THESE TIRES have a WEIGHT vs. PSI sweet spot!!!...I ride CROSSKING tires and and I had the same issue when I first got them BUT... I like them better if I go 2-3psi higher in the rear and 1-2psi in the front than I normally would than with other tires. Maybe it's because of the 160 or 180tpi construction but the flexibility of the tire caraccas under the tread is as flexible as the sidewalls and I found by adding just a couple of PSI more than normal, the nubs grip better and support the ride better dynamically while getting amazing rolling resistance and still letting the tread area conform to small bumps. As soon as you mentioned the ride characteristics of the tires I remembered back to what you mentioned about the better than expected ride smoothness of the suspension and it's what I went through when I first got these tires.
Seeing from tire sidewall, that it is cheaper "plasticky" compound tire - Cross King Performance. There is another version - Cross King ProTection with Black Chili compound, rubbery feeling, has nice traction. Those were still measured as having more rolling resistance than competitors in Bicycle Rolling Resistance web, while using specific tools and measurements. Not sure how you can feel drag from tires in real life situations though. Personally switched to ProTection tire version 5 years ago from Schwalbe basic compounds and huge benefit for me - no punctures since then. Prior had at least one puncture per year (running with tubes).
