Originally Posted by
DG Going Uphill
On a perfectly smooth service, yes, but most of us don't have those. Steely Dan seems to live in such a wonderful place, so if the lower comfort doesn't sap too much energy, then I'd agree that he'll be faster with the higher pressure. If he rode on my bumpy roads, he'd be slower with the high pressure.
Optimal tire pressure is dependent on the volume of the tire and your weight. The lighter you are and the bigger the tire, the lower the optimal PSI. At some point it does slow you down to be bouncing off of imperfections rather than having the tire flex a little and just go over them.
Sheldon Brown has a chart somewhere. A lot of folks are under the impression that Max PSI means Max performance and it isn't true.