Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 12,748
Likes: 2,111
From: Madison, WI
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
Yes, that is a 700c tire, 37mm wide. I have that tire size on my light touring bike. The 622 in the number is the rim size for 700c.
Schwalbe Marathon is a family of tires. The old Marathon (with Greenguard) is a good tire, I have used that tire in a different size. The newer Green Marathon is quite similar, it is called green because it is more environmentally friendly in the production.
If you look at any of the Plus models, they have more puncture protection but have more rolling resistance.
I am still using older tires of that size on my light touring bike, the tires I am using are no longer made. When the old ones are worn out, I plan to put Schwalbe Marathon Mondials on it, I already own the Mondials, bought the Mondials a ways back when they were on sale. Used one of the Mondials last summer for my tour, but when I got home put the older tire back on the bike to try to wear it out. The Mondial comes in two versions, the cheaper has a wire bead (not folding) and slightly more rolling resistance. I am using the cheaper version, it is good enough for me.
The 37mm wide tire is a good size for touring on pavement. When I did GAP and C&O which is mostly gravel, I used 50mm wide tires. A friend used 47mm wide, and the third one in our group used 35mm wide tires. All three of us were happy with our tires. And we had a few days of rain at the start, so even on soft wet trail, each of us thought our tires were a good choice.
You still have a lot of tread on those tires in your photo, you might want to put more wear on them before you replace them. That said, newer tires before a loaded tour is not a bad idea. That is why I put a new tire on my light touring bike for a tour last summer, then when I got home after the tour I put the older tire back on to try to wear out the older one which still has some good miles of tread left on it.
I friend of mine toured on that size tire using the Marathon Tour Plus tire, that had a lot of rolling resistance, but a lot of flat protection. I have never used the Plus version tires, I prefer less rolling resistance.