Schwalbe Marathon Plus

I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the refitting
stage. I always wonder why this is so hard to do.


May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have always
got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

Maybe it is the if less expensive rims are used -- or perhaps they have been
improperly tensioned by poor workmanship ( in an LBS? / or self done). But
it would seem that there must be an awful lot of distortion to create that
situation.

And on my present velo the rear wheel has had a new rim fitted ( due to
being reversed over by a car) in central France.

Surely the specification of modern quality cyles and the rims of their
wheels should provide no problem. Maybe the bike has been so misused during
its life cycle without proper maintainance that the wheels ar ejust out of
kilter.

In any case I never carry tyre levers on my travels. I always use, if
needed, as I have done since a boy, my spoon and fork! It is about the only
time that I actually use a fork on my camping tours.

--
From
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:43 -0000, "Trevor A Panther"
wrote:

I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the refitting
stage. I always wonder why this is so hard to do.


May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have always
got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

You must have fingers of steel.

Last time I managed to fit an M+ with my fingers on a Islabikes 26"
rim my thumbs took a week to recover.

I have my third rear wheel (of six to fit) in my front room waiting
for me to build up the courage to attack.

I shall photo the wheel at various stages and create a slide show of
the fitting for everyone's amusement.

Trevor A Panther wrote:
I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the refitting
stage. I always wonder why this is so hard to do.


May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have always
got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

Maybe it is the if less expensive rims are used -- or perhaps they have been
improperly tensioned by poor workmanship ( in an LBS? / or self done). But
it would seem that there must be an awful lot of distortion to create that
situation.

And on my present velo the rear wheel has had a new rim fitted ( due to
being reversed over by a car) in central France.

Surely the specification of modern quality cyles and the rims of their
wheels should provide no problem. Maybe the bike has been so misused during
its life cycle without proper maintainance that the wheels ar ejust out of
kilter.

In any case I never carry tyre levers on my travels. I always use, if
needed, as I have done since a boy, my spoon and fork! It is about the only
time that I actually use a fork on my camping tours.


I haven't had to take my Marathon Plus tyres off yet (after 1050 miles
so far). I hope it'll be a while yet ...


To be fair, I think most of the mentions here have been about the
smaller diameter ones. I remember the 20" Schwalbe City Jet tyres on my
old APB were a bit of a s** to get back on and I don't think there was
anything fancy about my rims.

Tom Crispin wrote on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:44:52 +0000:

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:43 -0000, "Trevor A Panther"
wrote:

I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the
refitting stage. I always wonder why this is so hard to do.


May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have
always got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

You must have fingers of steel.

Last time I managed to fit an M+ with my fingers on a Islabikes 26" rim
my thumbs took a week to recover.

I have my third rear wheel (of six to fit) in my front room waiting for
me to build up the courage to attack.

I shall photo the wheel at various stages and create a slide show of the
fitting for everyone's amusement.

I have 3 M+ tyre fitted at the moment. There are 2 on my old Dawes
Lightning, 27 x 1 1/4 on the original steel rims, and a 26 x 1.75 on a
Mavic XM719 disk rim.

None of them needed any more than firm finger pressure to complete their
installation, although I did use washing-up liquid as a lubricant.

--
Regards
Alex

http://www.badphorm.co.uk/

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:44:52 +0000, Tom Crispin
wrote:

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:43 -0000, "Trevor A Panther"
wrote:

I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the refitting
stage. I always wonder why this is so hard to do.


May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have always
got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

You must have fingers of steel.

Last time I managed to fit an M+ with my fingers on a Islabikes 26"
rim my thumbs took a week to recover.

I have my third rear wheel (of six to fit) in my front room waiting
for me to build up the courage to attack.

I shall photo the wheel at various stages and create a slide show of
the fitting for everyone's amusement.

Not very amusing...

www.britishschoolofcycling.com/special/m+

"Tom Crispin" wrote in message
...

Not very amusing...

www.britishschoolofcycling.com/special/m+

That yellow rim tape looks to be slightly in the wrong place - the spoke
hole looks to be a bit exposed. Is that the case?

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:48:52 -0000, "Clive George"
wrote:

"Tom Crispin" wrote in message
.. .

Not very amusing...

www.britishschoolofcycling.com/special/m+

That yellow rim tape looks to be slightly in the wrong place - the spoke
hole looks to be a bit exposed. Is that the case?

I adjusted the rim tape. I doubt that the spoke hole is wrong, they
do alternate slightly from one side to t'other.

On 2009-11-13, Jim A wrote:
[...]
I haven't had to take my Marathon Plus tyres off yet (after 1050 miles
so far). I hope it'll be a while yet ...


To be fair, I think most of the mentions here have been about the
smaller diameter ones. I remember the 20" Schwalbe City Jet tyres on my
old APB were a bit of a s** to get back on and I don't think there was
anything fancy about my rims.

I've found the 26" ones a ******* to get on. But they get better with
age, so if you ever do get a flat, yours should be OK after 1050 miles.

Useful tip I read on RBT is to try to make sure you get the bead as
close to the bottom of the rim well as possible all the way round. That
makes the last bit that little bit easier to get on.

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:48:52 -0000
"Clive George" wrote:

"Tom Crispin" wrote in
message ...

Not very amusing...

www.britishschoolofcycling.com/special/m+

That yellow rim tape looks to be slightly in the wrong place - the
spoke hole looks to be a bit exposed. Is that the case?


Not only that, it's also covering the bead seat so could stop the tyre
from seating properly.

On 13 Nov, 20:38, Tom Crispin
wrote:
On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:44:52 +0000, Tom Crispin



wrote:
On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:34:43 -0000, "Trevor A Panther"
wrote:

I keep reading in various forums that people express that they have
difficulty in manipulating their M+ tyres -- especially during the refitting
stage. *I always wonder why this is so hard to do.

May be it is just that my last 3 velos have been different but I have always
got M+ tyres on with my hands and fingers without any problem.

You must have fingers of steel.

Last time I managed to fit an M+ with my fingers on a Islabikes 26"
rim my thumbs took a week to recover.

I have my third rear wheel (of six to fit) in my front room waiting
for me to build up the courage to attack.

I shall photo the wheel at various stages and create a slide show of
the fitting for everyone's amusement.

Not very amusing...

www.britishschoolofcycling.com/special/m+

There are two thing I can see need doing without looking at the tyre.
Clean the edge of the rim to remove the rubber tranferred from the old
tyre. Use a scotchbright and dilute washing up detergent. Use naptha
or acetone for stubborn bits, after drying. Dry with a paper towel,
riinse off and dry again. Wipe over with acetone. I see you have a
cloth rim tape, cut it so the ends do not overlap. Dust the rim tape
using talc/french chalk and a brush. Thats an extensive cleaning
method on the rim I've detailed, not all steps are absolutely
necessary in all cases.