footsore.tramp
Member
A few months ago I posted asking if anyone had used these as I was having puncture after puncture on my Quest. Some people asked to update if I did get them because they were curious. I have since bought a set and here's a little review. I'll deal with the perceived downsides first, and then move onto what I've found to be good.
A common criticism that I came across was that they were harder than the guesstimate PSI on the side. If it said 100 people thought it was closer to 120. I haven't found that to be the case. The 100s do feel like the 100s I was riding on before.
Another common criticism that the firmness means that vibrations aren't being absorbed as effectively as with a pneumatic tyre. Again, I haven't noticed a difference from the tyres I was running prior to these.
The final common criticism is the weight and reduced speed. As you might have guessed from above, I'm not concerned with these things. I have read one review elsewhere where people who are concerned with them use these as their training tyres, and switch to race tyres to overcome that
The grip seems ok. I've ridden around in the wet and I haven't been slipping. Saying that, I'm a casual roller so I don't know if it's the same when attempting an aggressive descent in the rain.
Now the good stuff. No punctures. I got them because something went through another Schwable Marathon and tore up the tyre enough for it to be useless. A real expensive inconvenience. I also no longer need to carry around a pump and repair kit.
It'll be interesting to see how long the tyres last. They are described as being made of a tough foam compound and 9600 km is one figure I can find on the net. That's about two years worth of riding for me. Not having to be concerned about punctures for that length of time makes the extra cost worth it.
Overall, I'm very happy with them. Reading a range of reviews kept my expectations realistic. I wasn't expecting them to be the perfect tyre. Maybe they were too low, for they have easily exceeded what I was hoping of them. If you are looking at new tyres I'd say that these can be a serious consideration if they suit your needs.
A common criticism that I came across was that they were harder than the guesstimate PSI on the side. If it said 100 people thought it was closer to 120. I haven't found that to be the case. The 100s do feel like the 100s I was riding on before.
Another common criticism that the firmness means that vibrations aren't being absorbed as effectively as with a pneumatic tyre. Again, I haven't noticed a difference from the tyres I was running prior to these.
The final common criticism is the weight and reduced speed. As you might have guessed from above, I'm not concerned with these things. I have read one review elsewhere where people who are concerned with them use these as their training tyres, and switch to race tyres to overcome that
The grip seems ok. I've ridden around in the wet and I haven't been slipping. Saying that, I'm a casual roller so I don't know if it's the same when attempting an aggressive descent in the rain.
Now the good stuff. No punctures. I got them because something went through another Schwable Marathon and tore up the tyre enough for it to be useless. A real expensive inconvenience. I also no longer need to carry around a pump and repair kit.
It'll be interesting to see how long the tyres last. They are described as being made of a tough foam compound and 9600 km is one figure I can find on the net. That's about two years worth of riding for me. Not having to be concerned about punctures for that length of time makes the extra cost worth it.
Overall, I'm very happy with them. Reading a range of reviews kept my expectations realistic. I wasn't expecting them to be the perfect tyre. Maybe they were too low, for they have easily exceeded what I was hoping of them. If you are looking at new tyres I'd say that these can be a serious consideration if they suit your needs.
