Originally Posted by
Captain Blight
I don't believe anyone's done a really academically rigorous, quantitative/qualitiative analysis of rolling resistance vs. tire size vs. contact surface quality. I would have no idea where to start.
Its all been done many, many times - I can't find it now because their web site is way to crowded for me to find anything easily but - The US department of Transportation has long lists of interactive tables on calculating energy expended over time on different road surfaces - They are very detailed - I remember getting into them years ago and a quick summary of what I can remember is: "...reasonably high tire pressures on clean paved surfaces allow for less energy to carry more load at higher speeds..." - Now that changes with the road surface, load and temperature - Most truckers know exactly what pressure to apply for what tire they are running on what surface and load they are carrying - Another source are the NASCAR tables showing the same data for speed and time - Again in general higher pressures are usually preferred...
I also remember that on trucks tire width was more realtted to load stability and speed of travel rather than friction and resistance...
I really don't know how this fits into the article, but the subject deserves more reading and research...
I personally use a wider raod bike tire (34mm) at as high a preassure as I can (85psi) and am satisfied...