Physics fail. Contact patch is inversely related to tire pressure, not tire width. Contact patch (sq.in.) = Weight(lbs) / Tire Pressure (PSI). Many wider tires run at lower pressure than narrow ones, but this isn't necessarily true. If there were racing benefits to a wider tire, then high pressure, wide tires would be widely available. They're not because no matter what the pressure, you have to corner slower on a wide tire due to the cornering profile.

Because few commuters are running at the performance limits of their equipment, the slower cornering issue is unlikely to affect their speed much.


Weight and aerodynamics may be an inescapable issue with larger tires in the racing context. Perhaps my use of the word "nothing" was too absolute, but these are definitely secondary disadvantages.