I'm not quite so skeptical on the 23,000 claim, considering that it's stated in NashComm's post that it was a front tire (not a rear), and that in the same period of time he's gone through 3 rear tires, which stacks up pretty well with the feedback that we get from our customers who often claim that at 10k+ miles, their SMPs are still going strong. 23,000 would certainly be on the extreme end of the expected useful life but quite possible under ideal circumstances. I would expect that by this point that some of the blue puncture protection belt rubber (Smart Guard) would be starting to show.

If this were my bike, I'd be inclined to move the front to the rear when the rear wears out and put the fresh one on the front, but given how difficult these tires can be to mount I could certainly understand passing on this protocol and just replacing the worn out tire.

I do understand that my chiming in on this aspect may seem biased. One can believe what they want to believe.