Touring Bike Tire Test: Schwalbe Green Marathon

The Schwalbe Green Marathon is the first bicycle tire with a closed-loop product cycle (according to Schwalbe). To achieve this closed-loop, 70% of the raw materials used to manufacture the Green Marathon are recycled or come from renewable sources, and the rubber is 100% fair rubber. Schwalbe claims this reduces pollutants by 98% and the CO2 footprint by 34% compared to conventional tires.

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The Green Marathon looks very similar to the classic Marathon "GreenGuard" (read our review), which has been around for ages and is one of the most popular touring bike tires. The Green Marathon uses the same "GreenGuard" anti-puncture layer, which is no surprise, as it's probably what made the Marathon GreenGuard such a strong performer in our rolling and puncture resistance tests.

We're not sure if the Green Marathon will fully replace the classic Marathon "GreenGuard," but our test results indicate both tires perform relatively close to each other, with the new Green Marathon coming in very close to the classic Marathon in most tests. If Schwalbe wants to make a statement with their eco-friendliness, entirely replacing the old Marathon with the new Green Marathon would make a real difference, as "green" tires that don't sell won't make an impact.

Schwalbe released the Green Marathon in a massive range of sizes (20+), which indicates that Schwalbe might just replace the classic Marathon fully with this one. We've tested the 40-622 size, and we'll compare it to the classic Marathon from 2015, a bunch of other Marathons, and some tires from competing brands.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Schwalbe
Model	Green Marathon
Year	2024
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	Med
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	11159394
TPI	67
Compound	Addix Eco
Bead	Wire
ETRTO	40-622
Size Inch	28"
Width mm	40.00
Specified Weight	790 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	80
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	23-622 (700x23c) 25-622 (700x25c) 28-622 (700x28c) 32-622 (700x32c) 40-622 (700x40c) 44-622 (700x44c) 47-622 (700x47c) 50-622 (700x50c) 55-622 (700x55c) 55-584 (650x55b) 60-584 (650x60b) 32-559 40-550 47-559 50-559 32-630 35-349 40-406 47-305 47-406 47-507

Schwalbe Green Marathon Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	790 grams
Measured Weight	857 grams
Measured Width	38 mm (un-round)
Measured Height	38 mm (un-round)
Tread Depth	2.5 mm
Total Tire Thickness Center	7.0 mm
Total Tire Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 60 psi / 4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	Conti Tour 28 (170 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance 75 PSI / 5 Bar	21.6 Watts CRR: 0.00647
Rolling Resistance 60 PSI / 4 Bar	22.4 Watts CRR: 0.00671
Rolling Resistance 45 PSI / 3 Bar	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 30 PSI / 2 Bar	Members Only
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	105 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness	7.0 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	71 Points
Wet Grip Center	Members Only
Wet Grip Edge	Members Only
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 Tour/E-Bike grip test rim width = 23.0 mm

Conclusion

We've come a long way since testing the classic Schwalbe Marathon "GreenGuard" (read our review) back in 2015, and when we only look at our test results, it doesn't look like there's been much progress. The 40-622 Green Marathon rolls slightly slower than the 37-622 classic Marathon, but when we compare it to the 40-622 classic Marathon, which we tested for the Marathon 32, 37, 40, and 47 mm comparison, we can conclude that the Green Marathon rolls exactly as fast as the classic Marathon.

It might look like puncture resistance has gone down as well, but we're not sure if this is the case or if it's just a matter of some slight changes to the puncture resistance tests over the years, combined with the margin of error of the tests and manufacturing tolerances. The Green Marathon still scores well over 100 points in our total puncture score, which should be enough for most cyclists.

We introduced our wet grip test in 2021, which means we don't have grip test data of the classic Marathon. The new Green Marathon shows decent performance in our wet grip test, and with a score of 71 points and the open tread pattern, it will do just fine under most circumstances.

The Green Marathon performs pretty much the same as the classic Marathon, with the real advantage of the Green Marathon being its eco-friendliness. Schwalbe can do without the classic Marathon and fully replace it with the Green Marathon if they want to make a true impact on the environment.

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RATING: 4.5 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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