On 5/3/2020 11:06 AM, Joerg wrote:

snip

Fifty bucks a tire? No! I bet those don't last much past 2000mi either
and then that's too much money. If they'd last 5000mi it would be ok.

Yes, they are quite expensive though you can sometimes find them on sale
for a lot less than that.

In fact, the blowouts were mostly with expensive brand name tires,
Continental Gatorskin. Never had one with Vee Rubber or Vittoria, so
far. I get between 1200mi and 2000mi out of these depending on where I
ride. Mostly less than 1500mi but at about $15 a pop that's ok.

I wouldn't base the thorn resistance on the price of tire, it's the
design of the tire.

My main concern in switching mostly to the Marathon Plus was that
neither me, nor my wife, experience failures on rides. A little extra
weight was of little concern. She would have no idea how to fix or
replace a tube on her commute. I would be called for emergency road
service. On my Dahon folder, it's a real pain to fix a puncture.

On Friday I donated about 20 tires, some new, to the local non-profit
bicycle shop, Good Karma Bikes. I'd been cleaning my garage of all the
stuff I've accumulated over the years.

Weight is the least of my concerns or no concern at all. I just want
stuff not to fail during rides. So all my bikes have tire liners plus
thorn-resistant tubes. The MTB has a regular tube around the tire liner
in addition. Rides like a tank, and no flats.

I've not had good luck with tire liners. They end up causing a puncture
where the two end meet up, even when following the instructions on how
to trim the ends.