Amesja, I have no doubt that the rims help a lot, but with all you spent on these wheels, it makes no sense to me that you're cheap with tires. Tires give you more ride quality for the money than anything on a bike. You should try the Panaracer tires. Harris says they're the very best. I'm curious to try them. I'm using the Schwalbes now, and they're OK, but I wish I had gotten the Panaracers. The Schalbes look nice, though; I got the whitewalls.