I've been happily riding a set of 700 x 32 Marathon Plus with Smartguard 
since February on my commuter. I needed a set of tires ASAP and these were 
on the hook at an LBS.

They were a bit stiff going on my Mavic rims which I attribute to the 
buttressed side walls and the pocket of Smartguard stiffening the treadcap. 
These are narrower than I would buy again, but I was happy to overcome the 
perceived heaviness of such a reinforced tire with a narrower width before 
I rode them. 

They do not have the full range of ride characteristics typical on other 
tires along the spectrum between max and min inflation. One night I feared 
a broken axle or dropout because the rear end literally wagged in response 
to pedal stokes. It was my low rear tire and the ride feel never gave me 
what I normally sense from that state, I was literally low enough that the 
sidewalls flexed left and right with each pedal stroke. Pump them to max 
pressure and the Smartguard under the tread feels softer than the inflated 
tire both to your thumb and while riding. One flat so far from a strand of 
cable, I don't know anything that can eliminate those, at least nothing I 
have tried yet has.

I valued flat-free service more than acceleration or superior road feel 
since my commute is in the dark both ways for nine months of the year on 
pothole-patched asphalt streets overdue for repaving. Pinch flat resistance 
has been a nice surprise I didn't expect. Will happily repurchase and can 
count myself a Schwalbe fan now (can't wait for winter as I have a set of 
700 x 40 studded Schwalbes hanging ready).

Andy Cheatham
Pittsburgh

On Tuesday, October 2, 2012 5:52:15 PM UTC-4, lungimsam wrote:
>
> Before I pull the trigger on a set?
> I just can't get myself to pay for Panaracer Anythings after the bad run I 
> have had with them. So looks like I'm goin' Schwalbe, unless I get a run of 
> "beware"s from y'all.
>

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