I was commuting on 700X25 Marathons this winter and had three flats over the last month and a half. Before this, I had a pair of Armadillos that I used for almost two years before I had a single flat. The marathons were heavier and a bit slower to top it off. After looking at each of my flats, I noticed that they always resulted from pieces of glass or metal getting caught in the tread and working their way, during my long commute, into the tire. I think the tires would be great without the tread. They seem pretty strong and I even once found a nail slowly working its way into the tire at an angle without quite puncturing the tube (once again caught in the tread). Perhaps a wider tire would perform better from the durability standpoint as the tread spacing might be wider and the pressure at the point of ground contact might be lower.

Rob