When I bought my Gitane Sprint last fall the shop threw on some Kenda 700 X 25 tires. The bike was going on the trainer for the winter so I didn't really care and was planning on replacing them this spring. The one originally on the rear warped in several places within a month so I swapped the tires and the bad one is on the front. So, far the past three months have been good with the other tire on the rear - but I check it before every ride to make sure there aren't any structural problems.
My son has some Kenda 27 X 1 1/4's on his Raleigh and they're holding up well.