I ride about 60 miles a week and came off 700x23 low grade tires. I kept getting flats on potholes and glass, upgrading the tubes helped but didn't eliminate the issue. I ride quite a bit at night and there's nothing more irritating than getting a flat in the pitch dark, the swarms of mosquitoes were appreciative though.
Oddly, you can actually tell the difference with the slightly wider tire, but if it lasts longer, it's totally worth it. They handle fine at my 15 to 20mph speeds, admittedly I don't do any hard cornering so I can't vouch for how they handle in serious cornering but average riding they seem just fine.
My local bike shop was asking twice what they cost here.
UPDATE: After two months and grabbing the side of pavement, hitting potholes and death grooves, I haven't had a single flat with these tires. When I bought them I also picked up a couple of Avenir tubes to go with them so the combination seems to be working out well.
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Great tire. I've ridden on Michelins for awhile and needed to replace them due to wear. The tires wear well and the Lithion 2 tires are light but not too light as to appear to give up durability. I ride on rough roads and these tires can take it as well as give great traction. I recommend this product.
*Update* 2000 miles later these tires are still doing well. I am going to replace because I'm afraid of a blowout on a fast descent.
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I ride for exercise/enjoyment about 100 miles a week in San Diego where roads are very dirty (lots of thorns, glass, metallic debris) and broken up despite this being America's Finest City. My old tires were shot and I was getting daily puncture (not pinch) flats. I did a ton of research online and simply could not find anything that explicitly said what I wanted: decent puncture resistance while not weighing a ton/being a total slug on performance for a fair value. The Michelin Lithion 2 description seemed the closest to that so gave them a try.
Things were perfect for the first couple of weeks fine on weight for a training tire, nice grip around turns, and no flats on the same routes I usually ride. This last week got a random puncture in the back from a large staple so no foul there. But next ride got a puncture on the other tire from a VERY small/narrow thorn that would be impossible to see from riding position. Realize this is just two flats in 3 weeks but feel like soon I'll be right back to reviewing tubes and tires to find the right combination for where and how I ride. I went a year without a flat on my last tires and tubes which were stock on the bike and absolutely nothing special so was really hoping these new tires would give me at least several weeks before seeing flats again from tiny thorns.
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I have put about 700 hard miles on these tires. Roads here are very rough, with lots of debris. In my first three years living here I replaced 6 tubes and blew out three tires. I even destroyed a kevlar Hutchinson tire which was heavier and more expensive than these. Rolling resistance seems average with these tires, and tread-wear is minimal. No flats since switching to these tires, and I have had them for about a year.
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Ok, so I am not sure where to start, so I'll try to give an amended version of the story. I bought new tires and tubes for my road bike because I was planning to start riding more in the mornings (predawn) instead of running (28 YO with inflammatory arthritis and running is bad on my joints). So, talked the wife into letting me get some new rubber. Settled on these because they seemed like a good balance of value and quality. Also read a lot of reviews here and @ nashbar about durability. My main concern with riding that early is the risk of getting a flat and being stranded. I ride 6 mi to a bike path, ride 10-20 miles on the path and 6 miles home. The path is very debris-free but you never know what you'll find between there and home. Last thing I want to do is repair a flat in the dark. I guess I should have done more research.
On my first ride, I got a flat .5 mi from home. Located the thorn and left it in there, pump tire up and made it home. 2 rides later, rode through glass and slashed a 1/4" gash in the tire, flattening it almost immediately. I was able to repair it and the tire still holds the tube (after a little superglue stitching). These two road debris incidents may have resulted in a flat regardless, but I was hoping for a little more durability.
I have since found the gatorskins (which will probably be my next tire) and tube liners (which I just ordered and will be installing tomorrow) to prevent flats.
They do ride beautifully though. I have a Specialized road bike (commuter bike, nothing too serious) and these tires really smoothed my ride out. I've always been timid in corners with my original tires and can now power through them with confidence and can just 'feel' that I am glued to the road. In the end, I am hoping the two flats were a fluke and that I'll be able to get 3000+ miles out of these. Maybe I'll update after I get more miles under them.
