Originally Posted by
thenomad
I would think the lack of greater rotating mass that makes it fun to accelerate would also keep it from holding onto momentum. Therefore needing just that little more input from the pedals all the time. Sort of like riding on the trainer, no coasting. More pedal per mile?
I make pretty good time on my P20 and Moulton that have lighter wheelsets and relatively fast rolling tyres.
This is from a century ride I took on my P20 (I was carrying a lighter load) and this was before I did the custom frame work... the bike has gotten a little faster because of that and some gearing changes. It was a leisurely 7 hour century over rolling countryside where I felt I was just pootling along and enjoying the views
I commute over the same route with the 20 and am usually rolling out in the low 30 kmh / 18-19 mph range which is pretty much the same as my other touring bikes and on group rides have pursued and pulled people along in excess of 25mph for good distances which stunned them as they thought that small wheels = slow.
Smaller wheels suffer a little more loss of momentum on bad roads but on smooth roads with good tyres their lower weight and reduced aero profile is advantageous and getting them back up to speed is not that much work so performance between these and standard sized wheels and tyres is very close.