10/2014 Received Schwalbe Marathon-Plus tires with poor QC

[Punx0r]

What you have there looks like a tyre not correctly seated on the rim. I measured off the screen and the tyre seems to be tucked into the rim more on one side. It would be more accurate if you measured the tyre in real life. I have had this before with a particular combination of tyre and rim. I you ride the bike at speed 20+mph you will probably see and feel how the tyre is not round.

You need to deflate the tyre and massage it evenly onto the rim as you gradually inflate it.

 

[The fingers]

Perhaps with a flash photo the problem would show up better.

 

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

My LBS mentioned to me off the cuff that the reflective white strip on the Schwalbe tires is often not centred, and is not guaranteed to be. This does not compromise the tires functionality, although cosmetics matter to many people I suppose, as long as they are mounted properly. This might be true. See if the tire "feels funny" when rolling, when mounted apparently properly.

 

[r3volved]

My big apple has the exact same misaligned reflective circle. It's not as off-center as yours, but enough that I seated the damn thing several times before realizing it was a QC error and not my mounting.
It bugged me at first, but honestly I haven't even thought about it again until now

 

[ambroseliao]

Glad to hear of a responsible manufacturer who stands behind their product.

Please let us know how the new pair from Schwalbe works out.

 

[leffex]

My big apple has the exact same misaligned reflective circle. It's not as off-center as yours, but enough that I seated the damn thing several times before realizing it was a QC error and not my mounting.
It bugged me at first, but honestly I haven't even thought about it again until now

Mine too

Who cares?

Does the tyre work? Yes
Does the tyre give its promises? Yes
Is it safe to use? Yes and people at night will see you more clearly. :lol:
Any other questions needed for safety and use? NO 8)

Its a tyre
Grow up.

 

[neptronix]

The reflective ring is imperfect on all of the schwalbe tires that i own ( 12 in total ). But that is the only thing negative about them. They are still the best tires i've ever owned and most puncture proof..

 

[friendly1uk]

New 26" apples here with 5mm deviations in the reflective tape and poor alignment. There is a mold line dead center of the tread, and the two halves are 1.5mm out of alignment. Now that sounds nothing, but this tread pattern is a big V and with the point of the V messed up, they loose all sense of their symmetrical good looks. Instead they look like cheap molded tyres that I look forward to changing. Though they have not been out yet.

 

[Chalo]

Schwalbe tires are in my observation no more perfectly made than other major brands, despite their premium prices. I've run across a few specimens that would not mount evenly, that blew off the rim at rated pressure, etc. I'm sure that as a premium brand, their warranty support is reasonable. My shop is not a Schwalbe dealer at this time, so I have no direct experience with this yet.

The reflective strip is, I believe, applied as a flexible tape. I have noticed that the point at which the tape ends overlap is where the strip is most likely to begin peeling. It is annoying when the strip is not concentric to the tire, because it camouflages the true alignment of the tire on the rim. But most reflective sidewall tires, Schwalbe or not, have some degree of misalignment between stripe and tire casing. I still prefer a reflective tire to a non-reflective one when it's available.

 

[The fingers]

I still prefer a reflective tire to a non-reflective one when it's available.

Previously I had load over my bicycle as much as possible of reflective gadgets.

I like to cut out the reflective strips from road kill safety vests and attach them to the side and rear as streamers, hoping that the movement will make me more vivible.

 

[Rodney64]

I'm using the same tyres on my raptor. Good to see u had a result

 

[friendly1uk]

There was a mileage thread somewhere. Their tyres seemed way ahead of the competition. Them bits of rubber that new tyres have and soon wear off? They lasted 1000 miles on my Big Apples. I would like to show the wear on my front tyre approaching 2000 miles. But there isn't any. I might be 15-20% through the rear, because I generally rear brake, so skidding is a regular event. I'm estimating 10,000 miles before the rear is a slick. The front won't wear out. It will just harden. Though there is nothing hard about this compound.

 

[friendly1uk]

Rolling resistance?

My apples are rated 30-55psi. They are balloon tyres. The sidewalls are designed for running soft. There is not a great deal there to flex, so nothing is splitting or sapping power to deform it. The sidewall is so thin I'm surprised they don't pass light. I like 30psi in the front and 35 in the back. The bike is ~22kg and tyres 2.15"

 

[friendly1uk]

The marathon tyres don't want to be at 32-35psi the sidewalls will be ruined and they won't roll well.

 

[friendly1uk]

They won't misshape except where they contact the ground. It's a fatigue problem. I think constant flexing causes heat build up, promoting the drying out process, leading to cracking. The Apples exist because of this.