Rim width matters much less with very supple tires, since the sidewalls don't hold up the bike. So you need to run somewhat higher pressures, but the supple casing still gives you much better comfort and traction (and speed).
Cyclocross and pro mountain bikers run tubulars on rims that have a very narrow effective width - the tire is not supported at all on the sides. And yet they perform great - the fact that they are winning races in disciplines where bike handling is of crucial importance says it all. With stiffer tires, you want to run lower pressures (the tires already are harsh), so the sidewalls get tasked with holding up the bike. Then, and only then, does rim width make a big difference, as it either allows the tire to stand on the sidewall (wide rim making the sidewalls horizontal), or the sidewall simply folds (narrow rim making the sidewall curved). Jan Heine Compass Bicycles Ltd. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
