Battle Of The BEST Commuter Tires: Continental Contact, Contact Plus, Schwalbe Marathon, M+ and More

Ever wondered which the best commuter tire is?
In this video we compare the Continental Contact, the Continental Contact Plus, the Continental Ride Tour, the Schwalbe Marathon, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, and the Schwalbe Marathon GT.
These tires are all great for commuting and touring.

If you're interested in any of these tires, please consider using my affiliate links:

You can find each video review here:

00:00 6 Of The Best Commuter Tires
01:15 The Competition Explained
02:02 Weight
03:20 Speed and Agility
04:45 Comfort
05:25 Grip
06:08 Versatility
07:23 Durability
08:13 E-bike readiness
09:00 Puncture protection
10:10 Ease of mounting
11:23 Price and best value tires
13:20 Which tire should you get?

[michaeldee]

Followed your recommendation and went for the Continental Contact Plus in size 42-622. Bought 2 pairs for my 2 commuter/trekking bikes. I am over the moon, the ride is so much better. The best tyres ever! Mounting them on my 19mm wide rims could not have been easier. It took me less than 3 minutes per wheel to get them on and inflated to the desired pressure. Absolutely incredible. So in contrast to your experience, no pinching of inner tube. Had this with the Marathon Plus, a real nightmare to mount. In addition, I was never really happy with the grip provided by the Schwalbes. I did however mount the tyres in my yard on a nice and sunny day. Left the tyres out in the sun for about 15 min. prior to installation. Could that have done the trick, i.e. by making the rubber more supple? Thank you so much for your excellent review.

[MJA]

This comparison is a great service for people shopping for tires, thanks very much for making it. I have the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I don't have much to compare them to, but I can say they are tough (I live in Utah and we have thorns everywhere). They are not the most agile I know that, but the way the conditions are around here, you really need puncture resistance unless you don't mind fixing flats. On edit: I would emphasize that I use my bike for commutes over varied surfaces and trips all around, so I find myself rolling over all sorts of surfaces.

[MarkusFolkesson]

A good review, just one thing about RideTour - I have it for over three years now and one thing I really notice is the grip. It is always grips, even on loose gravel early in the spring, I think you can argue better why you don't give it more points in the durability round. The only person I know get a puncture with it was a 130 kg rider that use 28 mm narrow tiers at the time - on sharp gravel.

Well, I am bias, I love these tiers.

Also I really like that this clip isn't just marketing Schwalbe Marathon Plus!

[Frank-mnhx]

The marathon plus is the tire I use. It's the best i ever use.
I've had other brands but, NOT as good as the marathon plus.
It can be a little harder to mount it on the rim but, that's normal for a tire as strong as this.
It's also one of the most expensive tires. The marathon E-plus is even more expensive.
For the modern bikes and E-bikes is the best. The most bikes I know use these tires.
I used very cheap tires for a short time. That are the worst tires EVER. No procetion and these wear down extrremely fast.
Then I used the RUMA Standard. Good but, not for longer than 7000km.
Now I usethe marathon PLUS. Never had a flat for 7500km and still enough profile.
They are the best I've ever used. Although I use thesecond set. After replacing it after 7600km. The protective layer (yellow) as showing.

[scottneighbors]

I am 6’-4” tall and 255lbs
Ride 20/day (RT)
Average 16-20mph
Las Vegas, NV-LV is booming in construction so there is a tons of build materials on the road (ie nails, wire, screws, plates, glass etc)
100% street riding (gravel)

My Picks:
Schwalbe Marathon (28x1.4) 60psi
Continental Ride Tour (28x1.6) 60psi

[lesterroberts]

can confirm the Marathon Plus is slippery up front, and bullet proof at 28mm. Testing out a 25mm at the moment. This tires works well in the back and paired with a suspension seat post like the Suntour NCX

[marinamrr]

Great video. Crazy how the prices specified are less than half of what they currently cost. You're telling me that in 2yrs the continental ride tour went from 15$ to 35$? Jeez!

[mati]

Thanks to this video, i've decided to buy marathon over marathon plus. Puncture protection of simple version is good enough and have clear advantage in rolling and road/off Road grip.

Thanks a lot!

