CX/Gravel Tire Test: Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus 37

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus has been regarded as one of the most puncture resistant bicycle tires that still has a relatively low rolling resistance. With the rise of e-bikes, puncture resistance has become even more important as most people expect trouble-free operation these days. At the same time, today's e-bikes come with powerful motors and batteries which makes a low rolling resistance less important than it was in the past when we had to rely solely on our legs.

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This is where the Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus enters the market. The Marathon E-Plus has been made even tougher than the Marathon Plus (read our review) by adding 2 layers of thin, but hard to penetrate, RaceGuard anti-puncture fabric underneath the 5 mm thick SmartGuard layer. The 5 mm thick SmartGuard layer is made of a soft material that is actually quite easy to penetrate.

The SmartGuard anti-puncture system is based on the principle of objects that want to penetrate the tire simply not being long enough to puncture the inner tube. The problem with this approach to puncture resistance is that when something that is long enough to reach the inner tube, it will work its way through the soft material and eventually reach the inner tube resulting in a flat tire.

The 2 extra layers of RaceGuard fabric provides a best of both worlds approach when it comes to puncture resistance. Of course, these additional layers will make the tire even stiffer and slower rolling but when you're on a powerful e-bike, the higher rolling resistance isn't such a big issue anymore as it was in the past.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Schwalbe
Model	Marathon E-Plus
Year	2020
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	11159077
EAN	4026495871013
TPI	67
Compound	Addix E
Bead	Wire
ETRTO	37-622
Specified Weight	930 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	85
Made In	Pro Data
Available Sizes	37-622 (28x1.40) 40-622 (28x1.50) 47-622 (28x1.75) 50-622 (28x2.00) 55-622 (28x2.15) 50-584 (27.5x2.00)

Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus 37 Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	930 grams
Measured Weight	911 grams
Measured Width Casing	32 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	mm
Measured Height	Pro Data
Tire Circumference	Pro Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.0 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	8.80 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Pro Data
All size measurements are taken at high air pressure on a 18 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Measured Width	32 mm
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 33-35 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 36-38 = 54 psi/3.7 bar 39-42 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 43-46 = 46 psi/3.2 bar 47-50 = 42 psi/2.9 barHigh Air Pressure (66 psi / 4.6 bar)	Pro Data
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 55 psi/3.8 bar 33-35 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 36-38 = 45 psi/3.1 bar 39-42 = 42 psi/2.9 bar 43-46 = 38 psi/2.6 bar 47-50 = 35 psi/2.4 barMedium Air Pressure (55 psi / 3.8 bar)	Pro Data
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 44 psi/3.0 bar 33-35 = 40 psi/2.8 bar 36-38 = 36 psi/2.6 bar 39-42 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 43-46 = 31 psi/2.1 bar 47-50 = 28 psi/1.9 barLow Air Pressure (44 psi / 3.0 bar)	30.3 Watts CRR: 0.00908
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 33-35 = 30 psi/2.1 bar 36-38 = 27 psi/1.9 bar 39-42 = 25 psi/1.7 bar 43-46 = 23 psi/1.6 bar 47-50 = 21 psi/1.4 barExtra Low Air Pressure (33 psi / 2.3 bar)	Pro Data
The CX/Gravel section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	163 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Pro Data
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	16
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Pro Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness	8.80 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Pro Data
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Pro Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Pro Data

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	72 Points
Wet Grip Center	Pro Data
Wet Grip Edge	Pro Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.0 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 CX/Gravel grip test rim width = 23.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

With the addition of 2 layers of RaceGuard fabric under the 5 mm thick SmartGuard layer, the Marathon E-Plus now uses both a hard to puncture layer as well as a soft-but-thick layer to further improve puncture resistance over the Marathon Plus. The result of this is that the Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus is the most puncture-resistant (Puncture Factor) tire we've tested to date.

As expected, rolling resistance has also gone up but we're surprised the increase is at most 2 watts per tire which will be hard to notice on the road.

Something else we noticed is that the Marathon E-Plus has been downsized quite a bit, the 37-622 version of this tire measured just 32 mm wide as opposed to the 37-622 Marathon Plus that measured 34 mm wide on our 17 mm inner width rim. We've seen this downsizing with some road bike tires as well as there seems to be a trend of moving to wider rims.

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RATING: 5.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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