Gatorskin vs. Marathon Plus

[Daryl Lewis]

I don't want to start any tire wars, I would just like some opinions and
information from personal experiences.

Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight about 300 lbs;
self supported transcontinenal trip, east to west, modified northern tier
and then down the Pacific coast; pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.

I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28 or Schwalbe
Marathon Plus 700x28.

I'm looking for your comments and experiences. I could of course consider
another tire altogether if there is something better.

Daryl Lewis

[Rick Logue]

I've been using Gatorskins since 2001. I have had exactly one flat
tire in that time. That flat was a pinch flat. Gatorskins have been
the first tire I replaced because they were worn out instead of
replacing them because they were destroyed in some way.

I cannot compare them because I have never used the Schwalbe tires.


Rick
-----
my2mile.blogspot.com

Post by Daryl Lewis
I don't want to start any tire wars, I would just like some opinions and
information from personal experiences.
Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight about 300 lbs;
self supported transcontinenal trip, east to west, modified northern tier
and then down the Pacific coast; pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.
I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28 or Schwalbe
Marathon Plus 700x28.
I'm looking for your comments and experiences. I could of course consider
another tire altogether if there is something better.
Daryl Lewis
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Browse and search the archives: http://search.bikelist.org
http://www.phred.org/mailman/options/touring

[Kent Peterson]

Post by Daryl Lewis
Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight about 300 lbs;
self supported transcontinenal trip, east to west, modified northern tier
and then down the Pacific coast; pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.
I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28 or Schwalbe
Marathon Plus 700x28.
I'm looking for your comments and experiences. I could of course consider
another tire altogether if there is something better.

I rode for many years and many thousand miles on a variety of
Continental
tires and have been riding mostly Schwalbes for the past three years or
so. I've also logged a lot of miles on Specialized Armadillos. I tend to
favor tough tires.

In my experience, the Schwalbes are the best of the bunch. The
Gatorskins
are probably a "faster" tire but I've found the Schwalbes to be more
robust.

Kent Peterson
Issaquah WA USA
http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/

Daryl Lewis

[al davis]

Post by Daryl Lewis
Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight
about 300 lbs; self supported transcontinenal trip, east to
west, modified northern tier and then down the Pacific coast;
pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.
I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28
or Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28.

28's, loaded, on a tandem?

I use wider than that unloaded on a single.

[alex wetmore]

Post by al davis

Post by Daryl Lewis
Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight
about 300 lbs; self supported transcontinenal trip, east to
west, modified northern tier and then down the Pacific coast;
pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.
I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28
or Schwalbe Marathon Plus 700x28.

28's, loaded, on a tandem?

You can't fit much wider than that with fenders on most years of the
Burley Duet. Disappointing and the major reasons why we have a Burley
Rock and Roll ("mountain tandem") outfit with drop bars instead of a
Duet.

alex

[boyd]

Post by Daryl Lewis
I don't want to start any tire wars, I would just like some opinions and
information from personal experiences.
Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight about 300 lbs;
self supported transcontinenal trip, east to west, modified northern tier and
then down the Pacific coast; pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.
I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28 or Schwalbe
Marathon Plus 700x28.
I'm looking for your comments and experiences. I could of course consider
another tire altogether if there is something better.

Gatorskins are great tires as are Marathons, but they are tires designed
for different purposes. The Gatorskin is a moderate weight, durable. road
tire. The Martahon Plus is a heavy weight, durable, touring tire. Both
will work for touring, but the Gatorskin will feel more responsive and the
Marathon Plus will be much more durable. If you are doing only moderate
length touring on good roads, the Gatorskin is a good choice, especially
for your front wheel. For longer tours and rougher roads, the Marathon
Plus would be a better choice, especially for your rear wheel.

Mark

[Wayne Estes]

Daryl Lewis wrote:

Here is the scenario, 2005 Burley Duet Tandem; team weight about 300
lbs; self supported transcontinenal trip, east to west, modified
northern tier and then down the Pacific coast; pulling a 2 wheeled trailer.

I'm considering either Continental Ultra Gatorskins, 700x28 or Schwalbe
Marathon Plus 700x28.

Wayne replies:

Your tires will probably support a load of at least 350 pounds
(riders+bike). I think you would be crazy to use 28mm tires for a
cross-country tandem tour. Maybe you could get away with that on a
local ride where your are familiar with the roads and confident that
they all have good pavement.

On a cross-country ride you are guaranteed to encounter bad pavement and
road construction. In addition, 100% of the roads will be unfamiliar to
you, so the probability of hitting a pothole or big crack is much higher
than it would be when you ride near home.

I wouldn't consider tires narrower than 38mm for a loaded tandem. I use
40mm wide tires on my single touring bike in order to have decent
performance on gravel roads.

If you do the ride with 28mm tires, please let us know afterwards how
many tires and rims you ruined during the trip. You might want to have
a spare rear wheel built up, ready for a friend to FedEx to you when
you're stranded in nowheresville.

Wayne Estes
Oakland, Oregon

[robert clark]

The gatorskin sidewall reinforcing mesh is applied to several of
Continental's tire product lines, They apply It also, on their Travel
Contacts, which Is a touring tire, but, is only made in a 700-35 and a
26-1.75" size.
I've a set of 26" TC and they seem quite long wearing , and rolls well
too.

One expects their gatorskin 23,25 and 28 is a model for a different market
segment.

TC includes a smooth center band with just a small row of knobs on the
flanks that only make contact on soft ground ... seems a good compromise ,
'safety system' belted, ... 2 winters and one summer , and only 1 (mystery)
puncture.
still lots of miles left in them..


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