MonsterCross Tire Rotation Update and Lessons Learned

It's like riding a new bike, new Marathon Mondial tires front and rear for the first time since 2012!

I found the rubber on these tires lasts about 8 years before starting to crack badly enough to leak sealant and air when run tubeless. Might be fine to use past this with tubes. With my mix on on/off pavement riding, I can get 4 years and ~5000 miles out of a back tire before the tread is worn out.

By using a 3 year rotation plan, I should have enough tread remaining on the rear tire to be usable up front for another 3 years. Likewise, the front tire after 3 years, should be just slightly worn and should last an additional 3 years in back. I'll also time the tire rotation with our wet season to take advantage of the deeper tread when the trails are muddy. First season will be 100% tread, 2nd season should be 75% and 3rd season 50%. Then swapping tires front and rear will put the now 25% rear tire up front and the ~75% front tire in back. Then in another 3 years, both tires should be worn down and need replacing.

Wearing the center tread blocks down too far on these tires leads to increased noise and rolling resistance. On a new 700cx40 tire, center block tread depth is 0.10" (2.5mm). On the original front tire, the tread depth is 0.61" (1.5mm). At that tread depth, the side lugs are just starting to make contact with the pavement at 30 psi (2 bar) pressure. If you ride a higher pressure, you might be able to get more distance out of the tire. Note that Schwalbe recommends 50-85 psi (3.5-6 bar) in these tires with tubes. So I'm breaking 2 rules with these tires, but that's the goal of this bike, to break as many "bike rules" as possible.

Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires:
https://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon-mondial

This video is not sponsored by Schwalbe.

I really like these tires for all around riding. They don't "suck" on the road and they work OK in the dirt and gravel. For heavy mud or deep sand, not so much, but I don't ride that sort of terrain. They're not top rated for anything, but they are fairly high up in all the attributes. The tread wear is very good, puncture resistance and durability is good, traction off road is decent, rolling resistance on pavement is OK. I run this one tire on all my rides and never really think about them. They seem to handle all the conditions i encounter and I've never felt they weren't a good enough tire. I don't race, I'm more interested in a tire that will get me back home from any ride I set out on.

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