: 4 / 6
Protection: 6 / 6
Service life: 5 / 6
The first tyre which you will ride safely throughout the year in almost every condition. DualGuard puncture protection technology for maximum safety.
Maximum Load: 125kg

PLUS - 26 x 2.00 (wired)
Rolling: 3.5 / 6
Road Grip: 4 / 6
Off-Road Grip: 2 / 6
Protection: 7 / 6
Service Life: 6 / 6
The flat-less tyre. Schwalbe's best selling model. The most puncture resistant pneumatic tyre there is. 5mm smart guard. Low rolling resistance. Anti-Aging Side Wall. Maximum Load: 118kg


PLUS MTB - 26 x 2.10 (wired)
Rolling: 4 / 10
Off-Road Grip: 6 / 10
Protection: 10 / 10
Service Life: 10 / 10
The most puncture resistant MTB-tyre approved for fast E-Bikes. On the central ribs it rolls easily over hard paths, while strong outer lugs give great offroad traction. Maximum Load: 121kg

PLUS TOUR - 26 x 2.0 (wired)
Rolling: 3.5 / 6
Road Grip: 4 / 6
Off-Road Grip: 3.5 / 6
Protection: 7 / 7
Service Life: 6 / 6
Flat-less - with a purposeful trekking tread. This versatile tyre always does the job. Its robust construction handles almost any mistreatment. Maximum Load: 130kg

MONDIAL EVO - 26 x 2.0 (folding)
Rolling: 4 / 6
Road Grip: 5 / 6
Off-Road Grip: 3.5 / 6
Protection: 6 / 7
Service Life: 6 / 6
The ultimate touring tyre, made for roads, tracks and trails of all continents. The tread pays homage to its legendary Marathon XR predecessor. Note: For great expeditions always choose the Evo version (Double Defense). Maximum Load: 130kg

SUPREME - 26 x 2.0 (folding)
Rolling: 5 / 6
Road Grip: 5 / 6
Off-Road Grip: 1.5 / 6
Protection: 5 / 6
Service Life: 4 / 6

maximum comfort and speed. With elegant, futuristic tread design perfectly suited for fast city and touring bikes.
Maximum Load: 120kg

[ourclarioncall]

The supreme seems like it would be a no for me as I would like to go on all types of terrain , but mostly roads, pavements, old railway lines. In future I might tackle more Rocky rugged terrain but not at the moment.

The mondial evo didn’t get great review online compared to other schwalbe tyres and it’s also folding like the supreme . I’m not sure if folding tyres are softer and more bouncy but I think I would prefer the wired more rigid type of the are better for stability while turning and leaning into corners and also grip.

My gut says to go with one of the plus models , either the plus, plus tour , or plus MTB. I think they seem to be a very similar tyre with the same puncture protection, but slightly different treads. There may be a few other differences

There is also the gt365

I don’t want a slow sluggish tyre , yet it doesn’t have to be the fastest

I want to prioritise safety and have a decent grip . I don’t want something that’s going to slide or skid on light road gravel etc

I would really like good puncture protection although it doesn’t have to be the best

My biggest concern I think is if I’m occasionally going fast down a hill that I’m not going to slip or slide , especially when turning the front wheel for corners (while moving at speed) .

[JohnR]

All my recent tyres are folding versions. I think the beads are reinforced with Kevlar or similar material and at least as strong as wire. One advantage is that they are compact when folded so easier to take a spare if you are travelling through somewhere well off the beaten track.

One aspect you haven't tabulated is weight: The folding Mondial is 740g in your size whereas the Marathon Plus is 1100g. For two tyres that's nearly 3/4kg although that's not significant in the overall context of bike + rider + baggage. What may be slightly more significant is that it takes more effort to build up speed with heavier tyres (and more braking effort to stop them spinning). There's also the option of having the front tyre (which gets less load) a size smaller than the rear one.

You should try to estimate your proportions of riding on road vs on track and factor that into the mix. Alternatively, if you are making different trips on different surfaces then swap the tyres to whatever is more suitable for the trip. Getting more than one pair of tyres is a higher initial cost but pushes the time when you need to buy replacements further into the future.

