Been home a week from a Southern Tour - my Marathon Pluses have over 4000 miles on them without a flat!!! I have 3 set on different bikes - over 10,000 miles on all them without a flat. They are a pain n the ass to mount though - I have an opposite problem from what you are describing though - they are so tight and hard rubber "not that pliable" - my current method is using a pedal strap to anchor the tire down as I mount the rest of it. This seems to work quite well