Some interesting thoughts here. A few added thoughts: *Contact patch:* We've been thinking about this. We are lucky today to have numerous tires that have the same casing, so at least we can do a controlled experiment. It is good to be able to explain the data, but it's important to note that the data shows that 25 mm tires are faster than 23 mm. No matter how we explain it (contact patch shape, lower suspension losses, better aerodynamics, whatever), the results won't change.
*Light wheels and acceleration/climbing:* The math assumes a constant power output, but we know riders have anything but a constant power output. We pedal at 60-120 rpm, and within each stroke, we have a very distinct power phase. Does this change the equation? For frame stiffness, it certainly does. With constant power, frame stiffness wouldn't matter at all, and "planing" would not exist. I am not saying that lighter wheels climb better (many of my best times on mountain passes have been on 650B x 42 mm tires), but I would like to caution that the simple math may not be the entire story. Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly www.bikequarterly.com Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/ -- 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 [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
