Tested: Over 3 months (Feb - April 2009) approx. 1200 miles 
This tyre has been a popular choice with the road riding community for some time now but when Continental released it in a 26 inch diameter guise my decision to change the 2 inch Swallable slicks to something racier was an easy one. The major selling points of this tyre have been the level of puncture protection technology that Continental has deployed here and the level of grip this slick tyre offers.
In the quest to produce a light-weight, fast rolling tyre usually something has to give and typically this has been puncture protection. A trade-off the average commuter should consider very carefully as the typical route to work probably includes some gravel paths and city streets that have their fair share of glass splinters all waiting to puncture flimsy racing tyres.
Continentals answer to this comes in the form of an “Aramid breaker” a high-tech material used by the aerospace and military in applications where “bullet proof” body armour fabric is required. This obviously provides the puncture protection, while the “Duraskin” sidewall reinforcement “ProTection” forms a protective shield that runs throughout the whole tyre and helps protect against side wall slashes which can plague many other lightweight race tyres.
I have been running the 1.25 x 26 version of the tyre for three months now covering 1200 miles and I have only suffered one puncture which was caused by a pinch flat while riding the bike hard down a pretty rocky downhill section. This obviously is outside of the design parameters of this particular tyre which was only ever intended for road use but I list it here only to highlight the confidence I have in these tyres. My 10 mile route into work includes several sections of gravel path that can be quite rough in places as well as typical city roads littered with the usual debris and I have been popping the bike off any curb that I come across without a second thought.
These tyres have proved to be hardy indeed. To avoid pinch flatting I strongly recommend keeping the pressure at 110 psi or above.
The grip, even in the wet is surprisingly tenacious for something so narrow and slick. Very quickly i noticed that i was making tighter, faster turns, leaning a lot more into each turn racing style; confidence is quickly built up with these tyres. Though the usual care with making a sharp turn across a metal surface such as a drain cover or man hole especially in the wet must be adhered too or you are likely be rewarded with a slide.
Note: If changing from MTB tyres you will notice that these tyres are both narrower and importantly shallower than what you may have had fitted before. This is worth noting because it lowers the bottom bracket height by at least an inch which meant that for the first few days i occasionally caught a pedal on the road whilst making a turn. You soon get used to this but it is a good opportunity to improve the quality of your turns i.e. set you speed into a turn by getting all your braking done in advance (also while travelling in a straight line) then off the brakes and set your pedals so that your outside foot is down leaving the other pedal well clear through the turn. With practice you will find yourself railing through turns.
Overall: Excellent commuting tyres whose light weight is noticeable as i am generally riding one gear higher now and it clearly lives up to Continentals claims regarding puncture protection and longevity.