Well I don't know what 27 x 1 1/4 tires you had that were narrower than 20mm 700c tires, but that just does not make sense to me. A 27 x 1/4 tires is about 32 mm, a 27 x 1/8 is about a 28mm and so on. I get that over inflating them led to some blown out tubes, but not that you would get pinch flats when things were over inflated.
As far as the feel of the tires (slow) that really varies on the brand and model and in my experience less connected to the tires width. I went from a 26 x 1.5 to a 26 x 2.0 on my commuter (Marathon to Marathon Supreme) and the wider 'better' tire rolls faster and is about half the weight (which might be why it rolls faster
). I but better in quotes since the Marathons gave me 6000 trouble free miles and the Supremes are going to have to come close to matching that to gain top honors in my book.
Glad the 700 wheels are working out for you.
Originally Posted by
blue9
Just wanted to add my experience. I started out commuting on 27x1.25, lower pressure tires. I blew out tubes a few times because I'd over-inflate them (I like higher PSI). Also got several pinch flats. I later inherited a set of 700c wheels with 20mm tires. Threw those on my commuter and LOVED IT! Yeah, on bumpy pavement the bumps are sharper - but I prefer the sharper bump to the squishy bouncy-bump of the lower PSI tires. Overall I felt much quicker with the thin tires, but I think a lot of that has to do with being able to inflate them to 100+ PSI. I'm actually about to buy a new set of tires and will probably go for 25s.
IMO, 20mm >>>> 1.25". I don't feel like my pedaling energy is being sucked up by the tires, and I've had far fewer flats (knock on wood). Though I think it's probably an anomaly that I've had fewer flats with such thin tires...