Author Topic: tandem tyres (Read 12353 times)

salar55 · « **on:** 29 July, 2012, 06:09:20 pm »

Just ordered some schwalbe tandem tyres. Anyone got them, just managed a tour on marathon plus 26*1.9 ,only 2200kms and back tyre is for the bin. Worn down to the protection layer and splits in the tread all way round.

rogerzilla · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 July, 2012, 06:31:19 pm »

I've found M+ to be as tough as old boots, which may well be what they're made from. What's the alleged difference with the tandem tyres? Thicker sidewalls, higher pressures or something?

Rig of Jarkness · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 July, 2012, 07:18:00 pm »

Quote from: salar55 on 29 July, 2012, 06:09:20 pm

Just ordered some schwalbe tandem tyres. Anyone got them, just managed a tour on marathon plus 26*1.9 ,only 2200kms and back tyre is for the bin. Worn down to the protection layer and splits in the tread all way round.

Surprised to hear that salar. We've been using 700x35 marathons on our tandem for over 10 years and never had any problems at all. Of course we rarely carry the same weight of kit that you would carry on your camping trips.

L CC · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 July, 2012, 07:25:59 pm »

We went through M+ on the rear of ours in 4000 km. I'd expect 2 or 3 times that on a solo bike. 700x32. Everything just wears out so much faster on the tandem.

clarion · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 July, 2012, 07:31:43 pm »

We use Marathon Plus. Get decent mileage out of them.

salar55 · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 July, 2012, 08:44:56 am »

Not as tough as the old XR tyre,was one of the best tyres Schwalbe made. Perhaps hills and camping gear need a tough tyre made with better material. Just done the Club de Cent Cols rando in the Pyrenees out and back with over 100 cols, them a week over to Orange

tiermat · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 July, 2012, 08:52:24 am »

Quote from: salar55 on 30 July, 2012, 08:44:56 am

Not as tough as the old XR tyre,was one of the best tyres Schwalbe made. Perhaps hills and camping gear need a tough tyre made with better material. Just done the Club de Cent Cols rando in the Pyrenees out and back with over 100 cols, them a week over to Orange

I think ~~Uncle Travelling Mac~~ Deano might disagree with you about XRs....

salar55 · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 July, 2012, 10:23:18 am »

Was he using the folder or normal tyre.

simonp · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 July, 2012, 10:27:54 am »

Quote from: salar55 on 29 July, 2012, 06:09:20 pm

Just ordered some schwalbe tandem tyres. Anyone got them, just managed a tour on marathon plus 26*1.9 ,only 2200kms and back tyre is for the bin. Worn down to the protection layer and splits in the tread all way round.

We managed that on 32mm Gatorskins, with some life in the tyre.

salar55 · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 July, 2012, 12:40:58 pm »

I think the easy way find best tyre is to have a summer cyclocamping tour next year. How about the 100 cols challange long enough to find best tyre . 4000kms will destroy any rear tyre on a tandem touring . Any takers whole of july, start rhone valley anticlockwise or Strasbourg . Could have bets on first and last to fail.

marcusjb · « **Reply #10 on:** 31 July, 2012, 02:59:23 pm »

I've just ordered a pair of Marathon Dureme Tandem for our tandem - probably rather overkill as we're a light pair (120kg between both of us), but don't want to risk anything on the next tour so I hope they work out well. Hefty buggers at 685g each (compared to 550g for the non-tandem version).

salar55 · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 July, 2012, 05:28:30 pm »

Surprised to see the marathon plus tour are almost a kilo and the new tandem tyres same size are lighter. Checked tyres again and only 26* 1.75. 2 kilos for tyres almost 10% of weight , 23+ kilos for tandem + 33+ kilos luggage and us take some stopping . No wonder rear tyres don't last long , some of the hills were 10 % for up to 4 kms with some 13+ % sections. Brakes were fine up to 8 % on rear disc ,then all 3 had to be used if steeper.

marcusjb · « **Reply #12 on:** 04 August, 2012, 11:42:43 am »

Quote from: marcusjb on 31 July, 2012, 02:59:23 pm

I've just ordered a pair of Marathon Dureme Tandem for our tandem - probably rather overkill as we're a light pair (120kg between both of us), but don't want to risk anything on the next tour so I hope they work out well. Hefty buggers at 685g each (compared to 550g for the non-tandem version).

This didn't work out so well......

http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=61964.0

salar55 · « **Reply #13 on:** 04 August, 2012, 08:47:16 pm »

Just keep them , last 3 tours never bothered about mudguards. The rain is warmer and we have extended cafe stops if needed. Most of the time its thunderstorms and you can find shelter before the short downpour. Only problem with no m/guards is gravelons and tar when a road is repaired.

Deano · « **Reply #14 on:** 04 August, 2012, 08:56:20 pm »

Quote from: salar55 on 30 July, 2012, 10:23:18 am

Was he using the folder or normal tyre.

Just noticed this (I don't wander into this board much).

It was the folding version of the old XR. 26" flavour. They were a pig to get on, I found them impossible to get straight on the rim and made for a horrible ride, they punctured frequently after not much use (2,000 and a bit miles), and one split at the sidewall.

