Marathon Supremes

[ians]

Hi all

in case anyone was wondering about Marathon Supremes ...

just completed the Hadrian's Wall cycle route on Marathon Supreme (26x1.6").  We had deep mud (missed the diversion through Carlisle), gravel, broken glass, tacks in the road (Waggoners Way), unmade road and a bit of tarmac.  The tyres were just great - light, fast and good grip.  And no P*******s.

ians

[jags]

ians thanks for that ,im not in the market yet for new tyres but i was thinking the supreams would be my next buy,basically i was (am) looking for as near as possible for a slick tyre .im on contie city contacts at the mo great tyre ,but i think the supreams would be much better certainly faster.
i have the marathon plus (new) hanging in my shed ,really dont like them,that's really the reason i was holding back buying the supreams.now that you recommended them 

[ians]

jags

I've been using the basic Marathons for a while on my RST and while they offer very good protection I have not been impressed with their grip - a few scary moments on my commute in the wet.  So I thought long and hard about a replacement.  I was a bit nervous about using a new (untried) tyre on the Hadrian's Wall trip but I needn't have worried.

Ian

[kwkirby01]

ians, thanks for posting your experiences, it's very useful. To be clear, you found the Supremes gave better grip than ordinary Marathons? Is this, therefore, the ideal mixed light off road/on road tyre?
Kevin

[ians]

To be clear, you found the Supremes gave better grip than ordinary Marathons? Is this, therefore, the ideal mixed light off road/on road tyre?
Kevin

Kevin
Yes.  The cycle route through Carlisle has been disrupted because of flood alleviation works - I missed the diversion and ended up in pouring rain riding through about a mile of mud.  I also had to ride down an unmade road to get to a B&B - about half a mile of chipped rock/brick rubble/gravel.  There were a couple of tricky descents (12% gradients) on very poor road surfaces.   I also passed a couple of people wheeling their mountain bikes along Waggoner's Way where someone had strewn tacks - they had punctured. 

So - a good test for these tyres.  I was nervous when I first put them on because they are so thin and so light.  But ....   I kept them inflated to maximum pressure and just forgot about them in the end.  I think they are an ideal light off road/on road tyre. 

ian

[geocycle]

Ian,
Thank's for your review.  I'm currently on ordinary marathons (26x1.5) but had earmarked the supremes for next time around in the 26x1.6 width.  Like others I was a bit concerned there would be less grip off road so your report is very reassuring.  Is the width accurate or like other marathons are they actually a bit wider -just thinking about mudguard clearances?

[ians]

Hi

I had 26x1.5 Marathons but have P55 guards so width was not really a problem.  I guess they're a gnat's wider.  But hard to tell.




ian

[David]

MIne have developed cracks all the way around the tyre where there is a "join" in the manafacturing process.

[jags]

wow david i dont like the sound of that,have you got them long even with a lot of miles on them that should not have happened.have you been in touch with schwalble .

[percussionken]

Hi
Did a 3400 km trip this summer in USA with a trailer so no heavy weight on the bicycle except me . No punctures, though at times there where lots of crap by the side of the road, Easy rolling and no wear on the front, small wear on the rear. Very light tyre if you compare it with other tyres in the same size (26x1,6). Expensive but I can take that with this performance.

[bertie_boy]

Hi
I had them fitted to my new RST when I bought it in April 2009. I have done around 1500 miles on the tyres with no punctures, absolutely brill. At the time I could not find anywhere in this country that stocked them, they were available on the continent. So I rang Schwalbe and told them I thought there would be a good demand in this country for a 26x1.6" and they started appearing.