Originally Posted by
nhluhr
In attempting to eliminate variables, you forgot to include the ones he didn't mention. Rolling resistance accounts for a significant percentage of power consumption. Rolling faster and experiencing the same airspeed, you have increased rolling resistance in your tires, bearings, etc. So in short, JoeMetal was correct.
I made mention of rolling resistance in my post. It is considered close to nominal when compared with wind resistance. I do not recall the exact numbers (that calculator link probably distills them), but there have been plenty of posts in this forum supporting this.