In 2007, I bicycled 13000km across Russia (www.bikerussia.com). I left Amsterdam with new 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on both front and rear. The front tire went all the way across as well as through China (2500km). The rear tire was replaced with a Schwalbe Marathon XR tire after 6000km. That replacement tire was just starting to tear when I reached Vladivostok. I had one flat during the entire trip. Overall I was very pleased with the tires and interesting to see somewhat opposite experiences.

I used Continental Top touring tires before including a 19000km ride around Australia. They were reasonable tires, though didn't last as long as the Schwalbe Marathon tires and I also occasionally had sidewall rips.

--mev, Mike Vermeulen