If you want to get the most value from your tires you have to use them for what they're made for. Mountain tires don't last long on pavement and road tires are shredded by dirt and pebbles just as quickly. However, I have to second Aladin's testimony on Cheng Shin's long-lived tires. The second most distance I ever put on a set of tires was the pair of Cheng Shins that came on my first multi-speed bike I ever had, a 1995 Huffy Free Spirit 15-speed MTB. They outlived the crankset at over 4000 miles (somehow the cranks came loose from the chainwheel). My longest lived tires are still in use. Bontrager Select Invert, 2007 vintage. They've been on 3 bikes with 5000 miles combined mileage. Too bad they don't come in 29" or I'd get another pair. Seems when it comes to road tires for 29" MTBs, I'm limited to Big Apples or Fat Franks, so that decision's made for me. Thanks, Schwalbe!