I am 5'10-11 on a 54 Tricross Sport 2010, fits me very well and I love its versatility. With lightish 28s on it, it is fairly quick, although the longcage LX RD and 11-32 is not as tightly ratioed as a 12-25 or something, but I like having the lower gearing as I often ride with panniers and on steepish hills.
I very much see cross bikes with low gearing as bikes that excel at what you want to do, a tire change is often all you need to do to be able to handle a wide range of riding types. I suspect you can put at least 35 tires on my Tricross (came with 32, but havent put wider,just guessing from space available with front fork and rear stays.)