Thanks for the responses DX and Exile. I seem to be about the only person who really likes these tires and I can actually see why with the pebble embedding issue. I will admit that when I put them on they did (and still do) FEELheavy and slow. However, my commute times over 14 miles each way seem to show that they really are not slower at all (ok, maybe compared to my 25c race tires).

It is really hard to control for everything over 14 miles because wind and traffic lights can be such a huge factor, but anecdotal times over a year seem to show no noticeable slowness.

Is it possible for a tire to feel much slower than it actually is? That certainly seems to be the case here with mine.

Of course, Now they are so worn that they might as well be slicks