Quote:
Originally Posted by mtechnica
If bigger tires were faster then how come pro racers aren’t riding 38c tires? Why? Because the wind resistance is higher and rolling resistance on smooth surfaces especially climbs is, you guessed it, also higher. Also gravel bikes with gravel tires are mostly slower because of the tires not aero. 40-42c tires with a little tread roll way slower than road slicks do.
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Read the webpages its all in there. The OP's question was not about pro road racers/racing... my responses have never been about pro road racing. My responses have only been as per the above info, and my own personal testing which has confirmed it.
And road pros have changed from 700x20's to 700x28's, but that's not the OP's question (at least that I understand). He asked "
Will a larger tire bike, with a higher stack and all of those other "gravel" characteristics, ever be as fast a true road bike?"
Of course not! But,
that's principally because it's not as aero a position, then not as light a bike, the difference in tires will be miniscule compared to that. In fact, as per the tires experts, the wider tires may have less rolling resistance if they are wider. But the bike surely will be slower, because of "higher stack" and gravel 'characteristics'... which are often not "aero bike, as low as is comfortable and efficient" characteristics like with a road bike.
Again, if you want to argue. Argue with those brands, not me. I didn't write those webpages... I only linked them with the hope that the OP will get real information from experts.