Originally Posted by byrd48

Hi,
I have had three sets of Continental tires and have had bad experiences with each. The first was Town and Country fat tires on my mtn bike, which got a few flats before I switched to Big Apples.
The second was Grand Prix 4000 sII on my road bike (700c x 25) that I got about 1100 miles on before I shredded the tread area, presumably from a piece of glass. I replaced that tire with another of the same for a tour from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. About 30 miles in, the road got extremely broken up and bumpy for about 10 miles. About 5 miles into that stretch, the back tire sidewall blew with a gash maybe half an inch in length. I had a spare tube and put a tube patch across the gash on the inside of the tire, and amazingly it held for the remaining 60 miles.
I did not find any debris in any of these cases and I suppose this could have happened to any tire, but it has me wondering if I should change brands. The biggest feature I like about the Grand Prix is the reflective stripe. Looking at the lit, it seems that the Grand Prix 4 seasons may have better puncture and sidewall protection, but no reflective stripe. Schwalbe has the Marathon series, but at more than double the weight. Schwalbe does not appear to have a folding Marathon type tire. I do love the way the contis ride, and I also like the fact that they are hand made in Germany, but I'm wondering if I've just had bad luck with them or if they just don't hold up as well as Schwalbes. As a commuter and tourer, I probably should get the Marathons and forget about the weight. Thoughts?