[PH]

IMO 1.75" is the sweet spot for 26" wheels, I went up a size, then down a size but call be goldilocks the 1.75's which is where I started were best.
Unless your tyres are worn or corroded, I think it'd be more productive to put your wallet away and experiment with tyre pressures, which can sometimes make as much of a difference as the tyres themselves.  You might of course come to a different conclusion to me, but if you haven't put in some mileage on what you have, you won't have a baseline from which to make comparisons.
If you do change -  It's a shame my favorite Schwalbe tyre for mixed surfaces isn't available in your size, but the standard Marathon takes some beating as an all rounder without being exceptional at anything.  If the off roading was a bit more serious there's also the Schwalbe Hurricane with a smooth centre and knobbly edges, I have one of these in 650B, bought to get me out of a jam, I didn't need the off road capability but was surprised how well it rolled on road.   Was there a reason to restrict the search to Schwalbe?  The Continental Double Fighter is a good tyre for not too serious off road and fine on, I had them in 24", though an older version than the current ones.

[martinf]

I have three of those models.

Marathon Supreme, which I have on several family bikes. Rolling resistance is significantly better than the others on roads, and they perform better than I expected for off-road riding. The sidewalls are more fragile than the other models, so they could be damaged more easily on rocks, etc., although I haven't broken any this way yet. I haven't had many punctures. The Supreme is my favourite 26" tyre for use mainly on roads. The Dureme (out of production for several years now), which was similar to the Supreme but slightly heavier with more tread and stronger sidewalls, was my favourite for mixed road/off-road use. 

Marathon Plus. On visitor bikes, only because I don't want people messing with the hub gear if they get a puncture. To me, Marathon Plus feel a bit "dead" with their thick sidewalls and tread. Never had any punctures with these, but less distance has been done than with Marathon Supreme. Rolling resistance is higher than the other tyres, but in 26" by 2.0" not so horrible as the narrow 700C x 28 mm Marathon Plus I had on an old visitor bike.

Marathon Mondial EVO (but I have the wider 26" by 2.15" version). Rolling resistance is noticeably worse than Supreme (I reckon about I am between 5 and 10% slower on average) and (only slightly) better than Marathon Plus on tarmac. But the Mondial is better than both on soft surfaces. The sidewalls are strong but still flexible, so the tyre feels a bit more comfortable than Marathon Plus (although this may be partly because I am comparing a 2.15" tyre with a 2.0" tyre). The Mondial is the tyre I would choose for a tour with a significant amount of off-road riding, it is meant for expeditions so should be tougher than the other two. Marathon Mondial comes in two versions, Evolution line, which has Kevlar beads and better sidewall protection and Performance line, which has wire beads and is less expensive. Puncture resistance should be better than Supreme (already pretty good in my experience) but not as good as Marathon Plus. 

In my experience, folding tyres with Kevlar beads are less likely to fail at the bead area than wired tyres, on the latter the rubber and fabric around the wire can sometimes (not often) come apart.

Marathon Supreme is no longer in the 2022 Schwalbe catalogue, so will probably not be available for much longer.

Marathon Mondial EVO in 26" by 2.15" has also been dropped, but I found a webshop here in France that still had them. In 26" by 2.0" they are still listed in the 2022 Schwalbe catalogue. As it is slightly narrower than my 26" by 2.15" this size won't be quite so good off road but will be a bit lighter so perhaps very slightly better on tarmac.

And check that any tyre you might want will fit your bike before buying. 26" by 2.15" is the biggest size that will fit comfortably under mudguards on my Raven Tour frames.

There are other manufacturers.

Continental in particular might be worth checking out.

The Continental Contact Urban model in 26" by 2.0" looks like it could be a good alternative to the Marathon Supreme for mainly on-road use - according to tests this model has even better rolling resistance than the Supreme, it is just a little heavier (wire bead) and significantly cheaper. I have these in a 16" size on one of the family Bromptons, their rolling resistance is low compared to the 16" Schwalbe Marathon Racer I have on another Brompton.

The Continental Contact Plus Travel in 26" by 2.0" looks as if it might be an equivalent to Marathon Plus, or maybe even Marathon Mondial. But I have no experience at all with this model.

As for width, I like to have at least 2.0" for :

- carrying heavy loads,
- riding off-road (here the fattest possible tyre sinks in less on loose surfaces like sand and cushions the rim better against impacts on rocks).

For unloaded day rides on good roads I prefer a slightly narrower tyre, my favourite is once again Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, but in the 42 mm width.

Although there isn't really very much difference in rolling resistance between the 1.6" and 2.0" versions of the Supreme - the other day I was on a "utility" ride with my Raven Tour equipped with 26" x 2.0" Supremes and I had no trouble keeping up with a bunch of Sunday morning road cyclists on (mainly carbon fibre framed) lightweight 700C bikes for about 12 kms, despite me having a heavier bike, front and rear racks, full mudguards, about 10 Kg of luggage in rear panniers and Rohloff gears rather than derailleurs. Some of them asked if I had electrical assistance, probably because the big hub shells on the front dynohub and rear gear hub look like motor hubs, and I had my lamps on.