Have I mentioned before how much I love our Schwalbe tires? I was reminded again just now.
I left Alaska with two new Schwalbes on my bike. I’ve had to replace my rear tire a few times already, but the front one was the Energizer Bunny of bike tires – it just kept going and going and going… I arrived into Pisco, Peru 19,000 km after leaving Alaska with that very same tire.
We decided we wanted to wear it out, so switched it to the rear thinking it would only last a few hundred kilometers. How could it last longer when it already had so many miles?
We arrived into Arequipa and it was still going strong. Puno and still going. La Paz… Cochabamba… We started to take bets on how much farther.
Well, I’m sorry to say, it finally wore out. The poor thing now has 23,000 km on it and the blue puncture-resistent layer that is supposed to be inside is now showing all around – but it just won’t flat. We wanted to keep riding it to see how far it would go, but I hate changing tires and really didn’t want to deal with it on the road if I could avoid it. So – we swapped it out for a new one. I feel like I’m losing a good friend.
I don’t think we will ever tour with anything but Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires again!
The blue layer isn’t supposed to be showing, but the poor thing is just plain ol’ worn out.
This is what the new one looks like
Send it back to Schwalbe. It would be rude to ask for a replacement, but I bet they’d love to have it for publicity.
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wow what a record. Guess it got really really TIREd
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If this is not a remarkable story for marketing a tire I don’t know what is! A least contact them with the story, but be sure to know what your advertising is worth. Few do what you have done so you need to relate it to an “everyday” cyclist.
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You should try to avoid riding them that low. It may not flat, but once you lose the rubber layer, your braking is somewhat reduced (particularly in the front tire).
If you’d kept it up front, it might have made it the whole distance, but if you were ever in a situation (particularly a wet situation) where you needed to make an emergency stop…it could have put you in unnecessary danger.
The tread pattern itself isn’t too relevant on pavement, but the material matters.
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Don’t I agree that I, too, love my Schwalbe tyres, though I usually replace them after abt 5,000 kms. To hear this one ran half around the globe is fascinating!
I agree that sending them back to Schwalbe is one of an idea, another is handing them to London-based Velo Re who make belts from original worn tyres.
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The Schwalbe tires I’ve used have been great. Also, the long wear time says something about your cycling skills. You really treat your tires carefully!
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