[RAC]

Sam, this is an outstanding comparison - great job! Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this information. It is sincerely appreciated. I was trying to narrow down which tires I should choose and your video helped me with my decision. I ended up choosing the Continental Contact Plus and am very pleased with these tires so far. Thank you again and all the best.

[michaelready]

Thanks for the fantastic detailed review!! Your comment that you couldn't put any of the tires on your wheel easily made me wonder if you might have the wrong size tire. You are so knowledgeable, I doubted that you would but thought I'd post a comment anyway. I've been cycling for years and have always found mounting new tires a struggle but have always managed to dismount and mount tire that have been on the bike for a while. Anyway, you settled the debate in my head. I am going for the Contact Plus City for my new ebike - Specialized Turbo Vado. After a weeks ownership, I have found the stock tires too unstable when cornering fast. I'd have gone for the Contact Plus "non-city" but they don't make them in my size. But 99% of my riding is on paved roads and any off-load is relatively slow speed and flat. Cheers! Michael

[EnligUlv]

I sure miss commuting by bike to work; good review of the best of the best👍🏼. I’ve always been a conti fan.

[r.davies]

I agree. I found the Schwalbe's unnerving in wet weather, felt as if they were going to wash out whilst cornering. They never did, but they never inspired confidence either. Been using Conti's for over a year, excellent mileage out of them and yes I've had the odd puncture but it can be counted on one hand. Handling/grip (for me) is okay on the road in all weathers. Great review 👍

[erikmortensen]

Thanks for the great review !! Have you tried Vittoria Randonneur Double Shield Graphene. Have used them for approx. 10 years and has never punctured. Drives 2000-3000 km annually both for work in the summer and for cycling holidays with heavy packing. The tires weigh approx. 450 g and has good driving characteristics.

[danielaelmi]

Spectacular clip, precise, full of info and tech advices. Thanks a lot!

[jacekm.]

Bardzo fajny test opon. Też szukałem rozwiązania-dobrych opon i wybrałem Conti tour ride...ale potem znów szukałem i myślałem o czymś nowym. Tymczasem okazuje się, że kupione Conti tour ride, są naprawdę dobre i uniwersalne, bezpieczne (podróże 80% miasto, 20% żwir, kamienie, las). Pozdrawiam z centralnej Polski - Łódź🖐️👍
PS w aucie Goodyear allseasons 3gen( ponieważ mamy przez 5 miesięcy delikatne zimy, trochę śniegu i pada deszcz)

[stilllifeproductions]

Boy, prices have certainly changed...Thank you for this great video! BTW, ever try the Conti Top Contact II?

[benwetherbee]

Clarification needed: In your review of the Marathon Plus in regards to grip: "The profile of this tire is pretty round and I thought the contact patch would be a bit too narrow with the road, but honestly, even on wet road, it offered plenty of grip." In this video, you said the continentals were a bit grippier than the Schwalbe tires. My understanding based on the measured rolling resistance of the aforementioned tires is that their grip is comparable to one another(Credit to BikeRollingResistance). Essentially, not significant enough to have an edge over the other. It would make for an interesting video to see a head to head, albeit with the newest contenders: Continental has put out a new Contact Urban tire that has better wet grip due to their new activated silica tire compound. Schwalbe has put out a new Marathon Almotion tire that has better grip utilizing their Addix compound. Anyhow... time for a new Video!

As an anecdotal note: I've been using the Marathon Plus in Seattle going on 8 years now and have NEVER had the tire slip on corners. The one time I managed to make it slide, it was snowing and I was going down hill over 30 miles an hour on Seneca Street and noticed a red light a bit late. I still managed to stop and look like a professional stunt man with the bike skidding to a side stop... I.E. Lucky.

Anyhow, I'd love to see an updated video!

[Jarrych]

This was very helpful. I think the only concern I have about Continental is a lot of reviews out there about super inconsistent sizing that's made me a bit cautious. I like the look of the WTB All Terrain, but wish it had some puncture resistance, and that's basically what the Ride Tour gets. But they sure seem like a good balance of features for the price, which is sweet.

[mattsmith]

I've been using Continental 4Season Grand Prix and I've been pretty happy with them. When I see a patch of broken glass in the road I don't swerve around it I ride right over as if to say "Go on I dare ya." and I never get flats.

[thorrhus]

merci pour ces comparaisons, toujours d'actualité au moment où j'écris.😊