Schwalbe Green Marathon
Schwalbe – Ralf Bohle GmbH
Schwalbe’s “Green Marathon” is the world’s first bicycle tyre to be made from used tyres. Alongside recycled carbon black (a colourant and reinforcing filler) from the Schwalbe recycling system, “Green Marathon” minimises dependence on fossil raw materials through its use of fair trade natural rubber as well as a total of 80% recycled and renewable materials. Compared to its predecessor, the product saves 41% of CO2 equivalents with no compromise in performance, durability or mileage. At the end of its life cycle, the tyre can be returned to Schwalbe and recycled.
Award winner 2024 in the category »Produkt«»The wheel may not have been reinvented by Schwalbe, but the bicycle tire has. The 'Green Marathon' model is the first bicycle tire with a closed material loop: it is made from used tires from Schwalbe's recycling system, recycled industrial carbon black, and fair-trade natural rubber. The steel used for the bead core contains 90% recycled material. Schwalbe achieves a 41% reduction in CO2 equivalents compared to the previous model. Very important for a product bearing the name 'Marathon': there is no compromise in terms of mileage, durability, or performance. From the jury’s perspective, this is an outstanding innovation that provides all cyclists with a genuine ecological alternative and contributes to sustainable consumer behavior.«
Dr. Bettina Hoffmann MdB
Three questions for Steffen Jüngst, Public Relations Manager
How did the idea for "Schwalbe Green Marathon" come about?
At Schwalbe we’ve been working for years on the development of products that are as environmentally friendly as possible, and which can be reused at the end of their life cycle in the sense of a circular economy. Even before we introduced our tyre recycling system, we had begun developing the most environmentally friendly tyre that is technically feasible. With the introduction of recycling, it soon became clear to us that we wanted to close the loop entirely. From this, the Green Marathon was born, marking the 40th anniversary of the Marathon.
What was your personal highlight in the development process for "Schwalbe Green Marathon"? Was there a low point?
The definite highlight was the completion of the first laboratory tests, which demonstrated that the tyre had surpassed our expectations many times over. We had initially planned to use a tyre that would likely have resulted in compromises with regard to performance. It was only after the very good laboratory values came back that we knew the tyre fulfilled the highest standards, both in terms of driving performance and above all with extremely high mileage.
Where do you see your project in the next five years?
The tyre is the benchmark for environmentally sound product development. It represents our vision for all future Schwalbe tyres. The Green Marathon was the world's first tyre in which we could successfully replace fossil-based carbon black (a colourant and reinforcing filler) with recycled carbon black (rCB) from our own recycling system. Today, we use rCB in over 70% of our entire product range. We will now consistently pursue this approach.
