Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
That's true but in order to have the proper inflation for the weight it had to be that way. You not going to have 100psi in a 32 and 100psi in a 23 without be over inflated on the 32 for the amount of weight being carried. You can see that readily in the Michelin tire calculator. So to do a accurate test of contact width you have to have the proper PSI for the weight being carried.
I hope that made sense?!
You are correct. Wider tires are usually and better used at lower pressures, so the two are not directly comparable, as the biggest parameter to change is tire pressure. But probably 10% of cyclists overinflate their fat tires, and probably 60% underinflate their skinny tires, so in many cases fat tires have a smaller contact patch than the skinny ones.