I recall clearly many many moons ago switching tires on my commuter bike. I had had some specialized nimbus somethingorother 26x1.5, they had a super stiff sidewall and I didnt know any better, and just rode them for many years. Switched to some regular marathons at one point, and could feel how more flexible the sidewall was on the marathons (not known to be supple or anything) . Sure enough , at similar pressures, the marathons were much more comfortable, so even for a tire thats thought as heavy and stiff (sure, the Plus versions have a much thicker inner anti flat band thingee in them) it still was nicer feeling than those super stiff spesh tires.