Schwalbe marathon supreme 26x2" 50-559

[jul]

Hi all,

I'm looking for these tires, i love it ! But saddly it seems not available..

Maybe do you know a website who sell currently this model ?

An alternative otherwise.. ? 

[John Saxby]

Here's one, in the U.S.:  www.bicyclehero.com  USD 73 each, plus delivery for orders below USD 100.

Good luck!

[jul]

Thanks John but i don’t take the risk, from europe customs waiting me !

[Matt2matt2002]

Hi all,

I'm looking for these tires, i love it ! But saddly it seems not available..

Maybe do you know a website who sell currently this model ?

An alternative otherwise.. ? 

i think I have kept the 2 I used on my Pamir Highway trip.
Still in very good condition.

If you're interested I'll look them out from my loft where I have stored them.
I'm in Scotland.

Matt

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/PamirHighway2015

[jul]

Thanks Matt,

Keep me informed !  I'm interested..

[martinf]

Supremes are my choice for the best compromise weight/performance and durability for use mainly on tarmac. I don't yet need to replace the Supremes on any of the family bikes.

But I did check out the available alternatives in August 2025.

If they are still around when I need replacements, my current choice would be the Continental Contact Urban wire bead tyre. This is a bit heavier, much cheaper, and according to https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com it is pretty much the same as Supreme as far as rolling resistance is concerned. And reasonably easy to find on German websites.

I have Continental Contact Urban in the 16" size on two of the family Bromptons, so far the tyres have performed very well and seem to be reasonably puncture resistant.

My favourites for mixed on/off road use are the Duremes. I still have a pair in use, but it is a long time since it was possible to buy any.

Last year, Marathon Mondial 50x559 were still available, both in folding and wire bead versions. I bought a pair of these for one of the  bikes I maintain for a nature reserve, where the bikes are used quite a lot on rough tracks. Mondial are a bit heavier than Dureme, probably tougher, but they don't roll so well as Dureme. But if they are still available if/when I need replacements for Dureme, Mondial would probably be my choice.

[jul]

Thanks Martin,

What about Panaracer Gravelking SK ?

26x2’10 for 610gr each

[UKTony]

Thanks Martin,

What about Panaracer Gravelking SK ?

26x2’10 for 610gr each

I can’t speak for the 26” Gravelkings but I replaced the 700x32 Marathon Supremes on my Mercury with 700x35 folding Gravelking SK+ (the plus version is slightly more heavy weight I think but still reasonable at approx 460g) and they’ve been really good all year round on variety of surfaces here in SW England - broken up and loose  potholed roads, canal paths etc. As one would expect, more grippy than the Supremes and a bit more rolling resistance. And the puncture fairies have been kind, only a couple of punctures in 3500 miles, both Blackthorns during farmers hedge cutting season, though I might just have been lucky. The mini knobbly bits of the tread are quite widely spaced so tend  not to pick up those tiny sharp shards of grit that can stick in some treads.

[martinf]

What about Panaracer Gravelking SK ?
26x2’10 for 610gr each

Not looked at those, from UKTony's description they seem to be a bit more like Duremes than Supremes (more grip off road, more rolling resistance and a bit heavier than Supremes). The weights I noted for the 3 tyres I use most in the 559x50 size are :

Supreme 565g
Dureme  590g
Mondial folding bead 740g

And the Continental Contact Urban are 590g, probably because of the wire bead, I haven't found them with folding beads in 559x50, but they exist with folding beads, at least in the 16" size for Brompton folding bikes. 

The website https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com is usually quite good at comparing different tyres, but sometimes I haven't agreed with their findings, notably when I try to extrapolate their results to another size of the "same" model of tyre.

There are a lot of good tyres in the "modern" sizes 29" (= 700C) and 27.5" (= 650B) , but choice is much more limited in the "old" 26" (= 559) size.

The irony of that is that I can now find very nice tyres for my ancient 650B utility bike.

[jul]

I think the mondial now is at 640gr

Must be confirmer..

[Andyb1]

The measured weight of my 2.0 x 26 Dureme is 600g (agrees with Martin) but Schwalbe quote 750g…….