I must say I find myself quite excited about my two Brompton purchases. Firstly, with the C Line Explore, aka Mr Orange, and it’s 6-speed gears, which seems to be in demand from a couple of other turfers who play a game called Turf with my partner, ChoccyMuffin. And second, with the imminent arrival of the C Line Urban, aka Mr Bumble, with its 2-speed gears, soon to become a 1-speed gear, yes, a single speed. Actually, I kind of wish I didn’t have any other bikes in the shed and could fill all that space with a collection of different Brompton’s. Not that I actually would do that. Or would I?
The space that my other two bikes take up is about 2400 mm long, well, that’s based on the number of carpet tiles I can recall because it’s chucking down with rain, or rather chucking it along as the rain is horizontal, and I cannot be bothered heading out to the shed and getting soaked. The folded Brompton measures, from the Brompton web site, 25.3″ high x 23” wide x 10.6” deep, that’s about 650 mm high x 590 mm wide x 270 mm wide in modern measure.
So, that equates to enough space for around eight Brompton’s placed side-by-side, that’s a lot of bikes. Okay, I would not actually go that far. That’s plain crazy but I could see a small collection of, say, five Brompton’s including the C Line Explore, a C Line Urban converted to single speed, a P Line Urban electric, the ultra-lightweight titanium T Line One and the 20”-wheel G Line. As for storage, Ikea offer the Kallax storage unit that perfectly fits a folded Brompton (not the G Line) and they can be stacked on top of each other, a garage for a Brompton, and also taking up less space as well. They can also be carried or protected inside the Ikea’s £3.00 Dimpa bag.
Anyway, I’m rambling on. That’s not what this page is supposed to be about. What I want to look at here is one of the most important aspects of cycling and one that is often ignored, that of tyres. There’s a whole range of tyres out there for the Brompton but I want to look at just a few of them. These are:
- the Schwalbe Marathon Racer 16 x 1.35
- the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 16 x 1.35
- the Continental Contact Urban 16 x 1.35
- the Schwalbe Marathon Winter 16 x 1.20
One thing I should say before going any further is to be aware that anything you read about how well a tyre performs or how badly it performs, unless it has been carefully tested under scientific conditions, is usually a matter of personal opinion and experience based of a wide range of different factors. That includes this blog page. When you read a post, for example, that a certain tyre is rubbish because it punctured after a year, I would stop and think before accepting that opinion.
Why only a few tyres, you ask? Well, for my style of riding, which is most often in urban areas while playing a game called Turf, the main requirements are durability, comfort, puncture resistance and a reasonable rolling resistance. I’m not interested in lightest weight or the fastest tyre, both factors that can increase the risk of punctures. And I’m definitely not interested in tan or other colours of sidewall. Though reflective side wall strips are a good thing to have when riding at night.
The first tyre I want to look at is the Schwalbe Marathon Racer 16 x 1.35 which weighs in at around 300g. Note that tyre weights can vary considerably from tyre to tyre. This is the tyre that came fitted to both my 2024 C Line Explore and 2024 C Line Urban (now converted to single speed) Brompton’s.
The Schwalbe Marathon Racer, as the name suggests, is a fast road tyre designed for speed and performance. Puncture protection is rated by Schwalbe as 4/7 by their own measure, whatever that might be and the fairly minimal tread, while keeping the weight down, makes the tyre somewhat interesting if ridden across mud, snow or wet grass. The tyre has a wired bead which can make fitting and removing the tyre slightly difficult without proper technique. I’ve used these tyres for years on my normal bikes without punctures but I do have tyre sealant in all my inner tubes.
Next in the list is the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 16 x 1.35, the heaviest tyre in the collection at 480g, and for that you get one of the highest anti-puncture ratings around with Schwalbe stating 7/7 on their web site. It is claimed as a flat-less tyre but you can still get a puncture. I’ve run these tyres on some of my bikes over the years and have only suffered one puncture and that was caused by the discarded blade from a Stanley-type knife. However, the puncture sealant did its job and I was able to keep on riding only losing a few pounds of pressure.
The Schwalbe Marathon Plus 16 x 1.35, from previous experience, is a pretty decent tyre, sturdy and long lasting and while rolling resistance is higher than the Marathon Racer, not something I would concern myself about. The one thing I would say is that the chunkier the tyre the better it copes with rough urban roads and trails. In fact, that ability, along with the added comfort a chunkier tyre offers, might actually mean you are faster than when riding on a lesser tyre.
Interestingly, Brompton do not offer this tyre, suggesting it interferes with the mudguard though comments from other Brompton owners suggest this is not the case. I have yet to test these on my Brompton but plan to do so in the future. The next tyre in the list is the Continental Contact Urban 16 x 1.35, the lightest tyre here at 275g and reading reviews online one of the most highly recommended for the Brompton. I’ve just bought a pair of these and will be fitting them to my new C Line Urban as part of the conversion to single speed, hopefully when it arrives in a week or so. Will review these tyres in a future post.
One final tyre I want to mention is the Schwalbe Marathon Winter 16 x 1.20 studded tyre, which weighs in at 465g and comes resplendent with two rows of metal spikes embedding into the tread. I came across this tyre when looking for a suitable tyre to fit to the Brompton for off-road use that has a decent tread pattern. Yes, I know it’s not regarded as an off-road bike but I’m keen for some off-road adventures and want to try it for myself. Might even get out in the snow and ice and see what happens. Which will probably be falling off, I suspect! Another blog page from the future. Bye for now.
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