Maybe I just thought they looked like I wished my old tires looked like in "the olden days." Regards their riding harsh, they do say on them to inflate from 85psi to 120psi. Many people go for the max. I would inflate them to 100psi and had no problems with harshness.

Panaracer TourGuard Pasela are very nice. But the sidewall - gum - is easy to puncture. Many reports on that.