I did meet a German cyclist who had the newer version of the XR, and was very happy with them. I'd never use them again, unless they were even more heavily marked down than the pair I bought.

thesloth · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 August, 2012, 10:51:02 am »

Just worn through a Marathon Plus 700x28C after only 2500km. We're fairly new to the tandem thing and am not sure if this is normal or not.
We're about 150kg combined and have done the majority of the distance without any extra load. The failure happened about 500km into a tour loaded with approx 20kg of extra rear pannier weight. Before starting the tour I'd put mudguards and the tyres looked ok. With the guards covering the tyres it was out of site out of mind and I stupidly didn't bother to check them. The tyre wore right down to the canvas and burst spectacularly, fortunately at low speed. We'd hit 73km/h just 2hrs before, it could have ended very badly.

I've gotten 10 000km+ on a loaded solo bike with 26" 2.00 Marathon Plus's & so was very surprised by this.

I see that allot of people seem to favour Conti Gatorskins. Has anybody had any experience with Gatorskin Hardshells?
Most of the time the objective is just to go fast, so we're thinking about fitting 28C Gatorskins. If we load up for a tour then maybe put something wider on the back like a 35C.
....& carry a spare folding tyre!

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 August, 2012, 12:49:25 pm »

Tandems are tough on tyres, particularly on skinny tyres. All of my tandem riding has been fairly fast, occasionally with light loads, though any tandem team including me will be a heavier team. Skinnier than 28mm doesn't really pay off in my experience. I've not gone heavier than Paselas or Gatorskins. If I was doing a lot of loaded touring then heavier tyres might be in order.

damerell · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 October, 2012, 06:15:52 pm »

Quote from: thesloth on 25 August, 2012, 10:51:02 am

Most of the time the objective is just to go fast, so we're thinking about fitting 28C Gatorskins.

My impression is that the difference in speed is about 10% of sod all there... and tandems are very, very hard on narrow tyres. I fit 32s only because 35s won't fit.

The French Tandem · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 October, 2012, 06:24:12 am »

Quote from: thesloth on 25 August, 2012, 10:51:02 am

Just worn through a Marathon Plus 700x28C after only 2500km. We're fairly new to the tandem thing and am not sure if this is normal or not.

That really looks like the result of an improperly aligned rear wheel. Perhaps you have a bent rear axle, or a bent frame, check this out! We had a similar problem on
our tandem. Rear tyres used to last no more than 500 to 1000 km. I changed the rear wheel, the axle was badly bent, and now the same tyres lasts for 4000 to 5000 kms.
By the way, we use conti gatorskin and hardshells 28mm, and are very happy with both. I can't really feel any difference between gatorskins and hardshells, so I would say
go for the tougher hardshells!

Alain

Chris S · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 April, 2013, 06:13:10 pm »

I've ordered a couple of Continental Four Season 28s for the Longstaff. We've been running Marathon Plus all winter (25 front, 28 back); they're slow and heavy, but we've not had any problems with them - the only deflation we've had was a valve seat failure on the Upper Thames last November, so they've served us well for over 3500km of wet, gritty, winter rides.

As a tandem team, we've shed getting on for 20Kg since Christmas; our combined weight is now within what one might consider reasonable limits for a lighter weight tyre, so I think the time is right to switch.

If you see us fixing punctures in the next few weeks, you'll know it all went horribly wrong!

simonp · « **Reply #20 on:** 17 April, 2013, 12:11:09 pm »

We've done about 3,000 miles in total now. First 1500 miles or so on 32mm Gatorskins, then 1300 miles on 32mm Continental Touring Plus, and about 200 miles on 28mm Touring Plus.

Nothing has yet punctured. But valves on Continental tubes keep unscrewing when I try to use the Lezyne pump.

Chris S · « **Reply #21 on:** 17 April, 2013, 12:25:43 pm »

Ugh. Valves that unscrew. Grrr..

I mean, does anyone actually carry replacements? Do they ever actually need replacing?

marcusjb · « **Reply #22 on:** 17 April, 2013, 12:33:37 pm »

Quote from: Chris S on 17 April, 2013, 12:25:43 pm

Ugh. Valves that unscrew. Grrr..

I mean, does anyone actually carry replacements? Do they ever actually need replacing?

<----some utter saddos have resorted to buying the actual tool to tighten the f**k out of the remaining tubes with replaceable cores in the fleet (Park VC-1 for reference) - paid about £6 on eBay for it.

LittleWheelsandBig · « **Reply #23 on:** 17 April, 2013, 12:48:27 pm »

Replaceable valves make it easy to insert sealant and to replace damaged valves. I'm not a fan of screw-on pumps, so unscrewing valves doesn't really influence my choice of tubes.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 April, 2013, 10:10:40 pm »

We have used Marathon Pluses on our tandem, but not exclusively. We have used Marathons, which didn't last long, and we tried some Marathon Supremes. After 400 miles they were lacerated to buggery so we have gone back to Marathon Pluses. They are indeed heavy and slow, which makes them the perfect match for the tandemistas.

We have only once, that I can recall, had a puncture with Marathon Pluses.

Author Topic: tandem tyres (Read 12353 times)

simonp

Chris S

simonp

Chris S