Sounds fun doesn't it... "skinny rubber with knobs on", yet the rubber in question costs a little bit more than £2 and isn't generally available from the vending machines often found in pub toilets...

These are Continental's 700C cyclocross specific version of their semi-slick MTB tyres. This review refers to the folding 'Pro' version which is lighter (390gr) and more competitive 'cross oriented than the (heavier) more general purpose tyres in the range. Note that I'm writing from the perspective of someone who rides their 'cross bike for general cross-country duties rather than pure racing, whether you find the following of use probably depends on the kind of riding you do.

My first outing on these tyres was 60 miles of heavy duty off-roading across Exmoor over a wide range of wet and dry surfaces and terrain from hardpack dirt, loose gritty stuff and'rock gardens' to deep, gloopy mud and grass. All I can really say is I'm impressed, especially considering the narrow width. Pumped to 70psi they coped incredibly well with everything - as well as can be expected from 32mm wide rubber anyway. The short, 'stiff' knobs do start to clog in very sticky stuff not excessively. Any clogging does shed quickly once clear. The grip is very good on both hard and loose surfaces, I was surprised what I could get away with when trying to stay on the wheel of my MTB-equipped riding buddy. They do lose out on wet slippery surfaces (tree roots and slimy stones) but then show me a tyre that doesn't. On tarmac, pumped up to between 70 and 80 psi they roll very well, so will now be my tyre of choice of events that include some road riding as well as mixed or unknown surfaces off-road. Perhaps the most important thing is they appear to be very durable - after a weekend of thorns, sharp stones and high speed, rocky descents they're showing no signs of damage at all, and no punctures either.

It's not all good though, there are a couple of negative points...
1) If, like me, you're a roadie used to rounded profile, slick tyres you might find these a little scary cornering at high speed on tarmac. The profile of the tyre when inflated is quite square so when leaning there comes a point when the tyre is rolling very much on the edge of the tread... lean further and it feels as though the tyre could suddenly lose traction with predictably painful consequences. It may be that I'm just nervoud having lost skin a couple of years ago for this very reason on a set of MTB tyres.
2) When new they're an absolute bloody nightmare to fit to skinny rims (Open Pros in my case), the thick sidewalls, floppy bead and relatively heavy tread mean they have a strong tendency to continuously spring out of the rim while you attempt to wrestle the next bit in. If you can recruit an extra pair (or two) of hands or, as in my case, a couple of spring-loaded DIY clamps then you'll eventually get them on. I imagine that once they've been used a while the fitting process will be a whole lot easier... but I haven't had a chance to test that theory yet not having suffered a puncture so far......

So, to summarise....
for performance on mixed terrain: 9/10.
for ease of fitting: 5/10
for durability: 10/10 (so far)
value: 8/10 (rrp is £25 each, on a par with similar offerings from Michelin, Vittoria etc but they can be found cheaper)