Thanks a lot for this review.
I put a lot of thought into tires for my honey's drop-bar MB2 "road bike". The Compass tires were near the top of the list, but cost won the day and the bike got non-TourGuard 26 x 1.5" Paselas instead. I was impressed by how supple (i.e. plush and fast) the 26 x 1.5" Paselas are. They feel almost as fast as the Challenge tires I run on my road bike.
Next, I wanted some road tires to let my Rockhopper winter bike do summer duty for shopping/commuting/locking up in public. It's built up with North Road bars and a Rhyno Lite / Dynohub / 2-speed coaster wheelset. Again, the Compass tires were considered and rejected on cost. This bike got 26 x 1.75" non-TourGuard Paselas and again I'm impressed with how fast and comfortable they are. I'm running about 40PSI at about 200# combined bike and rider weight.
You've convinced me that the Compass tires are the perfect tires for a fast road bike with 26" wheels. Since the upright position of the Rockhopper is so inefficient, I'm not sure the extra speed or plushness of the Compass tires would be noticeable anyway.
When I emailed Jan for more information about them, he described them as basically "Grand Bois Hetres made to fit on MTB wheels". They look like Paselas because the cost of a custom mold is *really* high -- it would probably not be affordable to commission custom tooling for such a highly specialized niche tire. Most folks that are willing to pay top dollar for snobby tires want them in 700c or 650b, not ISO 559.
If he ever manages to wear out the Paselas on the MB-2, I think I'll replace them with the Compass tires.