So I am trying to decide which tire to put on my Karate Monkey for commuting/road duty. I will be riding on some rougher roads, and possibly a little dirt and gravel, but mostly on pavement.

I am looking at the Schwalbe marathon and the Schwable Big Apple

I am looking at a 45mm marathon or the 50 mm big apple. The difference in weight between the two is pretty similar, and I know the big apple is actually only about 45mm wide when it is mounted on a 22mm wide rim. The marathon is $5-$6 cheaper per tire.

So any suggestions or recommendations from your experience?

I love the Big Apples. The secret is to run them at low pressure, 50psi tops, but better around 40. It's rare to find another tire that has fabric that does well at lower pressures, I don't know if the marathon is one of them. I know the marathon supreme is not.

I have Big Apples on my Dahon Curve D3. They do a pretty good job in lieu of shocks.

Try the Fat Franks too, with their moto thread. In fact, the Retrovelo in Germany helped to inspire an entirely new category of bike: the balloon tire racer. You don't have to ride skinny tires to go fast anymore!

Have run both BA and regular marathons in 50x559 size on my gravel road mtn bike. the BA's profile is a touch wider and floats slightly more, especially at lower inflation pressure - in 40s lb. the marathon is more effective on gravel & dirt surfaces. went with 47 mm marathons on a crosscheck for country roads, it was nice for commuting also.
ps- if I had the room- might look at conti contact or comfort contact in 54-622,
one of those has sort of a smooth center strip and edge tread - these could
be a good balance of smooth running on pavement, traction in gravel and
float. during the past couple of years, have had two sets of conti tires-
they seem to run on the narrow end of their stated size.

I've used both in 20" on my folder. The bike does mainly tarmac, but also I ride it on my training rollers. The Big Apple I found comparatively heavy and slow(er) . It gives a less harsh ride but I didn't like the things much. I'm about the only one, they're highly rated for comfort by many.

I have Marathons now - not the Marathon Plus which is heavier, and I like them for their quality ride and acceleration. They're good on the rollers too, but I keep them at 60 psi, I prefer speed to comfort. I've not had any puntures yet. I have Conti Sport Contacts on my other bike and like those too. YMMV!

I haven't ridden the Marathon, ( Except the Supreme version ) but i have the Big Apple. It can deal with hard pack OK, even wet grass, but mud? Maybe the Fat Frank as others suggested?

The BA has no effectve tread so can slip on slippery trails but is OK on rough tracks. The Marathon tread is deeper so they get more bite before slipping.

Greetings - I have a Rans Vivo with 406 (20 inch) rims and I run a Big Apple 20x2.0 in the front and a Marathon 20x1.5 in the back - I found that the soft sidewalls on a Big Apple make it an inefficient rear tire - the flexy sidewalls suck a ton of pedal energy from forward motion, and they're simply not fast back there. However they are magic for rolling resistance and ride, and quite exceptional in front. The Marathon has a stiff, bullet proof sidewall, which is quite efficient in translating pedal forces to the wheel, and they are resistant to anything this side of Kryptonite. Plus they have exceedingly low rolling resistance. The Marathon can be a bit harsh at high PSI (I run mine around 95 PSI on tarmac), but the Vivo is fully suspended, so I barely notice.

Nt

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OK, so 50mm is equivalent to about 2.0 inches, correct? I think it's possible that some of the people replying here might be thinking of the Big Apples that are 2.35", aka "balloon tires." I haven't ridden a Big Apple below 2.35" so I don't know how big a difference there is between this and the 2.0"; however, I can tell you that the Big Apple 2.35" provides a really smooth ride for me when it's loaded for commuting OR touring AND when my rides include dirt, rocks, or roots.

Does this help at all?

PS: The Schwalbe Marathon seems to be their most popular tire for commuting.

Karate Monkey is 27.5+, so I bet if you drop your width down to 2", you could get 29" wheels in there. Two wheelsets, 27.5x3 for trail, 29x2 for road? That would be sweet.

I'm planning on getting a Krampus, and was wondering whether I could get a 2nd wheelset for the road and make that my N=1 bike. Big Apple 29x2.35 sounds like a good option for that (that won't look too silly with that giant fork and relatively skinny tires). Are there any other city/slick-ish tires out there that are wider? 29x2.6? 2.8? 3?

The Maxxis Hookworm comes in 29" X 2.5." Not quite 2.6 or 2.8, but still an inch and a half too wide for MY bike!

Surly Extraterrestrial 29x2.5

Nice! Hookworm and E.T. both look like good options for a commuting wheelset

You just have to make sure you have enough clearance in the rear for such a wide tire. I'd have put Hookworms on my bike, but they were too wide to clear the rear seatstay and they would have gotten caught up in my calipers. That's why I went with the 26" X 2.35" Big Apples instead (and I don't regret it!)

The ETs will be about 200g lighter. Those Hookworms-apart from the name suggesting an intestinal infestation-are real porkers.

Good to know. In my case, my bike already weighs a freakin' ton-and-a-half, so what's another 200g?

Krampus is a 29+ bike, frame/fork designed for 29x3, so clearance will not be an issue. I just wanted to look into street tires that wouldn't look ridiculously skinny.

OP's Karate Monkey on the other hand, is 27.5+, so 29x2.5 might be on the edge

Hookworms? They are heavy, they are slow, they have a fair amount of rolling resistance. They are taking up room in my attic...
No comparison to the Schwalbe's mentioned.

(FRom Papa Tom) Yes, I know. That's why I have the Big Apples.