If you hate the prospect of getting a puncture on your daily commute, you could consider either – a slime green inner tube, or a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre with an almost impregnable layer of puncture resistant gel.
schwalbe Marathon Plus
The Schwalbe Marathon plus is designed around the new SmartGuard layer, an extra inner layer made from a flexible, special rubber which offers particular resistance to shards of glass, thorns and flints. At the centre of the trye, even a drawing pin won’t penetrate it.
The downside is that the tyre weighs a whopping 900grams. If you have two of these, it could nearly add an extra 1.5 Kg to your bike. Just to put it in perspective, the average commuting bike may weigh 15Kg.
With the weight and increased rolling resistence, you won’t be shooting up hills or accelerating from traffic lights. But, it’s not the end of the world, and you are very unlikely to be sheepishly phoning your boss to say ‘sorry another puncture, I’ll be late’
You take your pick, but, for a few seconds extra on your daily commute, I think many would prefer the peace of mind which comes from knowing you don’t have to hear that dreaded hissing sound 3 miles from home.
Like many puncture resistant tyres, it can be a real pain to get on, especially at your first attempt. You will probably have to resort to tyre leavers, strong hands and a little patience. But, once on, you are unlikley to be taking them on or off. A TPI of 67.
At £25 pretty good value for what you get.
Alternatives
Armadillo – similar price and much better rolling resistent, though they do have an increased chance of puncture, despite a really hard rubber.
Vittoria Randonneur – cheaper than the Schwalbe at £13, these are half the weight, but, come with a good dual puncture protection layer.
If you’re a gambling man, the above two may give you an average of one puncture every one to two years. But, if that is still one puncture too many go for the Schwalbe.
- Schwalbe Marathon Plus at Wiggle.
- Schwalbe Marathon Plus at Evans
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