I stand corrected on the Marathon Supreme. The rest of that tire line is appalling (sacrilege in the commuting forum, I know). FYI - I'm a cross racer, well aware of tire importance. I've never put a Contact Sport on a bike where I was pushing its wet weather grip, suspect the OP's GF won't either. It's not like riding on ice, if you aren't pushing the traction isn't bad enough to be a problem, in my experience. That said, I think the Panaracer Pasela is a much better tire than the Contact. Both are about half the cost of the Marathon Supreme, in the case of the Pasela you still get a good, fast ride and good grip on wet pavement without as much damage to the wallet area.