Originally Posted by
dramiscram
Thanks for the info, I bike a lot but I don't know much technicaly.
I have a physics degree; my father managed a tyre plant. That's why I am so interesting!
I was refering to my personal experience: my winter bike is an old mtb with 26x1.75 and I'm much slower on that bike then on my road bike on 700x23. Next time I have to replace tire I'll check if I can fit something bigger on the bike.
The average 1.75 MTB tyre is a boat anchor. The legendary Avocet Cross slicks are back on sale - try those and a rigid fork. Or if you need grip for soft ground on your winter bike, mail me and I'll dig out some spreadsheets I have on rolling resistance for 26ers - even among premium offroad tyres drag can vary by a factor of two. A good MTB with the right slicks or even semi-slicks and a rigid fork can fly across bad roads. If you want to be a real winter badass you could go tubeless, lowering drag still more, and put dirt drops on the bike for aero.