Marathon Winter Plus Perf. Spike-Reifen // 50-622 (28x2,0') SmartGuard

I mounted this on a unicycle, after wiping out pretty hard on some ice I didn’t see. It’s amazing! I’ve ridden it on ice, fresh snow, compacted snow, and bare pavement (wet and dry). As you might imagine, traction is even more important when you have just one wheel. After finishing the recommended 40km “run-in” period to set the studs, there’s no problems to report with the studs. They’re all still there and intact, even after riding on sidewalks part of the time. It has its limits, but the only difficulties I’ve had were from snow that was just too deep, or too bumpy from being melted, walked upon, and refrozen. Traction has not been a problem at all. My main concern was unseen patches of ice, and I rode this tire right across the slickest stuff I could find, with no slippage. The one curious quirk this tire has is that when you lean into a turn, it tends to want to tighten the turn. Again, this is on a unicycle, it may not do that on a bike. It isn’t enough to make me bail, but it is definitely noticeable. The benefit of this characteristic is that when riding on the shoulder of crowned roads, it tends to keep you straight, whereas with my knobby tire it wants to pull off downhill. Overall, I’m very happy with it, because it lets me keep riding in the chilly months!

Used all winter in Northern Idaho, made crossing patches of ice much less hazardous. Could continue my bike routine, with reduce miles, most winter weeks. Not for deep snow. If you are experienced in changing bike tires, installation is rather typical. If not better use a bike shop. Gave me very good service and very little wear. Didn't loose studs after full winter season of about 1000 miles. Will use again next year. Not cheap, but a good value.

I've bought this tire twice. I get two winters out of it before the studs get too ineffective. Even then, just not quite what I want. In the past I rode in all weather, even deep snow. Now in my later years I take it a little easier. This tire has exceptionally low rolling resistance for a studded tire and less noise on pavement than other studded tires. Much less noise, which matters to me. It handles very much like Schwalbe's Big Henry, which means very well. Comfortable, smooth, efficient, reasonably quiet, and good for all ice and snow conditions except deep snow. Schwalbe makes an excellent tire for deep snow with more aggressive studding, but the noise and rolling resistance on pavement wears me out. I like this tire best for all around conditions.

A great fit for my winter ride. The studs bite the ice ad nake stopping and cornering possible on all that black ice.