OP? Isn't Sheriff Taylor's kid?? (Sorry...had to do it.)
Have only looked at the Schwalbe Marathon Plus as I think it is now standard on the CCX. However, I checked some posts on other threads and saw that you took a pretty good spill on those and you wondered out loud if the Marathon Plus's might have contributed. I appreciate your suggestions and L's link to gravel tires mentioned previously. So, I have some forum research work to do.
FWIW, I took the turbo como 2.0 I talked about out for another test ride today and am becoming more convinced that a hub drive with throttle would be a better choice for me at this point skill-set wise. I am a motorcycle guy with a fair amount of backwoods and road experience (member of the Iron Butt Association) but am discovering that what I find intuitive after years on a motorcycle does not perfectly translate to bikes...except maybe the use of a throttle to keep my speed up in soft dirt, sand, focusing on weight distribution in gnarly situations, etc. Today I did a wheeley going up a steep incline while in power level 3 (the highest on the Como) and a low gear and you can probably guess what happened. Offered to pay for the loaner helmet as it was cracked in two. They wouldn't let me as I think they were just glad I wasn't injured. It was a good learning experience but I think if I had a throttle I would have treated it more like a motorcycle and had my weight shifted even more over the handlebars. I wonder how my 68 year old body is going to feel tomorrow.?
This bike stuff is gonna be fun.
Steve