Schwalbe is a brand name of Ralf Bohle GmbH, a German manufacturer of bicycle, Scooter and wheelchair tires. The company is a third generation, family owned Mittelstand business with global reach. Schwalbe produces a wide range of tires for different cycling applications, but is best known for its commuting, touring and utility tyres such as the Marathon range. Bicycles with small wheel sizes such as 16" (Brompton) or 20" (BMX) are also catered for, a market ignored by some larger manufacturers.
Schwalbe's Marathon Plus[1] tire has a unique design with a 5mm thick layer of blue colored, natural rubber between the tread and carcass, which protects the inner tube. The thickness of this layer makes the tire almost impervious to punctures by any sharp object of insufficient length to penetrate the layer, such as a thumb tack. There is a weight penalty, but because the layer is so resilient it does not increase the tyre's rolling resistance compared with a quality tyre without protection, so this may be accepted by a cyclist looking for maximum reliability.
Schwalbe is based in Reichshof-Wehnrath near Cologne, Germany, although manufacturing is carried out by its Korean joint-venture, production partner, PT Hung-A, in its Indonesian factory.