Technical > Wheels, Tyres and Brakes
Mercury Mk 3 Tyre Choice
SteveM:
I have a Thorn Mercury Mk 3 Rohloff 2021 Model with ST front forks, front Vs and rear disc. It came with 700 x 38c Shwalbe Marathon Plus road friendly tires on DT Swiss tubeless ready rims.
I need something a suitable for some easy off road/on road - all rounders - for light touring and bike packing. I have muddies fitted and like them in the Winter.
Just wondering what is the best tire for me. I'm thinking Shwalbe Marathon Plus Tour might be the best option and offer more grip on the gravel. Not sure what the maximum tire size is for the Merc with muddies. Anyone tried the 700 x 40s - would they fit or should I stick with 38c?
Would you go tubeless? Seems a lot of trouble when a spare tube is so easy to change on the trail.
The wisdom of this Forum is beyond belief, learning so much. Thanks everyone.
PH:
Welcome to the forum, nice looking bike!
Let me start by saying I detest Marathon Plus tyres, you'd have to pay me to use them and however much that was I guarantee at some point I'd consider it wasn't enough. Plenty of people do like them, no reason we should all agree, it's just if we have a different opinion on that it's likely we'll disagree on other tyre preferences.
Grip on gravel, and any other hard loose surface, will be almost entirely dependent on the tyre's width and pressure. Tread and compound will play such a small part as to make no noticeable difference. Anything softer, mud and the like, needs a tread that is not only deep enough to get traction, but also spaced wide enough to clear it, as in knobblies, is that what you meant by "muddies" if so what tyres are you using?
Your Pluses are probably 40mm (700 x 38c) that's probably close to the widest you'll fit with enough clearance for guards (Hard to be certain, the rims and guards make a difference). The sort of minimal tread on touring tyres is largely for show, it might make a marginal difference through leaf mulch or a thin layer of mud over tarmac, but I can't say I've ever really put that to the test. I can't see the difference between your Plus and the Touring Plus to be worth changing for.
If I were thinking of doing more off road on the Mercury, I'd be looking at tyres with smooth centre sections and side knobs. Something like the Hurricane from Schwalbe which comes in 42mm (Which may or may not fit) or the Double Fighter from Continental which is available in 37mm which I'm pretty sure will fit. I've used and been happy with both those tyres, though not in those sizes and not on the Mercury.
Of course as soon as you mix mud with mudguards you run into clogging issues, the more traction the tyre has, the more mud it's going to try and drag around, I doubt there's a combination on the Mercury, with 700c wheels, that gets around that.
JohnR:
I also had some Marathon Plus Tour tyres which I recently gave away to a friend to use for commuting. They have thicker rubber than normal Marathon Plus tyres and will take an eternity to wear out but I don't think they offer better grip.
My ex-demo Mercury which I bought in mid-2020 came with 50mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres which were set up as tubeless although the Thorn rims weren't proper tubeless-ready. I was worried about punctures and stocked up with a spare tube, some plugs and a small bottle of sealant but more than 10,000 miles later have yet to have a ride-delaying puncture. When I changed to tyres with more grip for the winter (Gravelking SKs) I found that there was little sealant remaining the rear tyre and evidence of several small holes (thorns?) which the sealant had plugged. The Mercury frame will take at least 50mm rear tyres with a suitable mudguard but your forks may provide a limitation on the maximum front tyre size (my Mercury came with the Thorn disc fork which had plenty of clearance). There's very little difference between 38 and 40mm tyres and you should be able to look at the current tyre-mudguard clearance and tyre-forks clearance to see if larger section tyres will fit (in theory a nominally larger tyre will be both wider and higher off the rim but the actual shape is influenced by the rim width).
If you've got tubeless-ready rims then I reckon you should try tubeless. There's a large range in the Schwalbe G-One family. I'm currently using G-One Allround tyres https://www.schwalbe.com/en/gravel-reader/schwalbe-g-one-allround for some extra grip on the mucky winter roads while the G-One R claims to be good over a wider range of conditions https://www.schwalbe.com/en/gravel-reader/schwalbe-g-one-r. Or the are the Gravelkings although I found the SKs to be noisy on smooth tarmac while the G-One Allround tyres are quiet.
Merlin Cycles has a good range of potentially suitable tyres at attractive prices https://www.merlincycles.com/cyclocross-gravel-tyres-75333/ so you should be able to find something to try without breaking the bank.
mickeg:
I have never tried tubeless and I doubt that I ever will. That said, if you want to try it, go ahead. It is my understanding that tubeless tires and the rims should both be rated for tubeless if you go that route. But I will leave that up to you to research.
I am not familiar with the Mercury, but I have toured on 700c X 37mm wide tires. At this time the model of tires on my light touring bike are no longer made so I won't suggest something that you can't buy. I have bought some Mondials to replace those tires when they are worn out, in 35 or 37mm width (I do not recall which). The Schwalbe Marathons (with green guard) would be another option too. I have used the Marathons (with green guard) on a 26 inch touring bike in 40mm width, was very happy with them.
I do not know what you mean by off-road, if it is well maintained gravel and dirt, I would think that almost any tire that has some tread would work well. If you are riding in mud, I have no suggestions, as I have tried to avoid that.
I mostly agree with Ph, I have not used the Plus tires because of their reputation for being quite slow.
There are so many brands and models of bike tires, that I can't keep track of most of them any more.
SteveM:
Thanks for the replies folks, really useful.
Muddies = mudguards! Sorry for trying to sound cool (a definite fail). I have a pair of Marathon G-One All Around tubeless but the guy who sold me the bike (the very lovely Ray) did not get on with them and had repeated flats. That may have been sealing issues, but I am loath to put them back on if they are going to be problematic.
Thanks for the advice on the Tour upgrade - I will save myself around £75 and stick with the Plus 38c tires and see how they go on light gravel. I have absolutely no love for mud plugging but I do like a well maintained gravel road. I live in Wiltshire and the Salisbury Plain perimeter path has good gravel. I will see if the Marathons can cope with that. The Mercury is promoted as a potential gravel bike so it should cope OK. I prefer routes with 70/30 quiet road to gravel.
Having studied the Thorn Bible and squinted between the Frame I think they are just about the biggest I can fit to be honest and the SJS supplied SKS mudguards are a bit too snug for comfort really - fine on the road but as you say probably a bit rubbish on wet slimey single track (which I avoid if possible). I might just get away with a slightly wider tire but the height is the issue.
I had Marathon Land Cruisers on my last bike and they were a good all-purpose tire and I never had a puncture in two years. But having got my hands on the gorgeous Thorn Mercury, I want to kit her out in the very best tires I can afford. Tubeless is a bit of a mystery to me, but having watched Youtube, they seem like a good option on MTBs. Maybe not for my mainly tarmac expeditions.
The Merc can handle 30kg of luggage which is way more than I would want to carry tbh. So, I think it will be perfect for my needs. Its a light and responsive bike with a great range of gears on the Rohloff It's a keeper! Thanks Thorn, best bike makers on the planet for me.
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