Quote:
Originally Posted by txsurfer
That is another factor Im working on. At what point do I want to give up speed for comfort, mileage or time wise?
The weather on the ETS was horrendous and my BMC Monstercross disc ate it up and was comfortable to the finish. In dry weather, I wonder if I could have hammered the 280 out on my Bowman Pilgrim's (road +) on 32-35c gravel tires. It would have been fast and potentially bone jarring, but less time in the saddle.
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Not just a question of comfort for its own sake. For many riders, a more compliant tire may improve speed in terms of overall time on a long event, but as an indirect effect that results from being able to perform better for longer duration, rather than the tire being faster. This can be a subtle effect resulting from reduced fatigue rather than pronounced difference in comfort that you notice. As far as anecdotal evidence, there seems to be plenty of it-as much as for narrow tire advocates. My guess is that, if true, this type of effect would be very different for high vs low wattage riders. Assuming similar rider weight for simplicity, a high wattage rider will have more weight supported by pedal pressure than at saddle and hands. I noticed this effect myself years ago - that I get more fatigued on slow rides. So what the top finishers are using may or may not be relevant for a given rider. I dont know if one might be able to get the same effect with suspension elsewhere on the bike such as seatpost or stem.