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[Closed] Something faster than a Schwalbe Marathon Plus?

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i've got a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres on my 700C tourer. In 3 years, they've been nearly faultless, with no punctures on really varied terrain. The only gripe is that they feel very slow rolling.

I've planned a few short tours mainly tarmac roads, with the odd gravel road, for 1-2 days without significant luggage. Basically, I'll have a credit card, passport and a change of clothes 🙂

I'm looking for a set of faster rolling tyres. What's good atm?

ps. Here's one of the routes. [img] [/img]


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:18 pm
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Schwalbe Durano Plus.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:22 pm
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Anything else that's decent will be faster. You need to decide between speed and reliability though, depending how much a puncture would bother you and how likely the roads are to shred tyres.

It doesn't sound like you'll be particularly heavily laden. I'd go for something somewhere in the range of a Gatorskin Hardshell, Gatorskin or GP4000S II.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:26 pm
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literally anything!

I love my pluses on the commuter but they are heavy and slow!

I like marathon racers, but they are much lighter (more prone to punctures) I like them for touring: puncture isn't so bad but they are too thin for my glass strewn commute.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:28 pm
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I keep banging on about the cheap Vittoria Voyager Hypers that Planet X have been churning out for £10 for the last while, so why stop now - if you have room for them, 35c comfort but roll like a charm and pretty puncture resistant too - good review [url= http://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/vittoria-voyager-hyper-2016 ]here[/url]


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:36 pm
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Nice route! I lived in Turku for a few months and visited both Turku and Helsinki on many occasions. It's nice for touring, and i'm jealous 🙂 I guess expanding it to the archipelago route would be too committing/take longer?

As others have said, anything else will be faster than a marathon plus! How about Panaracer gravel kings in 32 or 40c? Could always use slime lite tubes if you want a bit of extra protection...

Edit - +1 for the voyager hypers too, used them for ages and they're decent and offer good protection


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:37 pm
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I've just moved from Conti Grand Prix 25mm to Conti 4000 4 seasons 28mm and noticed a lot more comfort and grip for very little, if any, more drag or slowness to accelerate


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:44 pm
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I've been using the Marathon Racers for commuting, they do puncture. I reckon I get one every 500 mile or so, cycling on London roads.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:46 pm
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They'll feel pretty racey compared to Marathon Pluses though! 🙂


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:47 pm
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The checklist so far...

-Schwalbe Duranos. Quite small, but a 28 might be enough
-Marathon Racers
-Vittoria Voyager Hypers. Big!
-Panaracer Gravel Kings
-Conti GPS4000S II

...keep em coming 🙂

Faustus, the inlaws have a cottage in the Aland archipelago. It'd add an extra day to that trip to get there. It's my favourite part of Finland by a mile, so it's in my mind. Here's a pic from my last bike trip round there...
[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:49 pm
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Panaracer Pasela PT are pretty good, a lot lighter/faster than Marathon Plus, and still pretty puncture proof. And not too expensive.
Also Panaracer Ribmo - they are slicker, so probably faster on tarmac, maybe not so good on gravel.

Marathon Supreme are also good, but not cheap.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:52 pm
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Superb! And nice to have inlaws in the Alands. I drove most of the archipelago route when I was there, and loved it, will definitely tour it at some point. I think the best thing about it is the Finnish way of enjoying the outdoors, nice and rustic with plenty of swimming, sauna, beer and (my fave) bbq'd makkara!


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:56 pm
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The checklist so far...

-Schwalbe Duranos. Quite small, but a 28 might be enough
-Marathon Racers

I have a feeling that these are actually the same tyre. Just in the larger sizes called marathon racer & durano for smaller. same casings/ compounds etc and the weight/ width is very close


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 3:57 pm
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I used to find Schwalbe Land Cruisers were a good, general do-it-all (within reason) tyre.

Never, tried them, but I like the look of the G-One Gravels.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 4:00 pm
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If you can run tubeless, I'd suggest Schwalbe Ones, particularly the older first version. Very pleased with how mine have been commuting throughout the winter. I run them in non-tubeless Mavic Ksyriums.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 4:56 pm
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Panaracer gravel kings

Very well rated here. Lots of thorns and little flints on local roads and after a full winter and 6 months total using them I've had just one glass shard flat. They're a fairly light casing though so they still ride well. Far more flat resistant than a similar non-belted Panaracer I used but hardly any different in ride feel.

For touring I'm still a fan of flat-resistant tubed tyres for reliability and easy fixes but still wouldn't rule out tubeless, have used them with no major issues.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 6:28 pm
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Specalised armadillo - indestructable, roll ok.
Vittoria Pave - hyper fast but don't last too long.
Continental sport - like the armadillos but with a reflective strip.
Verdesteien senseo extreme - not long on them but roll similar to the pave so far.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 7:31 pm
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Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, usually a bit spendy to buy though.


 
Posted : 08/04/2016 7:40 pm
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Schwalbe Marathons puncture resistant through placing a ring of concrete under the rubber.


 
Posted : 09/04/2016 2:05 am
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I put Marathon Mondials on my new touring bike, pretty much exactly what the OP needs by the sound of it. A lot lighter than Marathon Plus, but with a little extra tread for gravelly bits and decent puncture protection too. Not cheap though, but like all Schwalbe tyres the value will be in longevity


 
Posted : 09/04/2016 8:00 am
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Before buying the Marathon PLus tyres, I nearly bought the Marathon Green Guard tyres. IIRC, the puncture protection strip was thinner and not as stiff. The reviews said it was faster rolling. In retrospect, I should've gone for those.

The updated list is...
-Schwalbe Duranos
-Marathon Racers
-Vittoria Voyager Hypers
-Panaracer Gravel Kings
-Conti GPS4000S II
-Specalised armadillo
-Vittoria Pave
-Continental sport
-Verdesteien senseo extreme
-Schwalbe Marathon Mondials
-Schwalbe Marathon Supreme
-Schwalbe Land Cruisers
-Panaracer Pasela PT

That's quite a list, thanks everyone. I'll start by looking at the tread designs and seeing what can cope with unpaved roads. I've no plans to go tubeless, as I'd need to get new wheels. I haven't even used tubeless for my MTB's yet!


 
Posted : 09/04/2016 8:27 am
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Marathon Mondials

They're a really good, reliable all-rounder, I like them. Not bad even in mud. Would need to be either heavily loaded or on a lot of rough tracks to need something that tough though, they're pretty wooden feeling as a trade-off for the toughness. For light credit card touring you describe they'd suck the life out of the ride, for me.

The Pasela PTs are nice, same belt as the Gravel Kings and a bit more tread but not enough to make tarmac miles feel like a drag.

The WTB Exposure 34C could be a good choice if you wanted something road/dirt capable in that size range.


 
Posted : 09/04/2016 9:28 am
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Armadilloes are the best i've used but hard to get hold of.

Panaracer Ribmo come close.

Don't think i've ever punctured with either of those.


 
Posted : 09/04/2016 11:16 am