Marathon

city– EUR

Origin

Ralf Bohle had been importing Korean tyres since 1973 after finding existing quality insufficient. By 1983, standards were high enough to launch a premium branded product under Schwalbe. Germany's first durable, puncture-resistant touring tyre. Aimed at touring cyclists and commuters who suffered regular punctures. Schwalbe = German for 'swallow' (the bird). Name derives from a Korean brand (also 'swallow') that Ralf Bohle initially imported in 1973. Continental, Michelin (performance road focus), generic imported tyres Continental Contact, Vittoria Zaffiro, Bontrager AW1/AW3, Panaracer Pasela

Specifications

Weight: kg

The verdict

+Strengths

Legendary puncture protection — Marathon Plus (5mm SmartGuard, 7/7 rating) is the de facto standard for flat-free commuting; users routinely report 10,000+ km / years without a puncture
Exceptional longevity and durability across the family (Almotion ~15,000 km/set; Mondial reports >25,000 km on a single tyre)
Widest variant + size range of any touring tyre line — from 16" to 29", covering city, touring, e-bike, expedition and eco use cases
Marathon Original has the lowest rolling resistance of any touring/city tyre tested by bicyclerollingresistance.com — a genuine balance point
Reflex reflective sidewall + sustainability credentials (Fair Rubber certified, Green Marathon 41% lower CO2) — values-aligned and visible at night

−Weaknesses

Heavy and slow relative to performance tyres — Marathon Plus carries ~20% higher rolling resistance (4-6W/tyre) and ~170g extra vs the Original; E-Plus is ~990g
Marathon Plus and the protective variants are notoriously stiff and difficult to mount/seat by hand (stiff bead + thick puncture belt)
Most variants are tube-type only — no tubeless option except select Almotion TLE SKUs
Not suitable for racing, technical MTB, or weight-sensitive riding — purely a reliability tyre
Premium price and specialist-shop-only distribution — no mass-market retail, and pricing varies widely by size

Did you know

01The Marathon is the world's most-sold touring and trekking tyre — this is not marketing copy but a factual claim repeated across independent sources spanning decades
02The name Schwalbe (swallow) came from a Korean brand that Ralf Bohle imported — he kept the name for his own brand as a tribute to the partnership with Hung-A
03Schwalbe is exclusively sold through specialist bike shops — no mass market retail. This is a deliberate brand strategy maintained since founding.
04Fair Rubber certified: Schwalbe was the first (and at time of writing only) tyre manufacturer to use Fair Rubber e.V. — a scheme that pays premiums directly to rubber smallholder cooperatives in Sri Lanka and India
05Marathon Plus users routinely report 10,000+ miles without a puncture — a notable real-world achievement documented across dozens of user reviews spanning 20+ years
06Schwalbe achieved record €335M revenue in 2022 (50th anniversary year) driven by e-bike boom, then declined to €237M in 2023 amid post-pandemic industry correction
07The Clik Valve (2024) is Schwalbe's attempt to replace all three standard valve types (Presta/Sclaverand, Schrader, Dunlop) with a single click-to-attach system — first new valve concept in over 100 years
08Green Marathon (2024 version) has 41% lower CO2 footprint vs its predecessor — calculated via full lifecycle assessment in the most popular size (40-622)

Who it’s for

daily commutercity cyclistlong-distance tourerbikepackere-bike rider (E-Plus, Green Marathon, Almotion E)cargo bike rideryear-round cyclist in harsh conditionsrider prioritising reliability over speed

Generations

Evolution

Where to buy Schwalbe Marathon in Estonia

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