I hate flat tires, I hate the inconvenience, I hate removing my dirty wheels, I hate replacing the inner tube. To be honest, somewhere in the distant past I lost the skill of replacing innertubes and now have almost a 100% success rate of puncturing the new tube as I'm installing it which makes me hate punctures even more!
I have some poor neglected bicycles that are very rarely ridden and it seems every time I get the urge to take one for a spin I put some air in the tires only to hear it rushing back out twice as fast. Sometimes it seems every time I want to take a less used bicycle out I have to replace an inner tube. That's a serious kick in the balls for the joy of cycling right there.
This week I find myself with some time off work after a crazy schedule that has seen me spend more days overseas than at home in Japan for the past year. With some spare time on my hands and immaculate weather, I pulled my commuter from the tangle of neglected bicycles beneath the stairs, gave it a clean and some oil before inflating the tires and heading to the river.
I have some more expensive, more fun, less beaten up bicycles than my commuter but I pulled that bike from the tangle because I was confident it was the one I could get back on the road the fastest and I was confident because I knew without a doubt it wouldn't need replacement inner tubes.
A light treaded tire, originally designed for bicycle touring the Schwalbe Marathon or "Green Guard" tires are perfect for the conditions that an average urban commute will throw your way. Considered by some a little on the heavy side, they roll perfectly well for me and I appreciate the light tread on those wet commutes. In addition to being bullet-proof and providing extra grip, I would have otherwise forgone for a faster ride, the Schwalbe Marathon tire also has a reflective stripe around its side walls making me more visible from the side under lights at night. While I'm not a natural attention seeker when I'm on my bike on the busy city streets with the death machines I want all eyes on me!
If I have any complaint about these tires its the same complaint as many others, they're impossible for the mere mortal to apply to the rim. In doing so I broke 3 plastic tire levers and punctured 2 innertubes before giving up and taking my wheels to the bike store to see the guy there have an equally difficult time.
I said these tires were immortal, and without Thor's tire levers (which I am unable to hold) I'll never be able to fit them to my bike, so defer to the bike shop gods.
If you want to spend more time cycling that repairing flats, or worrying when your next perfect day will be ruined by a puncture check out Schwalbe tires. Based on years of experience with these tires, I can not recommend a product more highly.
