Schwalbe's Marathon XR has long been the adventure tourer’s tyre of choice, with a reputation for reliability and longevity. Its new sibling, the Extreme, uses wider spaced, serrated lugs that are better suited to loose and off-road conditions – several weeks of tough touring in the Himalayas proved puncture and mishap-free.
It has a dynamo strip and a reflective sidewall, it’s foldable, plus it’s more than 200g lighter than an XR at 670g, saving close to half a kilo in rotational weight – at the cost of a little longevity.
Still, we’re confident it will see you through the toughest off-road tours. For unusually long rides, you could always run an Extreme at the front for extra grip, with an XR handling most of the load at the back.