Marathons and similar Schwalbe with the 3 or 5 mm puncture layer and thick rubber tread are tall tires with a sloping peak compared most others, I think the wideness comparing two different sizes of the same tires is harder to visualize or notice because of that.
Originally Posted by
hfbill
I can't help much with the fender clearance as I don't use fenders on my Trek 520, but I did run Marathon 700x35 for one season and found them a little narrow for the hilly, rugged roads I often find myself on. When I got a snakebite flat on one such rough road, I switched to the 700x38's, which I've been riding on ever since. 'Little apparent difference in rolling resistance, but noticeably more stable and robust on the downhiils and in the rough spots, and, knock-on-wood, no flats in 3 years. I guess the choice depends a lot on the nature of the roads you intend to ride on.
I've only had one set of Marathons and they were 26x1.75. I did a lot of off asphalt and even some single track on them. Relatively speaking, I found them to be a hard tire in general and even large adjustments in pressure did not provide much if any change in comfort. Never got a flat and great wear though.