I went ahead and got a pair of ritchey speedmax 700x30 recommended by Excel Sports. It hasn't snowed here in Silverthorne since I got the bike up and running, so the roads have beeen unusually dry. The tires seem to handle gravel and loose terrain well, but I did nearly go down on some ice yesterday. It's supposed to snow this week. When, and if it does I'll be able to truly test Excel's recommendation.